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Manufacturing engineering manager education requirements

Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read

There are several educational requirements to become a manufacturing engineering manager. Manufacturing engineering managers usually study mechanical engineering, business, or electrical engineering. 71% of manufacturing engineering managers hold a bachelor's degree, and 15% hold an master's degree. We analyzed 3,809 real manufacturing engineering manager resumes to see exactly what manufacturing engineering manager education sections show.

The most common colleges for manufacturing engineering managers are the Purdue University and the Purdue University.

There are also many online manufacturing engineering manager courses to help get the education required to be a manufacturing engineering manager.

There are certain manufacturing engineering manager certifications that you should consider. These manufacturing engineering manager certifications include Six Sigma Green Belt and Certified Manufacturing Engineer (CMfgE).

What education do you need to become a manufacturing engineering manager?

What degree do you need to be a manufacturing engineering manager?

The most common degree for manufacturing engineering managers is bachelor's degree, with 71% of manufacturing engineering managers earning that degree. The second and third most common degree levels are master's degree degree at 15% and master's degree degree at 12%.
  • Bachelor's, 71%
  • Master's, 15%
  • Associate, 12%
  • Diploma, 1%
  • Other Degrees, 1%

What should I major in to become a manufacturing engineering manager?

You should major in mechanical engineering to become a manufacturing engineering manager. 25% of manufacturing engineering managers major in mechanical engineering. Other common majors for a manufacturing engineering manager include business and electrical engineering.

Most common colleges for manufacturing engineering managers

Manufacturing engineering managers often get their degrees at Purdue University, Pennsylvania State University, and Rochester Institute of Technology. Here are the most common colleges for manufacturing engineering managers in the US based on their resumes.
Manufacturing engineering manager common collegePercentages
Purdue University11.69%
Pennsylvania State University7.26%
Rochester Institute of Technology6.05%
Northeastern University5.85%
University of Phoenix5.44%

Best majors for manufacturing engineering managers

Best colleges for manufacturing engineering managers

The best colleges for manufacturing engineering managers are Columbia University in the City of New York, Northwestern University, and Carnegie Mellon University.

A manufacturing engineering manager with advanced education typically earns a higher salary and has access to better jobs. That's why Zippia looked into the best colleges for manufacturing engineering managers. We based this list on several metrics: admissions rate, retention rate, mean earnings of graduates, the ratio of working vs. non-working students ten years after admission, the average cost of attendance, and median debt for graduates who become manufacturing engineering managers.

1. University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

Ann Arbor, MI • Private

In-state tuition

$15,262

Enrollment

30,079

2. Georgia Institute of Technology

Atlanta, GA • Private

In-state tuition

$12,424

Enrollment

15,201

3. University of Southern California

Los Angeles, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$56,225

Enrollment

19,548

4. Cornell University

Ithaca, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$55,188

Enrollment

15,105

5. University of Washington

Seattle, WA • Private

In-state tuition

$11,207

Enrollment

30,905

6. Pennsylvania State University

University Park, PA • Private

In-state tuition

$18,454

Enrollment

40,108

7. Columbia University in the City of New York

New York, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$59,430

Enrollment

8,216

8. Northwestern University

Evanston, IL • Private

In-state tuition

$54,568

Enrollment

8,451

9. California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo

San Luis Obispo, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$9,816

Enrollment

21,047

10. Carnegie Mellon University

Pittsburgh, PA • Private

In-state tuition

$55,465

Enrollment

6,483

20 best online courses for manufacturing engineering managers

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1. Engineering and Product Design Processes

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2. Engineering Project Management

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Master strategies and tools to more effectively and successfully manage projects.\n\nToday’s professional environment is highly competitive, continuously changing, and difficult to manage. Employees rarely reach positions of leadership without managing one or more projects or a project segment early in their career.\n\nBrought to you by the Rice Center of Engineering Leadership and team behind the engineering management master's program, the goal of this Specialization is to give you the tools...

