PhD Programs

Push boundaries. Create knowledge. Lead the future of industrial and manufacturing engineering.

At the UWM College of Engineering & Applied Science, the PhD in Industrial & Manufacturing Engineering is built for scholars who want to drive discovery, influence industry, and solve complex, system-level challenges.

Your PhD is more than a dissertation—it’s a platform for meaningful innovation. Work alongside faculty on cutting-edge research in:

  • Advanced optimization and decision science
  • Smart, sustainable manufacturing and Industry 4.0
  • Supply chain resilience and global logistics
  • Energy, water, and interconnected resource systems
  • Data-driven modeling, simulation, and predictive analytics

If you’re ready to ask bigger questions and create lasting solutions, UWM is where your work begins.

two students in foundry, looking at computers
Engineering PhD: Industrial Engineering
DoctoralOn Campus
Steps to PhD Admission

Learn more here: https://graduateschool-apply.uwm.edu/

Requirements
Funding Support

Many students earn Teaching Assistantships (TAs), Research Assistantships (RAs) or Fellowships during their graduate study in civil engineering which helps to fund their education while also building leadership skills. 

Assistantship decisions are made by the academic departments only after an applicant has been accepted to the program.

Industrial & Manufacturing Research Labs
  • The Advanced Manufacturing & Design Lab conducts research leading to better design of complex multi-physics systems ranging from CT scanners to EV batteries.
  • The Connected Systems Institute (CSI) accelerates innovation by bringing together industry and academic researcher to facilitate digital transformation for small and medium-sized manufacturers, ultimately developing an educational curriculum to better prepare the workforce of the future.
  • The Industrial Training and Assessment Center (ITAC) is a U.S. Department of Energy supported program dedicated to helping small and medium-sized manufacturers and wastewater treatment plants minimize their energy costs through efficient use of resources

As an R1 research institution, research is integral to our work and to the experience of students pursuing graduate degrees. Our college has a wide range of faculty-led labs that perform cutting-edge research. View a list of all of our college’s research labs, centers, and institutes.

Student Organizations

Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers (IISE)

IISE is an international, nonprofit association that provides leadership for the application, education, training, research, and development of industrial and systems engineering.

For full descriptions and contact information of all engineering and Industrial Engineering related student organizations and clubs, click here.

a female faculty member and a female doctoral candidate in industrial engineering are looking at the camera
Industrial Engineering Doctoral student Fahimeh Mohebbi (left) and Professor Rina Ghose, industrial & manufacturing engineering, will conduct a study to uncover information about the AI workforce across the state.
Contact
Contact Info: ceas-ime@uwm.edu

Street Address
College of Engineering & Applied Science
3200 North Cramer Street
Milwaukee, WI 53211

Mailing Address
College of Engineering & Applied Science
P.O. Box 784
Milwaukee, WI 53201-0784