SED degree requirements
Overview
- Complete 30 credit hours of U-M graduate courses.
- Of the 30 credit hours, at least 18 credit hours in 500-level and above courses.
- Of the 30 credit hours, at least 24 credit hours must be letter-graded.
- Overall GPA of 3.0 (B) or better.
- A student must complete all of the courses on the approved plan of study within five years from their start date.
- No more than 6 credit hours can be transferred from another institution.
Plan of study requirements
The SED program requires a specific distribution of credits across four categories which are detailed below.
Integrative science (9–12 credits)
- Required Courses (9 credits)
- ISD 520: Introduction to Systems Engineering
- ISD 521: Development and Verification of System Design Requirements
- ISD 522: Systems Engineering Architecture & Design
- Additional Integrative Science (3 credits, optional)
- Courses in areas like Model-Based Systems & Design, Integrative Thinking, Socio-Technology, Global Engineering Leadership, or Innovation & Entrepreneurship
Program core (6 credits)
- Choose courses in:
- Systems Analysis
- Requirements Management
- Test and Evaluation
Career pathways (9 credits)
- Options include:
- Design Engineering
- Risk and Decision Management
- Model-Based Systems Engineering
- Smart Civil Infrastructure
- Integrated Mobility Systems
- Engineering Project Management
Immersive practice (3–6 credits)
- ISD 503: Taken for at least one semester (can be taken over two semesters).
SED focus areas
Design engineering
Design Engineering focuses on using design principles and modeling to create products that work well and meet the needs of their users from start to finish. It’s a field where you’ll collaborate with engineers, marketers, and customer representatives, recognizing that design involves both technical and social aspects. You’ll learn to create new products, combine data analysis with creative problem-solving and use insights from customer feedback to improve product designs.
Key competencies: Human-centered design, human-centered data analysis and creative synthesis.
Sample courses:
DESCI 501 (MECHENG 455) Analytical Product Design
ISD 528 (MECHENG 452) Advanced Design for Manufacturability
AEROSP 588 Multidisciplinary Design Optimization
CEE 480 Design of Environmental Engineering Systems
IOE 548 Integrated Product Development
MFG 535 (IOE 533) Human Motor Behavior and Engineering Systems
MKT 630 Marketing Engineering
PSYCH 711 (SURVMETH 630, SOC 711) Advanced Questionnaire Design
SI 425 Introduction to User Modeling
SI 617 Choice Architectures
SI 622 Needs Assessment and Usability Evaluation
Engineering project management
Engineering project management involves leading and organizing an engineering team’s work to meet project goals within a set time and resource limits, all while dealing with the challenges of new technology. In this field, you’ll learn how to update and use information about the feasibility of designs and customer needs, and how to adjust budgets, timelines, and targets to keep projects on track and successful.
Key competencies: Feasibility assessment, value assessment and project management.
Sample courses:
IOE 460 Decision Analysis and Bounded Rationality
IOE 548 Integrated Product Development
MKT 625 New Product and Innovation Management
MO 617 Developing and Managing High-Performing Teams
TO 616 Project Management
Global engineering leadership
Engineering leaders are in demand to think strategically and make an impact worldwide. This requires a strong mix of engineering and business skills, experience in different environments, and the ability to lead diverse teams. In this field, you’ll enhance your ability to develop engineering and business solutions, build skills to lead across cultures and learn how to work and make decisions in a global community. You’ll also gain the tools to lead with purpose and strategy, creating sustainable products, services and processes that benefit people around the world.
Key competencies: Scoping and addressing global engineering challenges, managing international regulations and quality standards, global supply chain and risk management, cross-cultural decision-making and leadership, multicultural team management and international cultural competency.
Sample courses:
MFG 587 (MECHENG 587) Global Manufacturing
BIOMEDE 588 (CHE 588) Global Quality Systems and Regulatory Innovation
EAS 513 (STRATEGY 565) Strategies for Sustainable Development II: Market Transformation EAS 550 (STRATEGY 566) Systems Thinking for Sustainable Development and Enterprise ECON 435 Financial Economics
FIN 480 Options & Futures in Corporate Decision Making
FIN 551 Financial Management Policy
FIN 615 Valuation
FIN 647 Corporate Financial Strategy
IOE 430 Global Cultural Systems Engineering
MECHENG 589 (ISD 599) Sustainable Design of Technology Systems
MFG 440 (IOE 440) Operations Analysis and Management
MFG 455 (IOE 452) Corporate Finance
MFG 501 (TO 701) Topics in Global Operations
MFG 605 (TO 605) Manufacturing and Supply Operations
MO 600 The Science of Success: Who Succeeds, Who Doesn’t, and Why
MO 617 Developing and Managing High-Performance Teams
NERS 531 (ENSCEN 531, EARTH 529) Nuclear Waste Management
Innovation and entrepreneurship
Innovation and entrepreneurship are at the heart of today’s engineering world. Whether you’re thinking big—like global companies—or small—like local startups—there’s a growing demand for sustainable products, services and technologies. In this field, you’ll learn to combine your engineering and design skills with business and innovation to solve complex problems. You’ll get the tools to become a true industry innovator, creating solutions that drive market success and help build a greener future.
