Graduate and Research Central Coordination Office (CCPG)

Graduate Program in Production Engineering

General Information

Program Overview

Production Engineering is the branch of engineering that deals with the conception, project and implementation of production systems of goods and services, characterized by the integration of humans, materials, equipment and the environment. It constitutes the link between technology itself, and the management of productive organizations. As a knowledge area, it is based on the mathematical, physical and social sciences, as well as in engineering and computing methods.

A production engineer’s scope of work is ample: production engineers can be found in manufacturing and services provision companies, such as hospitals, financial institutions and transportation companies as well as in planning and control government agencies. Functions in these organizations include specification of systems and productive processes, analysis and performance evaluation of these systems and the implementation of improvements in their performance, aiming to increase productivity and to ensure appropriate working conditions.

Production Engineering at PUC-Rio is developed by the Industrial Engineering Department, which aims to form high-level professionals, develop teaching and research and promote creation and dissemination of knowledge within the field.

In order to accomplish these aims, the Department offers Graduate and Undergraduate Programs, besides collaborating with various sectors of the Brazilian economy through extension activities, carrying out projects and specialized consulting services.

At the Graduate level, the Department offers a Master and a Doctoral Program in Production Engineering, created in 1967 and 1992 respectively, in the following concentration areas:

• Production Management
• Finance and Investment Analysis
• Transportation and Logistics

To achieve the advanced teaching and research aims, the Department emphasizes the analytical and quantitative treatment of productive systems study. Thus, throughout the Program, the student will have the opportunity to acquire a solid background in applied microeconomics, statistical methods, mathematical modeling and in the use of computers in production systems engineering. On the other hand, committed in providing a diverse background, the Program also offers an opportunity to study and research socio-technical systems, organizational and technology analysis, considering the political, social and institutional conditioning in production issues.

Objectives

The Program seeks to offer students a solid training necessary for continuous and permanent professional and academic development. For this purpose, it's teaching and research emphasize the analytical and quantitative study of production systems. Throughout the course, the student will acquire a solid background in microeconomics, statistical methods, mathematical modeling and in the use of computers, and also develop an ability to use them in the analysis and project of productive systems. According to the specialization line, the Program also requires an operational understanding of organizational theories, fundamental aspects of productive systems, evolution of production technology, capital market mechanisms and economic criteria necessary to support financial or transport and logistics systems decisions.

The research seeks a standard of academic excellence in the investigation of relevant problems for the development of technical management in Brazilian companies. The students’ involvement in research and the companies’ collaboration in this activity is not only considered an educational requirement of research’s pragmatic quality, but also the most important updated and adapted vehicle of knowledge dissemination, be it original or acquired from other sources.

History

The Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro (PUC-Rio) was founded in 1941 and recognized by the Brazilian Government in 1946. The “Catholic Colleges”, civil society sponsored by PUC-Rio, was recognized on December 14, 1973, as a philanthropic entity by the National Council of Social Service (Process 258942/73) and declared of public utility by the Federal Decree 43454 on March 23, 1958.

PUC-Rio was the first private university established in the country, and the first to implement a model integrating teaching, research and extension activities, for which the government's support was decisive.

A pioneer in numerous academic initiatives, PUC-Rio has built, since its creation, a model of excellence that focuses on research and cultural production in the formation of human resources and in the provision of services to society.

The Industrial Engineering Department at PUC-Rio is an example of the University’s pioneering and enterprising spirit. In fact, it is home to the country’s oldest Master Program in Production Engineering, established in 1967 and accredited by the CFE referee 3279/76.

The Department also offers, at the undergraduate level, a program in Production Engineering.

Concentration areas and lines of research

Concentration area: Production Management

Concentration area: Finance and Investment Analysis

Concentration area: Transportations and Logistics

Course Recognition

Master’s and Doctoral degrees

Recognition:
CAPES (Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Eduction Personnel; from Brazilian Ministry of Education) evaluation: grade 5 (in a 3 to 7 scale) for the 2010-2012 period.
Approved by the CNE/CES MEC n.288/2015 of July 08, 2015.
Granted degrees: Master and/or Doctor in Production Engineering

Professional Master's degree

Recognition:
CAPES (Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Eduction Personnel; from Brazilian Ministry of Education) evaluation: grade 5 (in a 3 to 7 scale) for the 2010-2012 period.
Approved by the CNE/CES MEC n.288/2015 of July 08, 2015.
Granted degree: Master in Production Engineering

Requirements for obtaining the Master’s and Doctoral degrees

Master

Satisfactorily complete the individual study plan, elaborated with the dissertation advisor and approved by the Graduate Committee, according to the guidelines of “Standards and Guidelines of the Graduate Program in Production Engineering”. Concluding this plan means:

Completion of a minimum of 26 credits in Graduate disciplines, subject to the following restrictions:

• At the discretion of the Graduate Committee, the candidate may be exempt from disciplines required by the DEI Graduate Committee without computing the corresponding credits, after proof of knowledge through a written test.
• Obtainment of an academic performance of 7.0 or above in this group of disciplines.
• Approval in the Dissertation Proposal Examination discipline corresponding to the student’s concentration area (this requires presentation, defense and approval of the dissertation project).
• For scholarship holders (funding agencies or PUC tuition waver): performance and approval in Undergraduate Teaching Internship (1 credit) in 1 period (IND3211 discipline). It should be noted that this credit cannot be counted as part of the 26 credits of required disciplines, even though it is counted in the academic record.
• Approval in English Language Exam - LET3101
• Presentation, defense and approval of Master Dissertation - IND 3000.
• Write a scientific article, to be submitted to a journal or theme event related to the dissertation.

