1. Home
  2. Academics
  3. Undergraduate Catalog
  4. 2023-2024

Manufacturing Engineering

The baccalaureate programs in industrial engineering and manufacturing engineering are accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET, https://www.abet.org. The baccalaureate program in manufacturing engineering technology is accredited by the Engineering Technology Accreditation Commission of ABET, https://www.abet.org.

FACULTY Professors Chen (chair), Li, Shareef, Tayyari; Associate Professors Guo, Saboury, Yoo. Emeritus Professors Emanuel, Krishnamoorthi, Kroll, Lin; Emeritus Associate Professor Ness.

The department offers three baccalaureate degree programs:

  • Industrial Engineering (B.S.I.E.)
    • Engineering Management Concentration
    • Logistics and Supply Chain Engineering
    • Systems Engineering Concentration
  • Manufacturing Engineering (B.S.Mf.E.)
    • Lean Manufacturing Concentration
    • Process Engineering Concentration
  • Manufacturing Engineering Technology (B.S.Mf.E.T.)

The department offers one minor:

  • Minor in Quality Engineering

The department also offers master’s degrees in industrial engineering (M.S.I.E.), manufacturing engineering (M.S.MF.E.), and data science and analytics (M.S.D.S.A). See the Graduate Catalog for information about these programs.

Mission and Core Values

Mission Statement

The mission of the Department is to educate students for life-long learning and equip them for distinguished careers in industrial engineering, manufacturing engineering, and manufacturing engineering technology.

IMET Core Values

The Department of Industrial & Manufacturing Engineering & Technology (IMET) at Bradley University is committed the following core values:

  • Customer-Driven
    As a consumer-focused educational provider, our program offerings and course structures are based entirely on the internal and external demands of our constituencies. Through catering to the needs of internal constituencies such as our students and external constituencies such as federal agencies, nonprofit organizations, and corporate companies, we ensure an ideally balanced curriculum. Further, we are conscious that our lectures reach not an audience, but a group of individual students, each with his or her specific interests and aspirations. Our varied programs and research opportunities allow students to pursue unique scholastic concentrations.
  • Global Understanding
    As a modern entity, we understand the magnitude of globalization’s effects on today’s economy. Our diverse and progressive department prepares our graduates to be competitive on a global scale.
  • Spirit of Entrepreneurship
    As a group of innovative leaders, we teach our students to become successful in any industry they may choose. Our emphasis on the spirit of entrepreneurship imparts to graduates management skills, the ability to be ingenious, and the motivation to capitalize on both opportunities and obstacles.
  • Community
    As a tightly woven community, we place great importance on respect, teamwork, communication, and cooperation. We encourage the development of lasting, professional relationships between students and faculty members through research projects and classroom interaction.
  • Adaptive Strategies
    As a dynamic organization, we harness the tools of improvisation and mold them to fit current situations. In a changing global environment and uncertain market, we believe the flexibility to re-evaluate, plan strategically, and adapt to varying circumstances is crucial to the success of our students.

Manufacturing Engineering Major (BSMFE)

Program Educational Objectives

Within five years into their careers, the graduates from the Manufacturing Engineering Program at Bradley University will have successful careers based on

  • Demonstrated ability to recognize manufacturing business problems and implement effective solutions.
  • Demonstrated ability to effectively lead cross-functional teams in the design, implementation and improvement of processes and systems.
  • Demonstrated professional development through continuous learning opportunities such as varied work assignments, graduate education, or professional associations.
  • Demonstrated involvement in service activities that benefit the profession or the community.

Student Outcomes

In order to meet the program educational objectives, students graduating from Bradley’s manufacturing engineering program will attain the following outcomes.

  1. An ability to identify, formulate, and solve complex manufacturing engineering problems by applying principles of engineering, science, and mathematics.
  2. An ability to apply engineering design to produce solutions that meet specified needs with consideration of public health, safety, and welfare, as well as global, cultural, social, environmental, and economic factors.
  3. An ability to communicate technical concepts effectively with a range of audiences.
  4. An ability to recognize ethical and professional responsibilities in engineering situations and make informed judgments, which must consider the impact of engineering solutions in global, economic, environmental, and societal contexts.
  5. An ability to function effectively on multi-disciplinary teams whose members together provide leadership, create a collaborative and inclusive environment, establish goals, plan tasks, and meet objectives.
  6. An ability to develop and conduct experiments, analyze, and interpret data related to manufacturing processes, materials evaluation, and manufacturing systems, and use engineering judgment to draw conclusions.
  7. An ability to acquire and apply new knowledge as needed, using appropriate learning strategies.

Manufacturing engineers apply their knowledge of the sciences of materials, processes, and information to the design, integration, and advancement of products and systems of manufacture. They understand value-added concepts through effective transformation of materials into products through manufacturing planning, strategy, and quality control.

