• Welcome from the Department Head
• Our Students - textbooks for Spring Semester 2010
• Education - undergraduate (IT, ID, Double Major (IT/ID), ETTE, Biotechnology) graduate, professional education, continuing education, plans of study
• University of Industrial Distribution
• International Dual MS/MSc Degree - Focus on Technology, Innovation, and Sustainability
• Research - labs, past spotlights, Healthcare Quality, Biometrics, PACE Grant, Green Supply Chain Mgmt
• High School Students - A Career Choice worth exploring - salaries, more about the profession, working on the job, opportunities, I'm interested...now what?
• Transfer Students - information on transferring, articulation agreements, other information.
• Parents - Career outlook, salaries and benefits, companies who employ our graduates, courses, skills and talents needed.
• Purdue Students - about us, CODO, job interviews, salaries. Join us - schedule an meeting with Craig
• Strategic Plan
• Alumni
• Student Job Fair - Spring 2010
• Emergency Preparedness -
  What to do in an
  on-campus emergency

Industrial Technology Programs

Industrial Technology Industrial Distribution Industrial Technology / Distribution Double Major Engineering / Technology Education Technology MS Industrial Technology Weekend Masters Degree in Technology Dual MS/MSc (partnership with DIT in Dublin and UPC in Barcelona) Ph.D. Technology

The Department of Industrial Technology received ABET Accreditation (Accreditation Board for Engineering Technology) this Fall! Central to this success is the specification of what our graduates will be able to do 3 -4 years after graduation, education objectives, as well as program outcomes, which are capabilities at the time of graduation.  Click here for the Program Educational Outcomes for the IT, ID and Dual degree offerings. Click here for the Program Outcomes for the IT, ID and Dual degree offerings.

Department of Industrial Technology

The Industrial Technology Department offers degrees that are technology based and interdisciplinary.   "Industrial Technology" is a field of study designed to prepare technical and/or management oriented professionals for employment in business, industry, education, and government.  There are three routes through our degree program, and one interdisciplinary minor to choose from, depending on where you want to end up working. Three of our routes (Industrial Technology, Industrial Distribution, Industrial Technology/Distribution) require 124 credits and provide a balance of technical and operations or management courses. Graduates are suited for technical and managerial positions within a wide variety of business, industry, and government operations. We also offer a degree program that prepares graduates to teach technology to students in junior and senior high school settings.Our biotechnology minor is open to students in any major to develop a specialty in biotechnology and biotech-manufacturing.

For example, the IT degree will position you to work in technical and managerial positions within business, industry and government. Combine that with the interdisciplinary minor, and you end up with additional qualifications that will help you in the pharmaceutical manufacturing sector. If you are more interested in distribution and sales, then the ID program is ideal. Still not sure - you can combine both IT and ID together to do a dual-degree option. We'd be happy to talk through the many options with you; call us or visit, or complete the form below for more information.

The “Industrial Technology” (IT) major is primarily involved with the management, operation, and maintenance of complex technological systems. By pursuing a degree in the Industrial Technology program, you will position yourself to work in a broad range of technical and/or managerial positions in technical manufacturing or commercial environments. Industrial technology students are exposed to a wide variety of manufacturing and operations coursework, providing students with a unique blend of courses in industrial technology, manufacturing technology and quality and plant supervision.  This degree provides a high degree of flexibility for students desiring to add a specialization to their degree with elective coursework.

“Industrial Distribution” (ID) is a technology and business major that prepares students for a career that requires technology know-how, business savvy, data processing, great communication skills, and leadership. The day-to-day challenges faced in the distribution of technological products by the manufacturer, the industrial distributor, or the manufacturer’s representative requires a high degree of professionalism with business and technical talent. The ID curriculum provides students with a valuable blend of courses in industrial technology, distribution operations and management, and business management. Our program is designed to produce technical problem solvers with business and supply chain knowledge tailored specifically for the movement of industrial products. Our graduates work effectively in all aspects of distribution and in a wide variety of industries.

It is common for students to combine the Industrial Technology and Industrial Distribution majors to get a double major in IT/ID that is highly valued by employers.  The Industrial Distribution industry consists of manufacturers and distributor partners that produce and distribute industrial/technical products for sale to industrial, commercial and construction enterprises.  The majority of manufacturers market their products through wholesale distribution partners, and the knowledge of manufacturing and distribution concepts provides valuable expertise in this market.  Likewise, wholesale distributors of industrial products sell to industrial manufacturers, and the technical knowledge of how products are manufactured, in addition to the distribution concepts they need to manage operations, are highly prized by them as well.  Some of the highest salaries paid by our employers are for our double majors.

