The objectives of the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering are founded in Mississippi State University’s Educational Philosophy and in the industrial engineering profession. They were developed to satisfy the needs of the department’s constituents: students, employers, alumni, faculty, and the industrial engineering profession.

The Industrial Engineering program aims to graduate students having a broad education, with emphasis in industrial and systems engineering fundamentals and practices, which enables them to function effectively in systems involving people, materials, information, energy, and money.

The six educational objectives of the Bachelor of Science degree program in Industrial Engineering are stated below:

1. The Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering expects its graduates to pursue lifelong learning.
2. The Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering expects its graduates to be well versed in industrial engineering theory, know how to apply that theory, and to be capable of functioning effectively in a broad range of organizations.
3. The Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering expects its graduates to master important professional skills, including communication, economics, physical and social science, mathematics and statistics.
4. The Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering expects its graduates to interact cooperatively in professional situations with individuals having different cultures, training, education, and interest.
5. The Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering expects its graduates to think independently, to critically examine ideas, and to make discerning professional judgments, whether intellectual, ethical, or aesthetic.
6. The Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering expects its graduates to be professionally mature, responsible, and informed citizens.

Because of the importance of systems design in the many facets of industrial and systems engineering, instruction of the principles and methods of design is integrated throughout the curriculum of industrial engineering, and culminates in a major design experience in the student’s senior year.