Developing a new industrial engineering curriculum using a systems engineering approach

This paper reports on the development of an engineering curriculum for a new industrial engineering programme at a medium-sized private university in the northeast United States. A systems engineering process has been followed to design and develop the new curriculum. Considering the programme curriculum as a system, first the stakeholders have been identified, and some preliminary analysis on their needs and requirements has been conducted. Following that, the phases of conceptual design, preliminary design, and detailed design have been pursued during which different levels of validation, assessment, and evaluation processes have been utilised. In addition, a curriculum assessment and continuous improvement process have been developed to assess the curriculum and the courses frequently. The resulting curriculum is flexible, allowing the pursuit of accelerated graduate programmes, a second major, various minor options, and study-abroad; relevant, tailored to the needs of industry partners in the vicinity; and practical, providing hands-on education, resulting in employment-ready graduates.