“Engineering / Technology Teacher Education,” (ETTE) perhaps easier understood as technology teacher education, allows a student to combine the desire to teach with an enthusiasm for engineering technology. Purdue University’s TE program prepares graduates to teach in middle school and high school technology education classrooms. There is currently a shortage of technology education teachers across the nation; Purdue’s program places 100% of its graduates. TE teachers instruct both middle-level and secondary courses in the areas of design technology, drafting (CAD), construction technology, electricity/electronics, manufacturing technology, power and energy, and transportation technology. Purdue’s Technology Education Program was rated Outstanding Program for 2006 by Association for Career and Technical Education.

"Biotechnology" refers to harnessing the properties of a living organism to develop and manufacture products that benefit human life. The combination of biological sciences with high technology applications is predicted to provide solutions to major national problems by creating new generations of industrial biotechnology with great potential for economic impact. There are current and projected shortages of graduates with the knowledge needed in the growing biotechnology industry; our minor in biotechnology will help meet these demands. The biotechnology minor is an interdisciplinary partnership between the schools of Agriculture, Pharmacy, Science and Technology, and the program is administered by the Industrial Technology Department. The biotechnology minor is open to all Purdue undergraduate students, regardless of their major.

The Department of Industrial Technology also offers a number of graduate degree options to cater for both the traditional student and the working professional. We have a dedicated site for these programs. If you are interested, please click here for more information.

Our department (across all three degree programs and minors) has an exceptional faculty. Each of our faculty is listed below - we encourage you to click on their respective webpages to find out more about them. Our faculty have been awarded honors across engagement, learning and discovery. As a student in the department, you will get to interact with professors on a daily basis, from the 100 level classes, through to upper level courses.

The IT and ID programs are supported by two major state-of-the-art labs. The Biometric Standards, Performance, and Assurance Lab (BSPA) is one of the leading biometric labs in the world, concentrating on testing and evaluating products as well as the development of standards. The lab has a number of undergraduate, graduate and post-doc students who contribute to the overall research agenda of applied industrial research. The lab has developed new areas of inquiry within the biometric fields and has state-of-the-art equipment ranging from iris, vein, hand, fingerprint, signature, keystroke and face recognition. Three separate courses are taught in the lab; two undergraduate classes in Automatic Identification and Data Capture expose students to bar codes, biometrics, and card technologies. The third course is open to undergraduate and graduate students and is specifically related to Biometric Technology and Applications. The lab enables undergraduate and graduate students to conduct research projects, several of which have been published in conference proceedings and journal articles.

The Supply Chain Management Technology Lab directly supports the ID program and is dedicated to teaching, evaluation, and research in multiple areas including warehousing, supply chain management, inventory management, financial planning for distribution, logistics, technical sales and sales management and safety. The unique niche for this laboratory is the focus on simulating an industrial warehouse environment with flexible demonstration modules and simulation capabilities for multiple activities within industrial supply chains.  This lab is supported by many industrial partners that have donated software and equipment for meeting and is in the process of acquiring new automated pick-to-light capabilities that represent some of the leading edge technologies available for improving productivity in a warehouse environment.

The Technology Education program is supported by the Tech Ed Lab. This new "hybrid" laboratory links the teaching profession with technical knowledge. The new lab was designed to imitate a contemporary middle school education setting consists of 12 self contained learning units covering the four content areas of technology education; communications, construction, manufacturing, and power, energy, and transportation technology.

Our students come from a wide range of backgrounds, and we have several delivery options as well. The majority of our students are resident undergraduates who joined either in their freshman year or changed degree into IT / ID or Tech Ed, during their career at Purdue. Alternatively, if coming to West Lafayette is not possible, then we have Statewide Technology campuses that offer the IT degree option, as well as courses that are taught in a “distance” mode via the web. For those that already have an undergraduate degree, we offer both traditional and distance (weekend option) masters degrees. The College of Technology also offers a Ph.D. program as well.

We're glad you’re interested in our programs - and look forward to talking to you about them. We have divided our website based on specific needs - if you are parent, we have a page that outlines the program, and provides you with placement and salary information, as well as answers to many frequently asked questions. If you are interested in going directly to the individual degree programs, please click on the appropriate degree program (Industrial Technology, Industrial Distribution, Technology Education, or Biotechnology) for more information. If you are a high school student, we have set up a page just for you with highlights of our program, faculty and class listings, and examples of the many activities that you might encounter during your time here. If you are planning on CODO'ing from another program (CODO is our slang for students changing their degree option), we have information for you here.

Not sure, or just want to chat with someone - please complete the form and someone will be in touch.

Industrial Technology News:

College launches 2009-14 Strategic Plan

November 2009 alumni newsletter is online

Columbus Student Veteran Organization receives grant

High-tech job fair aims to match Indiana companies, Purdue students

Purdue to host Deming Institute conference