3. Product Development & Systems Engineering

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The complete Product Development & Systems Engineering course! Earn 25 contact hours AND prepare to take the INCOSE Exam...

4. Manufacturing Guide for Mechanical Product Development

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Learn how everyday physical products are manufactured with no prior experience in engineering...

5. Managing Major Engineering Projects

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Accelerate your career by improving your project management skills. This Specialization delivers a rigorous exploration of the best practices for planning and delivering these major engineering projects. You’ll learn about the measures of success, how to resolve challenges of governance and typical financing approaches of these projects.\n\nIf you are an engineer or a project manager and you aspire to get involved with major engineering projects, or you are already working on one, then this...

6. Introduction to Mechanical Engineering Design and Manufacturing with Fusion 360

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Design for manufacturing is the process of designing parts, components, or products with the understanding surrounding design requirements for a specific manufacturing method. This course explores the design for manufacture workflow and shows how to validate models and create the G code, the programming language needed to instruct the CNC machine on how to move. We practice the basics of part and assembly design, and tools such as animation, rendering, and simulations using Autodesk Fusion 360...

7. Manufacturing process selection and Design for manufacturing

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Learn about the basics of selecting process for a mechanical design and the principles of design for Manufacturing...

8. Mechanical design and Product development process

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Learn the basic ideas and concepts behind developing mechanical products related to mechanical engineering...

9. Product Design Management for Agile Practitioners

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Application of product design management principles, concepts, tools and techniques in agile product management...

10. Product Management Crash Course; IT Product Management

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Product Management Essentials & Product Management Fundamentals to kick-start your career in Product Management...

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Agile Project Management Basics (Scrum) & Agile Project Management Essentials (Scrum). Plus Agile Certification (Scrum)...

12. Lean Manufacturing A-Z: Lean Operations Management

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Lean Business Operations Management, Lean Process and Systems Improvement in Production and Industry. MBA style course...

13. Product Management Fundamentals

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Case-based practical course on product management to build strong foundations in product concepts, process & frameworks...

14. Process/Chemical Engineering - BOOTCAMP 2021

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4.2
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The only course with over 10 hours practical knowledge about main process equipment Design, Control and Safety...

15. Great Product Manager: Product Management by a Big Tech's PM

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Become a Great Product Manager! Land your dream job with Big Tech's Senior Product Manager...

16. Comprehensive Product management for Product managers

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Become a great product manager with comprehensive product management Real world case study with JIRA & Confluence...

17. Operations Management A-Z: Business Processes and Systems

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Operations Management: Supply Chain & Business Processes in Industry for Manufacturing and Services Organizations...

18. Introduction Agile & Scrum for Product Owners

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19. Operations Management: Supply Chains, Products and Services

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Master Supply Chain Management and Product and Service Development in Manufacturing and Service Organizations...

20. The Production Part Approval Process (PPAP)

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The 18-step process for ensuring new parts are consistently manufactured and meet their customers' quality expectations...

Top 10 most affordable universities for manufacturing engineering managers

The most affordable schools for manufacturing engineering managers are United States Merchant Marine Academy, university of florida, and california state university - long beach.

If the best universities for manufacturing engineering managers are out of your price range, check out these affordable schools. After factoring in in-state tuition and fees, the average cost of attendance, admissions rate, average net price, and mean earnings after six years, we found that these are the most affordable schools for manufacturing engineering managers.

1. United States Merchant Marine Academy

Kings Point, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$1,080

Cost of attendance

6,646

2. University of Florida

Gainesville, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$6,381

Cost of attendance

21,034

3. California State University - Long Beach

Long Beach, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,798

Cost of attendance

18,306

4. California State University - Bakersfield

Bakersfield, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$7,309

Cost of attendance

16,714

5. City College of New York of the City University of New York, The

New York, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$7,140

Cost of attendance

14,430

6. Florida International University

Miami, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$6,556

Cost of attendance

19,434

7. New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology

Socorro, NM • Private

In-state tuition

$7,770

Cost of attendance

21,244

8. University of South Florida

Tampa, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$6,410

Cost of attendance

20,456

9. California State University - Los Angeles

Los Angeles, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,749

Cost of attendance

14,823

10. Florida State University

Tallahassee, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$5,656

Cost of attendance

21,623

Top 10 hardest universities to get into for manufacturing engineering managers

The hardest universities for manufacturing engineering managers to get into are Columbia University in the City of New York, Northwestern University, and Carnegie Mellon University.

