Strengthen your degree. Expand your impact. Build systems that matter.
Industrial engineering minors at the University of Iowa allow students to add practical engineering and analytics skills to a wide range of majors. These minors focus on improving systems, processes, and performance by integrating people, data, and technology.
Two minors, one goal: better systems
Industrial and systems engineering minor: Learn to improve processes, optimize operations, and make data-driven decisions in industries such as health care, manufacturing, and business.
Human systems engineering minor: Design systems around people. Study human behavior, usability, and ergonomics to improve how people interact with technology and environments.
Go further, faster with an accelerated master’s pathway
Qualified students can earn progress toward a master’s degree in industrial and systems engineering while completing their minor.
Find the pathway that fits your major
Our minors are designed to complement a wide range of majors so you can apply systems thinking, analytics, and design within your field.
Engineering majors
Move beyond designing components to improving entire systems. Add optimization, quality, and analytics skills that prepare you for system-level leadership roles.
Business and analytics majors
Pair your business or analytics degree with engineering systems expertise. Learn operations, quality control, and data-driven optimization used in today's workplaces.
Psychology and cognitive science majors
Turn your understanding of human behavior into real-word system design impact. Study human factors, ergonomics, and usability to shape how people interact with technology.
Math, statistics, physics, and related majors
Strengthen your quantitative degree with applied systems modeling and optimization skills. Add real-world engineering context to your analytical skills.
Explore pathways by major
Engineering majors
Strengthen your technical degree with systems leadership
You already design components, devices, structures, and code. The Industrial and Systems Engineering minor helps you understand how those pieces function within larger systems.
You’ll learn how to:
- Optimize operations and workflows
- Improve quality and reliability
- Model uncertainty and system performance
- Integrate human factors into engineering design
- Make data-driven decisions at scale
This minor prepares you for:
- Operations and manufacturing roles
- Systems engineering positions
- Process improvement and quality engineering
- Leadership-track technical roles
Why it matters
Many engineers design. Fewer engineers understand how to improve entire systems. That distinction often separates contributors from project leads.
Go further, faster
This minor aligns with Iowa’s undergraduate-to graduate program in Industrial and Systems Engineering, allowing qualified students to earn a master’s degree in one additional year.
Business and analytics majors
Add engineering systems depth to your business degree
Business and analytics students are trained to interpret data and make decisions. The Industrial and Systems Engineering minor teaches you how to design and optimize the systems behind those decisions.
You’ll develop skills in:
- Operations research and optimization
- Quality control and process improvement
- Supply chain and manufacturing systems
- Data analytics applied to operational decision-making
- Systems modeling and simulation
This combination is especially valuable in:
- Supply chain management
- Operations consulting
- Healthcare systems
- Technology and logistics organizations
Why it matters
Business degrees prepare you to analyze performance. Engineering systems training prepares you to redesign performance. Together, they create a powerful differentiator.
Go further, faster
This minor aligns with Iowa’s undergraduate-to graduate program in Industrial and Systems Engineering, allowing qualified students to earn a master’s degree in one additional year.
Psychology and cognitive science majors
Turn human behavior into system design impact
You study how people think, perceive, and behave. The Human Systems Engineering minor shows you how to apply that knowledge to real-world systems.
You’ll study:
- Human factors and ergonomics
- Human-computer interaction
- Usability testing and system evaluation
- Data-driven performance analysis
- Engineering economy and system tradeoffs
This prepares you for careers in:
- User experience (UX) research
- Human factors engineering
- Product usability and evaluation
- Health care systems improvement
- Applied behavioral systems design
Why it matters
Psychology explains human behavior. Human systems engineering applies it to technology, safety, and performance. This minor bridges theory and impact.
Go further, faster
This minor aligns with Iowa’s undergraduate-to graduate program in Industrial and Systems Engineering, allowing qualified students to earn a master’s degree in one additional year.
For math, statistics, physics, and related minors
Apply your analytical strength to real-world systems
Quantitative majors develop deep analytical skills. The Industrial and Systems Engineering minor gives those skills applied engineering context.
You’ll learn to:
- Model complex systems
- Optimize performance under constraints
- Analyze uncertainty in operational environments
- Apply data to improve quality and efficiency
- Connect mathematical tools to organizational impact
This pathway is especially strong for students interested in:
- Operations research
- Analytics-driven industries
- Infrastructure systems
- Technology and advanced manufacturing
- Graduate study in engineering or applied analytics
Why it matters
You already understand theory. This minor teaches you how to deploy that theory in live systems.
Go further, faster
This minor aligns with Iowa’s undergraduate-to graduate program in Industrial and Systems Engineering, allowing qualified students to earn a master’s degree in one additional year.