Quality Management [M.S.]

Location(s): Online

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This fully online Master of Science in Quality Management program is tailored to busy professionals’ needs, including military personnel, by offering the “anywhere, anytime” convenience of online graduate education. International applicants can also apply to the master’s program and complete the degree without coming to the USA.

Our diverse students come from a variety of academic backgrounds and business sectors. It is appropriate for technically-focused individuals who have previously pursued a four-year degree in technology, engineering, business, services, or science. The program meets the needs of technical professionals looking for both an advanced degree and appropriate preparation for their natural progression into higher management-level positions. It also meets the needs of professionals who are on a technical rather than a managerial career track, as it will help them to be more effective in a team-based environment and attain professional certifications in the specialty areas of quality. This program has two tracks: coursework only and research projects.

A student with ASQ (American Society for Quality) or equivalent professional certifications is eligible to apply for a waiver of degree requirements. Students must complete a minimum of 30 credit hours toward their master’s degree. See advisor for details.

This is a STEM-designated program (see OPT Extension).

Online Education Eligibility

The U.S. Federal Government limits the number of online courses international students may enroll in while living in the United States. For this reason, we cannot admit students on F1 or J1 VISAs to fully online programs. Please check with International Admissions to confirm eligibility before applying.
All applicants, please review Online Education for Out-of-State Students to confirm your eligibility to enroll in an online program based in Michigan.

Program Admission

Admit Terms and Deadlines

Applications are accepted on a rolling basis; students may start the program in the Summer, Fall, or Winter. See Application Deadlines.

Minimum Graduate School Requirements

For full admission, applicants must have 1) Earned a four-year baccalaureate degree from a regionally accredited U.S. institution or an equivalent degree from a non-U.S. institution, 2) a minimum cumulative undergraduate grade point average of 2.7 on a 4.0 scale, or 3.0 in the last half of the undergraduate program. Conditional admission may be available to applicants not meeting minimum admission requirements.

Program Requirements

This program does not require additional criteria or documents beyond the minimum Graduate School requirements.

Application

Your application will be submitted using EngineeringCAS, a Centralized Application Service (CAS) hosted by Liaison. After reviewing the admission requirements, please review the application instructions and select the appropriate application below.

- Go to 2023-2024 EngineeringCAS to apply to a program beginning in Summer 2024, Fall 2024, or Winter 2025.

- Go to 2024-2025 EngineeringCAS to apply to a program beginning in Summer 2025, Fall 2025, or Winter 2026.

Domestic Applicants Within the application, follow the instructions to submit an official transcript from all previously attended institutions.

International Applicants Before applying, applicants must review the international application/process deadlines at emich.edu/international as they may differ from general program requirements.

For additional information regarding the application process, please see Graduate Admissions or International Admissions.

School Information

Engineering 111 Sill Hall, 734.487.2040

Advisor Information

Herman Tang, PhD, Associate Professor, 111 Sill Hall, 734.487.0226

Degree Requirements: 30-36 hours

This degree program requires the completion of 30-36 hours of coursework.

To graduate, students must have an overall 3.2 GPA. The GPA requirement is waived for students following the completion of additional coursework as follows.

If the cumulative GPA is between 3.1 and 3.2, a student must take one additional course and earn a “B+” or higher.
If the cumulative GPA is between 3.0 and 3.1, a student must take two additional courses and earn a “B+” or higher in both courses.

This waiver is not available for students with a cumulative GPA below 3.0. Once a student’s cumulative GPA exceeds 3.0, they must complete additional coursework to qualify for the waiver as outlined above. Students should discuss options with their graduate advisor.

Core Courses: 15 hours

QUAL 546 Total Quality Management 3 hrs
QUAL 550 Advanced Statistical Process Control 3 hrs
QUAL 551 Design of Experiments 3 hrs
QUAL 552 Quality Planning 3 hrs
QUAL 559 Cost of Quality 3 hrs

Program of Study Options: 15-21 hours

Choose one option from the following. Advisor permission is required before selecting options II or III.

