Minor in Manufacturing Quality

What will I learn with a manufacturing quality minor?

In the manufacturing industry, quality drives productivity. Pursuing high productivity with high quality is a strategy of sustainable development for manufacturing and diverse industries. Improving productivity with high quality is a source of greater revenue, employment opportunities and technological advances. Knowledge in the areas of quality control and product excellence are in high demand for certifying product quality and durability to ensure their “fitness for purpose” during each step of the manufacturing process. As a result, learning quality control and product excellence techniques will give students the opportunity to understand industrial process control and applications and to join businesses and manufacturing industries for managing product quality and manufacturing processes. Nevada offers a unique opportunity for both students and industry interested in advanced manufacturing.

Learning outcomes

Rapidly expanding advanced manufacturing industries require highly educated engineers who understand the fundamentals of product quality control in manufacturing processes in terms of design, engineering, operation, assessment, testing and data analysis. The objective of the interdisciplinary minor in manufacturing quality is to provide students with skills and experiences that will help them better apply the knowledge gained in their majors to specialized problems in the field of product quality control in manufacturing process.

Why choose manufacturing quality?

In Nevada, advanced manufacturing has grown by more than 100 percent in the last decade and is expected to continue to grow. Graduates who have minored in advanced manufacturing develop the skills necessary to fill these vital roles in a burgeoning industry.

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Careers in manufacturing quality

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Recognizing the need to diversify the economy of the State of Nevada, the University and the College of Engineering have spearheaded initiatives to foster the advanced manufacturing industry in our region. As a result, Tesla, Panasonic, and other industry leaders have made Nevada home. In the past decade, the field has grown by more than 100 percent in northern Nevada. These companies turn to the University to find the highly skilled professionals to improve manufacturing.

With an education in manufacturing quality, graduates may find work in a field such as industrial production management, which involves overseeing daily operations at manufacturing plants, including production goals and quality assurance. The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects the most job growth for this position will be in areas such as vehicle parts, machine shops and pharmaceutical and biomedical manufacturing, but competition may be stiff, and a bachelor's degree and work experience will help candidates find jobs. According to the BLS, industrial production managers had a median annual salary of $103,150 in 2021.

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Manufacturing quality minors often major in...

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Chemical engineering

Chemical engineers apply scientific principles -- along with a healthy dose of creativity -- to the creation of new chemicals and chemical processes that can improve our quality of life. Chemical engineers are involved in the design and manufacture of everything from a zestier version of your favorite toothpaste to a life-saving pharmaceutical to new and inexpensive fuel sources.

Learn about the chemical engineering major

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Civil engineering

Civil engineers use their knowledge of science and engineering to design and maintain much of our world's infrastructure. They also apply their expertise to improve our quality of life, whether it's by designing safer buildings, reducing our carbon footprint or just shortening your commute.

Learn about the civil engineering major

Mechanical engineering

Mechanical engineering is a broad field that includes everything from aerospace engineering to fluid mechanics to biomedical applications. Mechanical engineers may work with nanoscale materials invisible to all but the most powerful microscopes or they may design massive airplanes or rockets, but they all share a focus on engineering moving systems.

Learn about the mechanical engineering major

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