Some great schools for manufacturing engineering managers are hard to get into, but they also set your career up for greater success. The list below shows the most challenging universities to get into for manufacturing engineering managers based on an institution's admissions rates, average SAT scores accepted, median ACT scores accepted, and mean earnings of students six years after admission.

1. Columbia University in the City of New York

New York, NY • Private

Admissions rate

6%

SAT average

1,512

2. Northwestern University

Evanston, IL • Private

Admissions rate

8%

SAT average

1,508

3. Carnegie Mellon University

Pittsburgh, PA • Private

Admissions rate

17%

SAT average

1,507

4. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

Admissions rate

8%

SAT average

1,492

5. Johns Hopkins University

Baltimore, MD • Private

Admissions rate

11%

SAT average

1,513

6. Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Cambridge, MA • Private

Admissions rate

7%

SAT average

1,545

7. Cornell University

Ithaca, NY • Private

Admissions rate

11%

SAT average

1,471

8. Stanford University

Stanford, CA • Private

Admissions rate

4%

SAT average

1,497

9. Washington University in St Louis

Saint Louis, MO • Private

Admissions rate

15%

SAT average

1,506

10. Harvard University

Cambridge, MA • Private

Admissions rate

5%

SAT average

1,520

Top 10 easy-to-apply-to universities for manufacturing engineering managers

The easiest schools for manufacturing engineering managers to get into are Texas A&M; University - Kingsville, the university of texas permian basin, and the university of texas at el paso.

Some schools are much easier to get into. If you want to start your career as a manufacturing engineering manager without much hassle, check out the list of schools where you will be accepted in no time. We compiled admissions rates, average SAT scores, average ACT scores, and average salary of students six years after graduation to uncover which were the easiest schools to get into for manufacturing engineering managers.

1. Texas A&M University - Kingsville

Kingsville, TX • Private

Admissions rate

89%

SAT average

1,035

2. The University of Texas Permian Basin

Odessa, TX • Private

Admissions rate

91%

SAT average

1,046

3. The University of Texas at El Paso

El Paso, TX • Private

Admissions rate

100%

SAT average

1,035

4. University of the Incarnate Word

San Antonio, TX • Private

Admissions rate

88%

SAT average

1,044

5. Oregon Institute of Technology

Klamath Falls, OR • Private

Admissions rate

96%

SAT average

1,139

6. Oklahoma Wesleyan University

Bartlesville, OK • Private

Admissions rate

68%

SAT average

964

7. Pennsylvania State University - Fayette (The Eberly Campus)

Lemont Furnace, PA • Private

Admissions rate

80%

SAT average

1,067

8. Saint Martin's University

Lacey, WA • Private

Admissions rate

96%

SAT average

1,111

9. Capitol Technology University

Laurel, MD • Private

Admissions rate

69%

SAT average

1,070

10. Pennsylvania State University - DuBois

DuBois, PA • Private

Admissions rate

85%

SAT average

1,079

Average manufacturing engineering manager salary by education level

Manufacturing engineering managers with a Doctorate degree earn more than those without, at $131,628 annually. With a Master's degree, manufacturing engineering managers earn a median annual income of $122,286 compared to $114,411 for manufacturing engineering managers with an Bachelor's degree.
Manufacturing engineering manager education levelManufacturing engineering manager salary
Master's Degree$122,286
Bachelor's Degree$114,411
Doctorate Degree$131,628

Manufacturing engineering manager education FAQs

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Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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