Key competencies: Knowledge of market forces, financial insight, strategic thinking, negotiation, persuasion, ability to influence, creativity, business planning and integration.
Sample courses:
ARTDES 651 Design Studio 1B Integration
ARTSADMN 510 Arts Entrepreneurship Forum
ARTSADMN 550 Arts Entrepreneurship Essentials
BIOMEDE 588 (CHE 588) Global Quality Systems and Regulatory Innovation
EAS 565 Principles for Transition
EAS 576 (CEE 588, CHE 590) Sustainability Finance: Investment Model for Green Growth ENGR 520 Entrepreneurial Business Fundamentals for Scientists and Engineers
ENTR 500 An Introduction to Innovation: Tools for Career Success
ENTR 530 Innovation and Intellectual Property Strategy
ENTR 599 Innovation for Impact: Defense and Security
ENTR 599 Reimagining Companies through Innovation
ES 414 Professional Capstone: Entrepreneurship Practicum
ES 515 Introduction to Entrepreneurship
ES 516 Entrepreneurship via Acquisitions
ES 715 Driving Innovation Processes/Innovative New Business Design
FIN 629 (ES 629) Financing Technology Commercialization – A Venture Capital Hands-on Challenge IOE 506 (MATH 506) Stochastic Analysis of Finance
MKT 625 New Product and Innovation Management
PIBS 550 Biomedical Innovation and Entrepreneurship
SI 663 Innovation Leadership Information
SW 799 Social Entrepreneurship
TO 638 (FIN 638) FinTech: Blockchain, Cryptocurrencies, and Other Technology Innovations
Integrated mobility systems
Cargo and people get around using a mix of transportation systems including trucks, cars, trains, planes, ships, subways and more. Systems engineers play a key role in making these different transportation methods work together smoothly to solve mobility challenges. In this field, you can pursue careers in areas like mobility planning (for mass transit or personal travel), technical planning and project leadership, logistics engineering, or working with data systems for transportation solutions with suppliers, companies, or startups.
Key competencies: Multi-attribute optimization applied to social, governmental, technological and competitive dimensions, data analytics, transportation engineering reliability and safety analysis, logistics and human motor behavior.
Sample courses:
DESCI 501 (MECHENG 455) Analytical Product Design
DESCI 502 Design Process Models
ISD 520 Introduction to Systems Engineering
ISD 521 Development and Verification of System Design Requirements
ISD 522 Systems Engineering Architecture and Design
ISD 523 (IOE 561) Risk Analysis 1
ISD 527 (MFG 527) Designing in Quality: A Design for Six Sigma
CEE 450 Introduction to Transportation Engineering
CEE 552 Travel Analysis & Forecast
EECS 505 Computational Data Science and Machine Learning
MFG 535 (IOE 533) Human Motor Behavior and Engineering Systems
TO 621 Logistics
Integrative thinking
Integrative thinking means looking at problems from different angles, considering all viewpoints and finding creative solutions through a transformative approach. It involves shifting focus from individual systems to how they connect with each other and change over time, considering how different factors influence one another. In this field, you’ll learn to take a big-picture view of problems, explore different perspectives and combine them into effective solutions for the greater good.
Key competencies: Broad technical, business, management, and education experience. Ability to construct and correlate models that are abstractions of interactions and to evaluate data against the model.
Sample courses:
DESCI 501 (MECHENG 455) Analytical Product Design
*DESCI 502 Design Process Models
ISD 520 Introduction to Systems Engineering
ISD 521 Development and Verification of System Design Requirements
ISD 522 Systems Engineering Architecture and Design
ISD 527 (MFG 527) Designing in Quality: A Design for Six Sigma
EAS 550 (STRATEGY 566) Systems Thinking for Sustainable Development and Enterprise EDUC 591 How People Learn
EDUC 792 Methods in Educational Research Qualitative
Model-based systems engineering
Model-based systems engineering is a formalized methodology used to support the requirements, design, analysis, verification, and validation associated with the development of complex systems. In this field, you will learn the management of real-time information on design and verification requirements to support the project team, and software skills in database management, programming and communication.
Key competencies: Database management, Programming, Communication
Sample courses:
EECS 484 Database Management Systems
SI 506 Programming I
SI 507 Intermediate Programming
SI 520 Graphic Design and Visual Communications
SI 561 (EECS 595, LING 541) Natural Language Processing
SI 608 Networks
Requirements management
Requirements management is about making sure your organization meets the needs of customers and stakeholders. These needs, called requirements, guide what your product should deliver. In this field, you’ll learn how to manage project data, keep information flowing smoothly across teams, spot and fix inconsistencies between teams’ decisions and understand key tools like data structures, programming, systems engineering and communication.