The manufacturing engineer is responsible for designing manufacturing processes to meet speciļ¬c product properties and design; and is able to design products and equipment, tooling, and facility for continuously improving manufacturing systems to add value and minimize total costs considering entire value chain. His/her role encompasses not only technological factors but also human, economic, and environmental factors, which makes the manufacturing engineer a great facilitator for team efforts in cross-functional teams.

The manufacturing engineering program is designed to provide the student with a broad intellectual horizon together with a firm technical foundation necessary to meet future challenges in manufacturing and related industries. The curriculum builds on a solid foundation of science and mathematics and combines a broad base of engineering tools and their application to analysis, synthesis, and control of manufacturing operations using statistical methods.

Graduates from the program would have a wide range of career options in industry, government, research, service, and entrepreneurship. Graduates may also choose to advance their education through post-graduate studies.

To meet the degree requirements for graduation in manufacturing engineering, students must obtain credit in the following courses and must achieve a minimum grade point average 2.25 in IME courses.

Students wishing to pursue a graduate degree in manufacturing engineering may refer to the graduate catalog, which describes course work leading to the MSMFE degree.

Programmatic Distinctions

In choosing a career option, the student should be aware of the respective functions of the engineer and engineering technologist. Generally speaking, the engineer conceives, designs, and advances the development of products and systems. On the other hand, the engineering technologist implements, maintains, and tests products and systems. The engineer creates new technologies while the engineering technologist applies existing technologies.

The distinction between industrial engineering and manufacturing engineering is one of breadth vs. depth. Industrial engineers are involved with the design, improvement, and management of technical systems. These systems may be located in service industries such as banks, hospitals, and government as well as in manufacturing industries. Manufacturing engineers are involved in the design, installation, and improvement of the production process and generally are limited to manufacturing industries.

The engineering student’s selection of humanities and social science courses provide a broad education consistent with the objectives of the engineering profession. Courses should be selected to provide both breadth and depth and not be limited to unrelated introductory courses. This objective can be met by taking two courses in the same department with at least one being at the 300 level or above. Students minoring in business are permitted to use ECO 100/221 and ECO 222 to meet this requirement.

The department works closely with industry and has an outstanding industrial and manufacturing engineering and technology department Advisory Council consisting of distinguished members from industry, government, and education.

Manufacturing Engineering Program

Academic advisor closely works with students on their BSMFE program of study tailored to their academic background, interest, and career goals. BSMFE programs have an expected total of 123 credit hours. These courses can be listed in five categories: (1) Bradley Core Curriculum, (2)  Mathematics and Basic Science courses, (3) the required courses, and (4) the technical elective courses.

Bradley Core Curriculum (BCC) 18 hours

  • BCC Communications (BCC – CM) COM 103 Oral Communications Process - 3 hrs.
  • BCC Communications (BCC – W1) ENG 101 English Composition - 3 hrs.
  • BCC Communications (BCC – W2) ENG 300, 301, 305, or 306 Advanced Writing - 3 hrs.
  • BCC Fine Arts (BCC – FA) - 3 hrs.
  • BCC Global Perspectives (BCC – GP) - 3 hrs.
  • BCC Humanities (BCC – HU) - 3 hrs

Mathematics and Basic Sciences 33 hours

  • CHM 110 General Chemistry I (BCC – NS1) - 3 hrs.
  • CHM 111 General Chemistry I Lab - 1 hr.
  • MTH 121 Calculus I (BCC – QR1) - 4 hrs.
  • MTH 122 Calculus II (BCC – QR2) - 4 hrs.
  • MTH 223 Calculus III – 4 hrs.
  • MTH 224 Differential Equations - 3 hrs.
  • PHY 110 University Physics I (BCC – NS2) - 4 hrs.
  • PHY 201 University Physics II – 4 hrs.
  • IME 311 Introduction to Engineering Statistical Methods -3 hrs. (2 hrs of Math/basic Science)
  • IME 331 Fundamentals of Materials Science — 3 hrs. (2 hrs of Math/basic Science)

Required Courses - 51 hours

  • CE 150 Mechanics I — 3 hrs.
  • CE 270 Mechanics of Materials — 3 hrs.
  • ECE 227 Electrical Engineering Fundamentals- 4 hrs.
  • ECO 100 or 221 — 3 hrs. (BCC – SB)
  • IME 101: Introduction to Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering - 1 hr.
  • IME 103: Computer Aided Graphics - 2 hrs.
  • IME 110: Introduction to Computers and Computational Analysis - 3 hrs.
  • IME 301: Engineering Economy I - 3 hrs. (BCC – MI)
  • IME 333: Material Science Laboratory - 2 hrs.
  • IME 341: Introduction to Manufacturing Processes - 3 hrs.
  • IMT 362: Metrology and Instrumentation - 3 hrs.
  • IME 386: Industrial and Managerial Engineering - 3 hrs.
  • IME 395: Solid Modeling and Rapid Prototyping - 3 hrs.
  • IME 422: Manufacturing Quality Control - 3 hrs.
  • IME 431: Materials Engineering - 2 hrs.
  • IME 441 Manufacturing Processes I or IME 443 Manufacturing Processes II - 3 hrs.
  • IME 445 Computer Aided Manufacturing Processes - 3 hrs.
  • IME 499: Senior Design Project - 4 hrs.

