Required Background

We expect all applicants to have an Industrial Engineering degree or roughly its equivalent. At a minimum, the applicant should have an appropriate math and core IE background similar to our undergraduates. Below are the descriptions for our undergraduate courses and links to more information on these areas. Note that you do not necessarily have to take these courses, but you should compare your background with the background of our undergraduate students.

Math Background

The following are the math courses that our undergraduate students take:

  • MATH 1610 CALCULUS I (4) Limits, the derivative of algebraic, trigonometric, exponential, logarithmic functions. Applications of the derivative, antiderivatives, the definite integral and applications to area problems, the fundamental theorem of calculus.

  • MATH 1620 CALCULUS II (4) Techniques of integration, applications of the integral, parametric equations, polar coordinates. Vectors, lines and planes in space. Infinite sequences and series.

  • MATH 2630, Calculus III (4) Multivariate calculus: vector-valued functions, partial derivatives, multiple integration, vector calculus.

  • MATH 2650 Differential Equations (3) First and second order linear differential equations including the solutions by infinite series, applications.

  • MATH 2660 Linear Algebra

ISE Background

We also expect competency in core IE undergraduate areas.

Here are the equivalent AU courses.

  • INSY 3600 ENGINEERING ECONOMY (3). Pr., ENGR 1110. Principles required in engineering economic studies.
  • INSY 3410 DETERMINISTIC OPERATIONS RESEARCH (3). Pr., ENGR 1110, MATH 2660. Formulation, solution, interpretation, and implementation of mathematical models in operations research including linear programming, integer programming and network flows.
  • INSY 3400 STOCHASTIC OPERATIONS RESEARCH (3). Pr., ENGR 1110, MATH 2660, STAT 3600. Modeling and analysis of decision making and operations subject to randomness including decision analysis, stochastic dynamic programming, Markov chains, and queuing theory.STAT 3600 PROBABILITY AND STATISTICS I (3). Pr., MATH 1620. Calculus-based introduction to probability and statistics with an emphasis on practical problem-solving.
  • STAT 3610 PROBABILITY AND STATISTICS II (3). Pr., STAT 3600 or departmental approval. Coreq., STAT 3610 or COD Continuation of STAT 3600.

  • STAT 3611 PROBABILITY & STATISTICS II LAB (1). Coreq., STAT 3610 or departmental approval. The application of statistical techniques from STAT 3610.

  • This link has more information on STAT 3600/3610/3611

Leveling

We expect all applicants to have an Industrial Engineering degree or roughly its equivalent. At a minimum, the applicant should have a math and core IE background similar to our undergraduates. Many of our graduate students do not have undergraduate degrees in Industrial Engineering and require some amount of leveling. The primary areas of leveling include:

  1. Operations Research
  2. Calculus-based Probability and Statistics
  3. Engineering Economics

Note that taking specific leveling courses is not a requirement. You will need the background material in order to successfully complete the core graduate courses, but there is no specific requirement to take the specific courses described here. If you have not had specific courses including the topics listed above, you should go through the web page carefully and make sure that you have the appropriate background.

On-campus students that require leveling generally take the undergraduate courses during their first few semesters on campus. Outreach students will need to take any required leveling courses from another university as our undergraduate courses are not offered via Outreach. Similar courses are often taught in many Math departments and some business schools. We do not maintain a list of available undergraduate/graduate leveling courses taught outside of Auburn, but this information should be available at local universities, community colleges and/or through a web search. While it is possible to complete the leveling material by studying on your own, this is quite difficult and we do not recommend this approach.

Undergraduate courses taken for leveling do not count as part of the graduate degree plan. Appropriate graduate level courses may be transferred and these will be handled on a case-by-case basis. In order to determine if a specific course is acceptable (for Auburn graduate credit), we will need a copy of the official course description and course syllabus.

Last Updated: Aug 22, 2014