Contact: Harriet Laird

STARKVILLE, Miss.—Today’s prospective college and university students are looking for educational options that allow them to “learn by doing.” Now, they can realize this goal with Mississippi State’s newly introduced Engineering Leadership Excellence program.

This “hands-on” degree is ideal for students to delve into experiential learning, combining technical and industrial engineering skills with business expertise while earning two MSU degrees to put them ahead in today’s competitive job market.

MSU’s new ELE program graduates students with dual, collaborative degrees—the Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering and the Bachelor of Business Administration—with only one additional semester of coursework.

MSU’s industrial and systems engineering department in the Bagley College of Engineering and the College of Business are collaborating on the new degree option that ISE Department Head Kari Babski-Reeves said gives students a “big picture” of what makes organizations work best.

“These students learn and research how to design and improve systems of all types—people, materials, information, equipment and more—and they gain a general knowledge of business such as planning, organizing, staffing, directing, controlling and budgeting,” said Babski-Reeves, also a Bagley College associate dean. “The job prospects are endless with this degree in manufacturing, transportation and distribution, healthcare, public agencies and organizations, and the list goes on.”

The ELE program curriculum includes such engineering courses as LEAN work systems, mechanics, statistics, industrial ergonomics and systems simulation, while business classes encompass financial accounting, international logistics, international supply chain management and the legal environment of business.

Students complete 143 hours over nine semesters to earn the dual degrees. To graduate, those enrolled must have a “C” grade or better in each required industrial engineering course and elective. All MSU admissions requirements must be met, and current MSU students are eligible to move into this new degree program.

The ELE program contact is ISE Undergraduate Coordinator Brian Smith, also an ISE associate professor and Certified Professional Engineering Manager. His email is smith@ise.msstate.edu and phone number is 662-325-7950.

More information on the Bagley College’s ISE department is available at www.ise.msstate.edu and the College of Business is at www.business.msstate.edu/.

MSU is Mississippi’s leading university, available online at www.msstate.edu.