Key competencies: Data structures, programming, model-based systems engineering, configuration control and communication.
Sample courses:
ENTR 560 Project Management and Consulting
IOE 460 Decision Analysis and Bounded Rationality
SI 506 Programming I
SI 507 Intermediate Programming
SI 618 Data Manipulation and Analysis
TO 616 Project Management
TO 640 (MKT 640) Global Supply Chain Management
Risk and decision management
Wasted effort can come from things like unnecessary meetings, over-complicating designs, unclear requirements or poor work. Even good changes can cause extra work if they lead to unexpected problems. In this field, you’ll learn how to be a lean, agile and efficient engineer, using smart techniques to design products that meet both requirements and customer expectations without wasting time or resources.
Key competencies: Decision trees, value of information analysis, multi-attribute utility and discounting utility over time.
Sample courses:
IOE 460 Decision Analysis and Bounded Rationality
IOE 465 Design of Experiments
IOE 525 Lean Principles and Scientific Thinking in Organizations
IOE 551 Benchmarking, Productivity Analysis, & Performance Measurement
MFG 466 (IOE 466) Statistical Quality Control
Smart civil infrastructure
Civil infrastructure and environmental systems are becoming smarter by adding technologies like decision-making systems, AI, sensors and feedback control. These technologies help infrastructures adapt to changing conditions, making them more reliable and resilient. They also allow real-time adjustments to improve efficiency and sustainability. In this field, you’ll dive into systems engineering concepts like control theory, optimization and sensing, with a focus on applications in civil and environmental engineering.
Key competencies: System and control theory, sensing technologies, signal processing and data analytics, optimization and risk-based decision theory.
Sample courses:
ISD 523 (IOE 561) Risk Analysis 1
CEE 553 Infrastructure Optimization
CEE 554 Data Mining in Transportation
CEE 572 Dynamic Infrastructure Systems
CEE 575 Sensing for Civil Infrastructure Systems
Socio-technology
Engineers today need to design with an understanding of social, political, economic, and cultural factors. In this field, you’ll learn to create solutions that balance both social and technical aspects, exploring how technology impacts society. You’ll tackle challenges in areas like energy, environment, food, housing, water, transportation, safety, and health, while also studying how engineering decisions affect communities and the world.
Key competencies: Socially engaged decision-making, operational understanding of the impact of technology on society, the world and the environment.
Sample courses:
ESENG 567 (CEE 567) Energy Infrastructure Systems
BE 527 (EAS 527, NRE527) Energy Markets and Energy Politics
CEE 586 (EAS 557) Industrial Ecology
EAS 513 (STRATEGY 565) Strategies for Sustainable Development II: Market Transformation EAS 550 (STRATEGY 566) Systems Thinking for Sustainable Development and Enterprise EAS 575 Climate Economics and Policy
EAS 605 (BA 605) Green Development
EHS 588 Environmental Law
PUBPOL 563 (EAS 686, HMP 686) Politics of Environmental Regulation
Systems analysis
Systems analysis is about studying a process or business to understand its goals and creating systems to achieve them efficiently. The benefits include lower costs, better efficiency and improved management and quality. In this field, you’ll learn to use optimization software, define problems creatively and tackle challenges in minimizing computational issues, focusing on both convex and global optimization.
Key competencies: Problem definition, linear and goal programming, convex optimization and gobal optimization.
Sample courses:
ISD 555 (MFG 555, MECHENG 555) Design Optimization
AEROSP 483 Space System Design
CEE 572 Dynamic Infrastructure Systems
EECS 460 Control Systems Analysis and Design
EECS 461 Embedded Control Systems
MECHENG 561 (EECS 561) Design of Digital Control Systems
NERS 561 Nuclear Core Design
Test and evaluation
Test and Evaluation ensures that systems meet their goals and progress from models to components to fully functional systems. In this field, you’ll learn how to design cost-effective experiments to verify and validate designs, study statistical analysis and evaluate the value of information to reduce risk and ensure quality at every stage.
Key competencies: Modern null hypothesis testing, quantitative analysis and statistics and value of information analysis
Sample courses:
ISD 523 (IOE 561) Risk Analysis 1
ISD 527 (MFG 527) Designing in Quality: A Design for Six Sigma
MFG 461 (IOE 461) Quality Engineering Principles and Analysis
PSYCH 613 (PSYCH 988–002, SOC 988–002) Advanced Statistical Methods I
SI 544 Introduction to Statistics and Data Analysis
SI 618 Data Manipulation and Analysis
SIADS 631 Experimental Design and Analysis