Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering Blended Programs

The IME Department offers the Blended Degree Programs (also known as BS+MS and BMS) leading to the Master of Science in Industrial Engineering (MS IE) or Master of Science in Engineering Management (MS EMGT). The blended programs are open to continuing Cal Poly students only. 

The objective of a blended degree program is to provide an accelerated route for excellent undergraduate engineering students at Cal Poly to obtain both bachelor’s and master’s (BS and MS) degrees continuously. The minimum unit requirement for a blended program depends on the undergraduate degree unit requirement, but the minimum is 225 total units (BS 180 + MS 45). 

Be sure to confirm the program you are applying to is an approved pairing.

For the Blended MS in Engineering Management, acceptable undergraduate degrees are:

  1. BS Industrial Engineering, IE
  2. BS Manufacturing Engineering, MfgE
  3. BS Mechanical Engineering, ME
  4. BS Materials Engineering, MATE
  5. BS Biomedical Engineering, BMED
  6. BS Aerospace Engineering, AERO
  7. BS Environmental Engineering, ENVE
  8. BS Software Engineering, SE

For the Blended MS in Industrial Engineering, acceptable undergraduate degrees are:

  1. BS Industrial Engineering, IE
  2. BS Mechanical Engineering, ME
  3. BS Materials Engineering, MATE

The blended programs allow the double counting of up to 9 undergraduate course units toward the master’s degree requirements. Only specific 400 & 500 level course units may be double counted. Double counted units must be approved by the Graduate Programs Coordinator.

Students cannot double count senior project units, as well as units of courses that do not have rigorous assessment methods.

Eligibility

The Cal Poly IME graduate programs are highly selective due to limited capacity and high demand.We perform holistic evaluations of applicants by considering the combination of academic records, personal accomplishments, personal statements, GRE test scores (if submitted), and letters of recommendation (if submitted). In certain cases, the lack of qualification(s) for the standard requirements below may be exempted if our holistic evaluation provides a more pertinent result. 

  1. Students must have a minimum Cal Poly grade point average (GPA) of 3.0/4.0, but this GPA alone does not guarantee admission to the programs.
  2. Students should apply with less than three (3) quarters to graduate with a bachelors’ degree. If students reach 100% progress toward their undergraduate degree requirement, they are no longer eligible for the blended programs.  Note that transition to graduate standing (status) will not occur until students complete 91% of their undergraduate curriculum requirement.
  3. All lower-division work shall be completed prior to transitioning to graduate standing. Proof that all lower division GE requirements are fulfilled are found in the Student Degree Progress Report (DPR).
  4. The Graduation Writing Requirement (GWR) must be satisfied before transitioning to graduate standing.

Application Deadlines and Procedure

Students should apply two quarters prior to the quarter they plan to transition to graduate standing. For example, if you wish to start your graduate program in fall quarter then your application deadline is Monday of week 10 this winter quarter. 

Students who meet the eligibility requirements above should submit the following application documents. 

All E-Forms are available on the Graduate Forms page on the Cal Poly Graduate Education website.

An electronic copy of these documents should be sent in a single email to Xuan Wang, Graduate Coordinator, xwang12@calpoly.edu and CC Stephanie Allen, sallen@calpoly.edu, in the IME department office.  The email title should include your last and first name as well as the words Application to BMS Graduate Program.

Use your CPSLO GPA where needed on the application forms.

  1. IME BMS Program Application E-Form (IME Department)
  2. Blended Programs Application Approval E-Form (University)
  3. Post Baccalaureate Change of Objective E-Form (University)
  4. One page resume: list in reverse chronological order education, employment, publications (if any), extracurricular activities, and organization/society memberships.
  5. A Cover Letter including a Statement of Purpose and a summary of your career objectives and work experience with reference to the chosen field of graduate study. Include the names and contact information of three references.
  6. Provide proof of completion of all lower-division GEs by attaching a screenshot from your DPR to your application packet.
  7. Blended applicants are encouraged to submit GRE scores to strengthen their application and increase the likelihood of admission to the program.

A faculty panel will make admission decisions based on evaluation of the candidate’s academic and professional record and an optional interview.

Note, once a student transitions to graduate standing the undergraduate Degree Progress Report (DPR) is no longer available to the student for review.  Therefore, we encourage you to download your DPR prior to status change.