Industrial Eng. in Purdue vs. UIUC vs. UNC-Chapel Hill OM

[Golden321]

Hello guys, 

From the following schools and programs, which one would you recommend me to attend?

1- Purdue, Industrial Eng PhD

2- UI- Urbana Champaign, Industrial Eng PhD

3- UNC-Chapel Hill, OM PhD

The funding and research areas are almost similar (applied operations research). 

Thank you , 

[Advanced Trash Materials]

Congrats!

What about professor of interest? This factor may help you with the subtle science of Offer-choosing.

[Golden321]

Thank you. 

Research topics are similar(applied OR). 

I prefer academia after my PhD. This might distinguishes one from others. 

[bandinterwebs]

So - I went to visit Purdue's IE program a few weeks ago and did not feel that it was a very strong program at this point in time. I think they are expanding rapidly in the human factors area, but as far as applied OR goes, it seemed, to me, that the options were very limited. I visited with a few different professors, neither of whom had funding.  Also, it's in Lafayette, Indiana

I got a very nice offer from UIUC but rejected it because I felt there were better programs for my interests elsewhere. I did not have the opportunity to visit, but I know many think highly of their program. I am not sure how strong they are in applied OR. They are, of course, lower-ranked than Purdue, but if their OR is overall stronger, then it would be worthwhile considering their program.

I am not familiar with UNC's OM program, but their business school is top notch, so I assume their OM program has brand name recognition. If it's OM, will it have a significant OR component?

Best of luck - these decisions are so hard.
 

[Golden321]

@bandinterwebs 

Thank you very much for sharing your information. 

I think Purdue's IE program is known mostly for its manufacturing/production field. Moreover, the funding is much less than others. In the best case, the funding can cover living expenses+tuition+health (with zero saving) 

On the other hand, UIUC is known mostly for its financial engineering program. As you said, UIUC is ranked 15 and Purdue is ranked 8 in overall IE program, however, in terms of OR, it is almost unknown. In terms of funding, UIUC offers almost $700/month  more than Purdue. I assume that both urbana and lafayette have similar living expenses. 

About chapel hill, yes you are right. Their OM program is ranked 14-18. I think being ranked 14 in business school is harder than being ranked 14 in IE program. 

Usually, OM programs are highly OR based and their faculties publish in MS, OR journals. 

[bandinterwebs]

I would disagree about Purdue's program being known for manufacturing/production. Of all the schools I've visited (5) they actually have the least manufacturing. In fact, the graduate coordinator told me that they have moved away from manufacturing, and if that's what I wanted to do, I should go elsewhere. (I am VERY interested in production and logistics systems.) Purdue is moving more into healthcare and ergo, I believe.

I think at face value, I would go to Chapel Hill, then, if I was looking for a strong OR program. But that's just my two cents  And obviously this is a personal decision.

[Golden321]

@bandinterwebs

Thank you again for sharing your comments and experience 

Purdue is mostly hiring from electrical eng. /CS graduates and I think they are focusing on OR / machine learning part now. They also have a couple of labs related to healthcare and ergo. which I think most of the involved faculties are not newly joined ones. Of course, these are my thoughts only based on what I have seen from their website. 

I am thinking to put Chapel hill as my first choice, and Purdue as my second choice. 

[bandinterwebs]

Best of luck!