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Purdue University

College of Technology

Industrial Technology

Academics
Introduction to the Industrial Technology Degree

The Industrial Technology (IT) degree will provide you with a well rounded plan of study that prepares you for a broad range of technical and managerial positions within business, industry, and government. IT students can take advantage of a wide range of manufacturing and management coursework and combine them with specialist electives.

By joining the IT family, you will find student-oriented faculty who are experts in their field. They combine both a wide range of work experience and academic achievement that enables them to provide an exceptional classroom environment. Many of our faculty have extensive teaching honors, voted on by students, as well as their faculty colleagues. IT faculty come from a variety of different educational backgrounds and possess industry experience in many areas of manufacturing, quality assurance, Six Sigma methodology, industrial ergonomics, safety, and biometrics technology. Our faculty are student oriented, experts in their fields, and continuously pursuing scholarship and professional development opportunities. 

Our staff are also here to enable you to succeed - Craig Mallett is our academic counselor, and will provide you with the guidance and advice to complete your degree. Betty Cottrell, who works in our main office is the central focus for placement, co-op and internship program.

The job outlook is very promising for graduates of the IT degree.

  • Many entry-level positions for industrial technologists will occur as automation and modernization continue to be applied in business and industry
  • An increased demand for interdisciplinary technologists in manufacturing support is expected
  • The average annual starting salary for graduates with a bachelor’s degree is $42,500
  • Excellent, varied job opportunities for graduates with high placement rates; 97% job placement rate within six months of graduation
  • Graduates can expect excellent and varied job opportunities

Graduates are best suited for technical and/or managerial positions in business, industry, and government. Course work includes production planning, industrial ergonomics and safety, quality control and productivity, manufacturing facilities planning and material handling, automated manufacturing systems, automatic identification and data capture, and computer simulation. The Industrial Technology program is accredited by the National Association of Industrial Technology (NAIT).

For more information, please complete the information at the bottom of this page.

Industrial Technology Degree Plan of Study

In order to complete the IT degree, you need to have 121 credit hours. The distribution of course requirements in specific areas is shown below:

Distribution of course requirements in specific areas

English, Communication and Humanities 17%
Mathematics and Physical Sciences 15%
Management and Productivity 17%
Technical Courses   31%
Electives (Technical and other) 20%

Typically, the plan of study is as follows:

Semester 1
IT 104 Industrial Organization 3
CPT 136 Intro to Computer Technology 3
ENGL 106 English Composition 4
MA 159 Precalculus (or MA 153/154 6cr) 5
Credit Hours 15
Semester 2
IT 214 Intro to Lean Manufacturing 3
CGT 110 Technical Graphics Communication 3
PSY 120 Elementary Psychology 3
COM 114 Fundamentals of Speech Comm 3
Math / Computing Selective 3
Credit Hours 15
Semester 3
IT 351 Advanved Industrial Safety and Health Management 3
CPT 175 Visual Programming 3
MET 141 Materials I 3
AT 263 Fluid Power Systems 3
Science Selective 3
Credit Hours 15
Semester 4
IT 230 Industrial Supply Chain Management 3
MET 242 Manufacturing and Process I 3
ECON 210 Principles of Economics 3
PHYS 218  General Physics I 4
Free Elective 3
Credit Hours 16
Semester 5
IT 342 Introduction to Statistical Quality 3
MFET 300 Application of Automation in Manufacturing 3
ECET 214 Electricity Fundamentals 3
Technical Elective 3
Com Elective (300 or above) 3
Credit Hours 15
Semester 6
IT 345 Automatic Identification and Data Capture 3
IT 385 Industrial Ergonomics 3
MET 241 Polymer Materials and Process 3
Science Selective 3
Com Elective (300 or above) 3
Credit Hours 15
Semester 7
IT 442 Production Planning 3
IT 450 Production Cost Analysis 3
IT 381 Total Productive Maintenance 3
COM 315 Speech Communication of Technical Information or
ENGL 420 Business Writing
3
Free Elective 3
Credit Hours 15
Semester 8
IT 483 Facility Design for Lean Manufactuing 3
Technical Elective 3
Free Elective 3
Free Elective 3
Free Elective 3
Credit Hours 15

 

Companies who employ our graduates

Top 20 companies are identified with bold letters – for more information, please click on the career opportunities pages.

 

 

Statewide Locations

Purdue’s College of Technology resides in 10 Indiana communities in additional to the West Lafayette campus. All of the programs are offered at the West Lafayette campus, while programs available at other locations are dependent on area workforce needs. The IT department is currently available at eight College of Technology locations:

  • Anderson
  • Columbus
  • Greensburg
  • Kokomo
  • Lafayette
  • New Albany
  • Richmond
  • South Bend
 

 

contact

Dr. Donald D. Buskirk

International Program Officer & Associate Professor

Department of Industrial Technology           
Knoy Hall of Technology
401 N. Grant Street
West Lafayette,IN 47907-2021
Phone:765.496.2297 Fax:765.496.2700 
Email:  dbuskirk@purdue.edu

Please complete the online form for more information

 

advisor

J. Craig Mallett
Head Academic Counselor
Department of Industrial Technology
cmallett@purdue.edu
(765) 494-4002

placement coordinator

Betty Cottrell
Placement Coordinator
Department of Industrial Technology bjCoTtrell@purdue.edu (765) 494-1088