How to Get a DEng or PhD in Manufacturing Engineering

Manufacturing engineers apply math and science principles to optimize manufacturing processes. The discipline is a close cousin to industrial engineering, but applies a more narrow scope of inquiry. While industrial engineering takes an expansive view of manufacturing and other logistical processes, manufacturing engineering focuses on improving the "internal dynamics of industrial processes"--automation, machine tool design, materials science, and process management.

A PhD in Manufacturing Engineering is a ticket into the upper echelons of the discipline. You'll conduct groundbreaking research alongside the leading researchers in the field, train the next generation of manufacturing engineers, and apply your inventions and discoveries to the improvement of manufacturing processes.

Achieving the highest distinction in the field takes planning and vision. This guide helps you prepare for the doctoral degree in manufacturing engineering. You'll develop a sense of your career and educational goals, find the right online or campus PhD program, master the application process, and take the first steps toward becoming an expert in the field of manufacturing engineering.

A Guide to the PhD in Manufacturing Engineering

Manufacturing engineering emerged in the mid-twentieth century as a distinct discipline. In the first half of the 20th century, manufacturing design and development was known as industrial engineering. As industrial engineering expanded beyond the purview of manufacturing, the discipline bifurcated into two paths: manufacturing process design and general system logistics. Today, manufacturing engineering bears a closer relationship with mechanical engineering, while industrial engineering generally emphasizes big-picture business and system analytics.

To learn more about the field, visit WorldWideLearn.com's Guide to Majors, where you'll find a specific section devoted to manufacturing engineering.

Doctoral Degrees: PhD or DEng in Manufacturing Engineering

Manufacturing engineering is one of the more applied engineering disciplines, dedicated to the specific goal of streamlining industrial production. The terminal degree options reflect this real-world emphasis by offering both an academic and a professional practice doctorate, the Doctor of Engineering (DEng).

The PhD in Manufacturing Engineering is the traditional academic degree, with a curriculum that aims to develop original approaches and theoretical orientations to manufacturing research.

The DEng in Manufacturing Engineering is designed for practicing engineers who want to deepen their knowledge and apply their training to specific problems in manufacturing R&D.

Learn more about the distinctions among manufacturing engineering doctorates at WorldWideLearn.com's Online PhD Degrees and Doctoral Programs resource page.

Specializations

Manufacturing engineers can focus their research on specific areas or methods of production. Specializations include:

• Manufacturing Systems
• Manufacturing Processes
• Control Systems
• Design
• Materials
• Financial Processes
• Statistics and Quality Assurance
• Precision Manufacturing

Within these areas you'll find further opportunities to define your research problem. For example, you may focus on a specific manufacturing activity--mechanical, thermal, or chemical--or process--reducing, shaping, or joining.

Each graduate school maintains a unique landscape of resources to support certain focus areas within manufacturing engineering. Determining your specialization interests now will help you find the right PhD program to help you achieve your research goals.

Career Track

A PhD or DEng in manufacturing engineer opens doors to an array of upper-echelon careers in the field. The PhD is the more versatile qualification, preparing you for either an academic or professional career. The DEng, by contrast, offers targeted training to advance a specific career goal in the practice of engineering.

Academic careers emphasize original cutting-edge research and undergraduate teaching. As a university professor, you'll split your time between advanced scholarship and training the next generation of manufacturing engineers. Some professors also take on education administration or industry consulting roles.

Professional careers also focus on research and development, but assume a more practical problem-solving approach. Industry R&D offers exciting research challenges, but the issues are dictated by the employers' manufacturing needs rather than your own intellectual curiosity. As a senior manufacturing engineer, you're likely to apply existing academic scholarship to optimize existing processes or equipment.

Job titles in professional manufacturing engineering include:

• • Senior engineer
  • Operations research analyst
  • Business consultant
  • Senior engineering manager

Unsure of your professional ambitions? WorldWideLearn.com's Career Pathways resource features career planning and assessment tools to help you make the important choices on your path to a manufacturing engineering career.

Plan for a PhD in Manufacturing Engineering

Careful planning will go a long way to helping you realize your career ambitions. The PhD in Manufacturing Engineering is without a doubt a lofty goal: the highest qualification in the discipline takes four to six years of postgraduate work, culminating in an original contribution to manufacturing process design.

