The Course of Study

Penn State's MMM degree program is an integrated two-semester academic program resulting in a Master of Manufacturing Management (MMM). The degree is jointly conferred by the College of Engineering and Smeal College of Business, both national leaders in education and research. Faculty members from both colleges serve as instructors, sometimes both being present in the classroom to provide continuous integration of course materials. Enrollment is limited to forty-five students, combining individuals with backgrounds in business, engineering, and science. Students will have bachelor degrees in those areas, and may or may not have related professional level work experience. Applicants are admitted only in the fall semester.

Curriculum

Upon entering the academic year in the fall, students with an engineering or science background are required to take an introductory core course in business principles, and students with a business background correspondingly are required to take an introductory core course in engineering principles. The introductory business and engineering courses, together with the ten remaining core courses are completed over a normal two-semester period. All core courses have been specifically designed for this program and integrate engineering and business concepts. Credits from other graduate programs are not transferable.

All students take the ten core courses together for a total of 32 credits. Students are organized into interdisciplinary teams for project exercises and are required to apply teamwork in many of the courses. The diversity of the students, specifically selected from differing backgrounds, facilitates the development and refinement of team-building skills and enriches learning.