The University of Wisconsin-Stout is the only campus in the University of Wisconsin system that offers an undergraduate degree in manufacturing engineering, according to the university. The program trains its students in laboratories that provide an understanding of manufacturing technologies. Another facility the university offers is Stout Technology Transfer Institute, a center that assists manufacturing companies. The program aims to produce engineers who, among other things, can apply their knowledge of engineering, math and science in the manufacturing sector.
Texas State University-San Marcos offers a bachelor's degree in manufacturing engineering with concentration options in general manufacturing or in semiconductor manufacturing. The program aims to equip students with all the input they will need to become manufacturing engineers, including math, science, management, engineering and applications. Graduates learn various skills that will equip them to fulfill their professional work in areas such as tool design, factory layout and process planning.
The master's degree in manufacturing systems engineering from the University of Kentucky, located in Lexington, is geared to the needs of working engineers. Students could opt for either a thesis option, which requires them to work on a thesis, or a project option, which requires them to undertake a project. The program provides advanced manufacturing courses, such as modeling of manufacturing processes and machines, and systems for factory information and control. Students could also specialize in areas such as lean manufacturing.
Despite concern about the offshoring of manufacturing processes to low-cost international locations, demand is still good for manufacturing engineers in U.S. manufacturing centers, according to the University of Wisconsin-Stout. Holders of manufacturing engineering degrees typically work in the manufacturing sector, for the government or in research, or they go into business as entrepreneurs. More than 92 percent of graduates from the University of Wisconsin program have been employed in recent years, according to the university. For 2008-09, graduates of the program were paid an average starting salary of $50,000.