International Programs

The lab for industrial and systems engineering is the world. Our graduates have indicated that one of the best ways to gain international experience is to participate in a professional experience and/or going through one of our international programs.

Georgia Tech has won the Andrew Heiskell Award for Innovation in International Education in 2010, and the Paul Simon Award in 2007 in recognition of its efforts to internationalize the campus, sponsored by the Institute of International Education and the Association of International Educators (NAFSA) respectively. The percentage of ISyE students' participation in international programs is the higher than any other major except International Affairs!

You can participate in a variety of international programs, including

  • GTs International Plan
  • GTs Semester (or Exchange) Programs
  • GTs Faculty-Led Programs

International Plan (IP) for ISyE

Globalization requires future graduates to understand culture, economics and geopolitical systems outside of borders. The Georgia Tech International Plan requires the most intensive international experience, and prepares graduates to succeed professionally and personally in the global environment. This challenging program contains coherent components of language, residence and academics. Upon successful completion, the IP will be designated on both the transcript and the diploma. You can find the general requirements in a short video at www.oie.gatech.edu/content/international-plan. For ISyE students, the specific requirements are:

  • Develop a coherent study plan and get it approved by the ISyE's Associate Chair for Undergraduate Studies.
  • Complete IP capstone design requirement. In senior design, you should register for ISYE 4106 IP, and contact ISyE advisor as soon as you are in senior design to work on the specific requirements for the IP elements. Specifically, you will need to add an addendum to your senior design project to link your international experience with your senior design. For example, if you are interested in supply chain, how would your supply chain issues in your senior design project work in the countries you visited considering cultural, historical, political and language differences. If you are interested in financial systems, how would the financial aspects of your senior design differ in the countries your visited.

Georgia Tech Semester (or Exchange) Programs

Another very enriching international experience can be gained by participating semester programs. In semester programs, students have an option to go to many universities around the world that have exchange agreements with Georgia Tech. Students normally take some local courses that can be transferred back to GT. The knowledge of the local language is often important.

Georgia Tech Faculty-Led Programs

The Faculty-Led programs are, perhaps, the easiest to participate in. Although beneficial, the knowledge of local language is normally not necessary. Some of the popular summer programs for ISyE students are:

  • GT Lorraine Summer Program. This program occurs at the same time as GT summer semester. It offers many courses, including an ISyE course, some engineering electives, social science or humanities. This program often fills out quickly.
  • Oxford Summer Program. This program also offers many courses.
  • ISyE Asia Program (formerly Beijing/Singapore). This summer only program is designed for juniors or early seniors and includes 3 ISyE concentration courses and HTS 2062 Asia in Modern World, which counts as a Social Science elective. The ISyE courses typically include concentration electives ISyE 3103 Logistics, ISyE 4803 Financial Data Analysis and ISyE 4803 Decision Analysis.
  • AE-ISyE Limerick Program. The Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering and ISyE have established a very successful and well-subscribed summer semester Study Abroad program with the Department of Mechanical, Aeronautical, and Biomedical Engineering at the University of Limerick. All courses are designed and taught by AE and ISyE faculty, which includes an IE and a math class among the coursework choices.
    Get more details about the AE-ISyE Limerick Program
  • Several Language for Business and Technology Programs.