Southeast launched the industrial and systems engineering program in fall 2017 after receiving input from alumni of Southeast’s Department of Engineering and Technology that many were entering into this growing role.

“Industrial engineers optimize design processes and use resources efficiently,” said Brad Deken, chair of Southeast’s Department of Engineering and Technology. In our region, there are positions at Boeing, Rubbermaid, Honda, and Procter and Gamble, but people may be surprised to learn companies like Disney World hire a lot of industrial Engineers.” 

Deken says the program couldn’t request accreditation evaluation until the first students made it through the four-year curriculum.

“Accreditation is certainly a point of pride and provides evidence that we have a quality program,” said Deken. “What I appreciate most about accreditation is the industry advisory board. The industry advisory board consists of representatives from industry and other employers from across the region. They help us constantly improve our program so that students are ready not only for that job right after college but prepared for what’s to come in their future careers.” 

Learn About the Program

Deken says beyond the overall quality of the program, he feels it was uniquely developed to help students succeed. 

“Compared to other industrial engineering programs, I think we have more hands-on activities. We think it’s important that you work with real, industrial  equipment as much as possible before you graduate,” he said. “I think another key difference is that as a regional university, we work closely with the industries in our area to create a program suited for our region. Also, as a medium-size institution, students are going to really get to know your instructors here. In many engineering schools, the focus is on their research and graduate programs. Here, we focus on undergraduate education.”

Students interested in learning more about the program should visit semo.edu/engineering.