Build a foundation for the successful completion of the degree by planning each step of the path to graduate school. The following steps lead you through the process, from choosing a campus or online PhD program to joining the ranks of manufacturing engineering innovators.

Step One: Find the Right Graduate Manufacturing Engineering Program

Finding the right match between your academic goals and a program's unique blend of resources will put you on a direct path to success. Here's how to research and choose among the hundreds of industrial and manufacturing engineering programs available today.

1. List Accredited PhD Programs

Start by compiling a list of accredited PhD programs in manufacturing engineering--or industrial engineering with a manufacturing concentration. Accreditation is the only baseline requirement that applies to every doctoral program search, no matter what your field of study or personal preferences. Independent accrediting agencies conduct regular program reviews to ensure that the doctoral degree meets standard quality requirements. This validation ensures the value of your degree--not to mention your eligibility for some federal financial aid programs.

The Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) is the primary national accrediting agency for engineering doctorates. You'll also find a comprehensive list of approved national and regional accreditation agencies at the U.S. Department of Education Web site.

Resources

Consult online directories and accrediting agency member lists to find universities that offer the manufacturing engineering doctorate.

WorldWideLearn.com showcases leading online and campus doctoral programs in engineering, all of which are accredited. Search Degrees by Subject to find an online or campus PhD program in manufacturing engineering or browse a list of university partners.

The Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) maintains a database of accredited engineering programs. Focus your search by discipline ("Manufacturing") and location, or browse a list of ABET member institutions.

U.S. News & World Report offers a general A-Z Directory of Engineering Schools as well as a list of selected graduate programs in industrial and manufacturing engineering.

2. Choose Program Format: Campus, Online, or Hybrid?

The PhD in Manufacturing Engineering is evolving to admit more options for program delivery. You'll find traditional campus programs, revolutionary online programs, and practical hybrid programs that combine the best of both formats.

Campus programs still dominate the PhD in Manufacturing Engineering. The brick-and-mortar format provides distinct advantages in access to research facilities and to faculty advisors. In addition, aspiring academics have the opportunity to teach undergraduate classes, collaborate closely with pioneers in their research field, and build strong relationships in the academic community--all critical elements in securing an academic career as a professor.

Online and hybrid programs serve the community of working engineers and independent researchers for whom full-time campus residency is not an option. These programs either incorporate temporary residencies to afford access to local resources, or rely on students to line up access to external research facilities. Mid-career engineers may complete their research independently using corporate R&D facilities.

The right program format for you depends on your learning style, personal circumstances, and career ambitions.

Resources

WorldWideLearn.com provides an overview of Online Degree Programs and Campus Education options. Find programs that meet your delivery format preferences. To find a campus program near you, search Degrees by Location.

3. Explore Academic Programs

The heart of your program research immerses you in the unique features of individual manufacturing engineering programs. Evaluate available resources and potential faculty mentors to identify the programs best suited to your research interests.

The following factors will give you a sense of a PhD program's focus areas and resources:

• Specializations
• Curriculum and course requirements
• Faculty research topics
• Research facilities
• Special programs: foundations, conferences, publications, research centers, etc.
• Relationships with industry leaders or government agencies

Resources

WorldWideLearn.com helps you get right down to the business of program research by putting you in direct contact with school representatives. Fill out an online form indicating your academic program criteria and the system automatically connects you with schools that match your requirements. A counselor will reach you by phone or email to answer your questions about the program. The system helps you save time and cover more ground in your research.

School Web sites help you collect information about a school's program resources and requirements. You'll find links to professor bios and recent research; sample graduate student dissertation titles; information about research facilities and special programs; course lists and PhD program requirements; and more.

Academic Journals give you an inside peek into your academic specialty, helping you identify the scholars and programs advancing new research. Use this information to target potential faculty mentors, or petition these experts for advice about leading academic programs. Major publications in manufacturing engineering include:

• • Journal of Manufacturing Science and Engineering
  • Manufacturing Engineer
  • Journal of Applied Mechanics (ASME)
  • Journal of Engineering Materials and Technology
  • Journal of Achievements in Materials and Manufacturing Engineering
  • Manufacturing Engineering Magazine
  • Journal of Manufacturing Processes
  • Journal of Manufacturing Systems

4. Evaluate Program Quality

Finally, narrow your list down to a manageable set of five to ten schools to which you'll submit applications. Take into account the following factors when comparing the quality and characteristics of PhD programs:

• Reputation
• Selectivity
• Graduation Rate
• Job Placement Statistics
• Career Support Resources
• Student Body Profile

The right program for you depends on your academic record as well as the school's quality. You can gauge your admissions prospects by checking each program's selectivity statistics. For best results, target one 'dream' program and one 'safety' school.