Option I - Coursework: 21 hours

Choose a minimum of twenty-one hours from the list of Quality Management Electives. In consultation with their advisor, a student may apply up to six credit hours of coursework from other graduate programs.

Option II – Research Project: 15 hours

Required Courses: 7 hours
QUAL 647 Research Methods 3 hrs
QUAL 690 Development Project/Thesis 1 hr
QUAL 692 Development Project/Thesis 3 hrs
Restricted Electives: 8 hours

Choose a minimum of eight hours from the list of Quality Management Electives. In consultation with their advisor, a student may apply up to 3 credit hours of coursework from another graduate program.

Option III – Thesis: 15 hours

A candidate completes an original research under the supervision of a guidance (thesis) committee. This research must be suitable for publication, written in a form acceptable to the Graduate School and defended in an oral examination.

Required Courses: 9 hours
QUAL 647 Research Methods 3 hrs
QUAL 692 Development Project/Thesis 3 hrs
Note - Students will take QUAL 692 twice for a total of six hours over two semesters.
Restricted Electives: 6 hours

Choose a minimum of six credit hours from the list of Quality Management Electives. In consultation with their advisor, a student may apply up to 3 credit hours of coursework from another graduate program.

Quality Management Electives:

QUAL 548 Tools for Continuous Improvement 3 hrs
QUAL 555 Quality Auditing 3 hrs
QUAL 556 Human Aspects of Continuous Improvement 3 hrs
QUAL 557 Measuring Customer Satisfaction 3 hrs
QUAL 568 Lean Service Quality 3 hrs
QUAL 647 Research Methods 3 hrs
QUAL 655 Technical Six Sigma 3 hrs
Note -
- QUAL 548 is for students who have limited knowledge of statistics and algebra.

Critical Graduation Information

Each graduate student is responsible for fulfilling the requirements or equivalents of the Eastern Michigan University catalog in force at the time of their initial registration or a subsequent catalog, including the one in effect at the time of their graduation.

Master’s degree requirements must be completed within six (6) years of first enrollment in the master’s degree program.

In the event a student does not complete the master’s degree requirements within six years of the date of their original registration, the student may be required to have their credits re-evaluated by the academic department(s) of their degree in keeping with catalog requirements in force during the year of their graduation.

The following are minimum requirements for all master’s degrees awarded by Eastern Michigan University. Some programs require more than the minimum in one or more areas below.

A master’s degree must require a minimum of 30 credit hours.
No more than six credits of independent study courses and no more than 12 credit hours of special topics and independent study courses combined may be applied to a graduate degree.
Residency Requirement:
- For students admitted to master’s degree programs of 36 or fewer required hours, at least 24 new graduate hours beginning the semester of acceptance and enrollment into the degree program must be earned at EMU. The remaining program requirement hours may be met through transfer or prior degree credit (EMU or elsewhere).
- For students admitted to master’s degree programs of 37 or more required hours, at least 30 new graduate hours beginning the semester of acceptance and enrollment into the degree program must be earned at EMU. Minimum degree hours must still be met for graduation. The remaining program requirement hours may be met through transfer or prior degree credit (EMU or elsewhere).
- Residency and enrollment in multiple programs: Students enrolled in multiple master’s/specialist degree programs must have 24 unique credit hours in each degree program.
Only credits from one completed graduate certificate may be applied to a master’s or specialist degree in a relevant field of study, as determined by the Graduate School and with the approval of the degree-granting academic department, and be included in the residency hours above.
Students must maintain a 3.0 cumulative GPA in all graduate-level courses taken at EMU and in their program of study to remain in good academic standing and be eligible for graduation. Students do not need to be registered for classes during the semester of graduation.
The Graduate School does not permit the use of undergraduate courses (499 and below) to meet degree requirements on graduate programs of study.
Some master’s programs require a thesis; others require a special project or internship; others require students to pass a final exam. See the Graduate School website for Thesis and Dissertation Manuals, all forms, and information about research and human subject approval. Every completed thesis or dissertation must be submitted to Digital Commons. Any form of graduate student work submitted to Digital Commons must first be approved by a faculty advisor and the Graduate School.