Technical Elective Courses 21 hours

  • Approved Technical Elective Courses, see below — 9 hrs.
  • Core Elective Courses — 12 hrs

Core Elective Courses

Students with a concentration should see the specific list of technical elective courses under their concentration.
For students without a concentration, at least four of the technical electives (12 hrs.) must be
Manufacturing Engineering courses from the following list:

  • IME 325: Transport Phenomena - 3 hrs.
  • IME 385: Introduction to Logistics and Supply Chain - 3 hrs.
  • IME 412: Design and Analysis of Experiments - 3 hrs.
  • IME 441: Manufacturing Processes I - 3 hrs.
  • or IME 443: Manufacturing Processes II - 3 hrs.
  • IME 466: Facilities Planning - 3 hrs.
  • IME 481: Lean Production Systems - 3 hrs.
  • IME 495: Design for Manufacturability - 3 hrs.

Approved Technical Elective Courses

The other elective requirements (9 hrs.) may be satisfied by courses as listed below

  • Any 300-level or higher IME course not required in the program.
  • Any advisor-approved 300-level or higher IMT course.
  • Any civil, electrical, or mechanical engineering course (CE, EE, ME) numbered 300 or higher, or approved by advisor.
  • Any advisor-approved mathematics or science course not required in the program.
  • Any advisor-approved 300 or higher course from college of Business.

    Lean Manufacturing Concentration

    The Lean Manufacturing concentration prepares students to meet the industry’s increasing need for engineers who serve as facilitators for the lean movement toward excellence. In this concentration, students will develop skills to lead lean and Six Sigma teams to continuously improve processes, product design, and business acumen. Students will also develop skills targeted toward adding value, identifying problems, and eliminating waste, in order to enhance the market share with higher profitability.

    • Concentration Core Courses - 12 hrs.
      • IME 385: Introduction to Logistics and Supply Chain - 3 hrs.
      • IME 412: Design and Analysis of Experiments - 3 hrs.
      • IME 466: Facilities Planning - 3 hrs.
      • IME 481: Lean Production Systems - 3 hrs.
    • Approved Technical Elective - 9 hrs.
      • Additional elective courses from the Approved Technical Elective Courses (9 hrs.)

    Process Engineering Concentration

    The process engineering concentration provides the graduates with a strong set of knowledge and skills in product design, manufacturing processes, materials selection and design, automation, and manufacturing systems. Graduates may be employed in industries such as automotive, aerospace, and heavy equipment manufacturers.

    • Concentration Core Courses - 12 hrs.
      • IME 325: Transport Phenomena - 3 hrs.
      • IME 441: Manufacturing Processes I - 3 hrs. or IME 443 Manufacturing Processes II - 3 hrs. (both are required for this concentration)
      • IME 412: Design and Analysis of Experiments - 3 hrs.
      • IME 495: Design for Manufacturability - 3 hrs.
    • Approved Technical Elective Courses (choose three) - 9 hrs.
      • Additional elective courses from the Approved Technical Elective Courses (9 hrs.)

    BSMFE Combined With MBA Program

    Undergraduate students in the manufacturing engineering program may combine their studies and earn an MBA degree in five and one-half years or less. Students may use any of the prerequisites for the MBA program from their MSMFE required 127 undergraduate semester hours. Careful scheduling through coordination between BSMFE undergraduate advisor and director of MBA graduate program is recommended.

    Student Organizations

    Student chapters of the American Society for Materials (ASM), American Society for Quality (ASQ), Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers (IISE), Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME), American Foundrymen’s Society (AFS), and the Association for Operations Management (APICS) are sponsored by the department to support and encourage the professional development of the students. The department is also a strong supporter of the student chapter of the Society of Women Engineers (SWE).

    Honor societies for industrial engineering students (Alpha Pi Mu) and for manufacturing students (Beta Tau Epsilon) are also represented.

    This is the official catalog for the 2023-2024 academic year. This catalog serves as a contract between a student and Bradley University. Should changes in a program of study become necessary prior to the next academic year every effort will be made to keep students advised of any such changes via the Dean of the College or Chair of the Department concerned, the Registrar's Office, u.Achieve degree audit system, and the Schedule of Classes. It is the responsibility of each student to be aware of the current program and graduation requirements for particular degree programs.