Resources

Rankings offer a useful means of comparing the the reputation and selectivity of different PhD programs in manufacturing engineering. The major ranking publications include:

• U.S. News & World Report, Best Engineering Graduate Schools
• The National Research Council, Assessment of Research Doctorate Programs
• The Center for Measuring University Performance, The Top American Research Universities, 2008 Annual Report

Admissions data sheets offer a reliable picture of how the manufacturing engineering PhD program measures up in terms of job placement, graduation rate, and selectivity. You'll also find information on graduate student demographics. This information may be available on the school Web site or through an admissions counselor.

Campus Visits give you the best sense of a PhD program's resources and the graduate student experience. Plan to tour campus facilities and meet with potential faculty mentors and graduate students while you're there.

Step Two: Apply to PhD Programs in Manufacturing Engineering

Once you've set your sights on a final list of schools, begin preparing your applications. Though requirements vary from school to school, the application process generally follows these steps:

1. Complete Prerequisites

PhD programs in manufacturing engineering generally require:

• A bachelor's or master's degree in engineering or a quantitative discipline. If your degree is in another field, plan to supplement your background with prerequisite courses in math, statistics, or basic engineering.
• Standardized tests. Plan to take the GRE and, if you're a non-native speaker of English, the TOEFL before applying to the PhD program.

WorldWideLearn.com's Education Resources Guide can help you meet the application requirements, with information about online prerequisite courses and test preparation.

2. Prepare Application Materials

Leave yourself ample time to assemble and submit the following application materials:

• Academic transcripts
• Faculty or professional letters of recommendation
• Test score reports
• Personal statement of research interests and career goals

You may submit your application online or by mail. In some cases, submitting the application ahead of the deadline will give you an advantage in gaining admission.

3. Secure Financial Aid

You'll find a range of options for funding your PhD in Manufacturing Engineering, from sources inside and outside the university. Some options to explore include:

• Private and university scholarships
• Teaching and research assistantships
• Research grants
• Corporate funding or sponsorships
• Federal or private loans

For more information on financial aid, visit the WorldWideLearn.com resource page on graduate education funding.

Step Three: Join the Academic Community

With the admissions committee considering your application, you're a step away from becoming a full-fledged member of the academic community. Begin building relationships now by taking the following steps:

1. Subscribe to Journals in Manufacturing Engineering

It's not too early to scope out a research topic and get to know the research authorities in your field. Journals in your manufacturing engineering specialty offer a valuable inside perspective on current research trends.

2. Attend Conferences

Another effective path into the academic community, conferences introduce you to cutting-edge research and help you make connections with your future peers and mentors.

3. Join Professional and Academic Associations

Manufacturing engineering associations feature a range of other resources and networking events to help you build professional relationships within the community. Some organizations to check out include:

• Society of Manufacturing Engineers
• National Society of Professional Engineers
• The Institute of Industrial Engineers
• American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME)

By immersing yourself in the world of manufacturing engineering academia now, you'll hit the ground running when you begin the PhD program.

The PhD program in manufacturing engineering offers a unique opportunity to work with experts in the field and peers who share your passion for manufacturing design and development. Take full advantage of the experience by focusing your goals and plotting your path to the degree before you begin. You'll emerge from your academic journey at the top of your game, ready to take on the challenges of 21st-century manufacturing design.

Sources

• Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET)
• American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE)
• American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME)
• Bureau of Labor Statistics, Engineers
• National Research Council, Assessment of Research Doctorate Programs
• North Dakota State University, Manufacturing Engineering Fact Sheet
• Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME)
• The Association of Technology, Management, and Applied Engineering (ATMAE)
• The Center for Measuring University Performance
• U.S. Department of Education, Database of Accredited Postsecondary Institutions and Programs
• U.S. News & World Report, Best Engineering Schools
• University of Michigan, Doctor of Engineering in Manufacturing (D. Eng. in Mfg.)
• Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D) in Manufacturing Engineering