Doctor

Obtainment of a minimum of 42 credits in Graduate disciplines. This number may be include up to 25 credits transferred from the Master’s course. The 42 credits should be distributed as follows:

1. The credits remaining to complete the group of 42 credits must be obtained in disciplines from the Industrial Engineering Department, the CTC, PUC or from other accredited Graduate Programs, chosen at the discretion of the thesis advisor, according to the study program approved by the DEI Graduate Committee, which may include a maximum of 03 credits in Individual Study disciplines, which cannot be included the credits relative to the Teaching Internship credits.
   
   For scholarship students (from funding agencies or PUC tuition waver): completion and approval in Undergraduate Teaching Internship in 2 periods, worth 1 credit each. These credits may not be used counted as part of the 42 credits of required courses, but are added to them.
   
   Note: At the Graduate Committee’s discretion, the student may be exempted from courses, obtaining corresponding credits, after proof of knowledge through a written test.
2. Approval in the Doctoral Qualifying Examination (IND 3004) up until the end of the 4th period, with the possibility of deadline extension until the end of the 5th period if authorized by the DEI Graduate Committee. This examination, which aims at evaluating the candidate’s ability to perform original and relevant research in the doctoral concentration area, will be based on a monograph, prepared by the student on a topic related to his or her doctoral research and its presentation before a jury. The jury will be will be composed by 3 members, including the advisor and co-advisor (if any) and two  other members, with preferably one external to PUC University.
   
   Evaluation Criteria: At the end of the presentation, each member will give a score from 0 to 10. The candidate will be approved if the arithmetic average of the scores given by each jury member is no less than 7.0, and no individual score less 6.0. Based on this criteria, the final result will be either “approved” or “disapproved”.
3. Approval in the Thesis Proposal Examination (IND 3007) up until the end of the 6th period, with the possibility of deadline extension until the end of the 7th period if authorized by the DEI Graduate Committee. Requirement for passing this exam is previous approval in the Doctoral Qualifying Examination. The jury will be will be composed by 3 members, including the advisor and co-advisor (if any) and two  other members, with preferably one external to PUC University.
   
   Evaluation criteria: At the end of the thesis proposal, a favorable vote is required by the majority of the jury members. The examination’s result will thus either be “approved" or “disapproved”.
4. Approval in a foreign language exam- Doctoral Degree English Examination (LET 3106)
5. Presentation, defense and approval of the Doctoral Thesis (IND 3001). Requirements for the thesis defense are both an article submitted to a qualified international journal and another article published or accepted in a qualified journal (either national or international, with a minimum of B2 in Engineering III from Qualis Capes), both on the Doctoral Thesis’ theme.

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Admission and Enrollment

The Graduate Program’s academic year starts in March and the registration period can be found at the PUC-Rio website. In exceptional cases, the Department may consider application requests for starting the master’s course in August. The registration period for these cases can be found at the PUC-Rio website.

Master

Besides the regulation’s general requirements, the Department requires:

• Undergraduate degree in an Engineering course, or in courses that provide a substantial background in Quantitative Methods, at the discretion of the Graduate Committee.
• Employed applicants intending on following the course part-time must submit a letter from their employer declaring an interest in the study plan and support in providing the applicant favorable conditions that enable him or her to follow a weekly workload of at least 18 hours.
• Department’s approval, which is based on the applicant’s study goals, academic transcripts, curriculum vitae, reference letters and an eventual interview.
• Enough command of the English language for the understanding of technical texts.
• Interviews with Industrial Engineering Department professors may still be required by the Graduate Committee.

Doctor

Preliminary Research Proposal and Studies Program.

In order to be accepted to the Doctoral course, the applicant must, knowing the Department’s in-depth lines of research, identify a research area and its most appropriate thesis advisor from the DEI faculty. Along with this advisor, the applicant must build, in a short document of around 10 pages, a Preliminary Research Proposal indicating the which methodologies will be adopted in the research, in order to present its feasibility, relevance and originality. Consistent with the theme, a study program, covering at least 18 credits required in Doctoral degree, must be defined.

Besides the regulation's general requirements, the Department requires:

• A Master’s Degree in: Production Engineering, Transport, Mathematics, Computing, Systems or similar courses, recognized as such by the Graduate Committee. At the discretion of the Graduate Committee and other regulatory instances, applicants who have demonstrated evident capacity for in-depth research in an Industrial Engineering Department line of research may be exempted from this requirement.
• Acceptance from a Doctoral course professor, based on a preliminary research proposal, within a course concentration area and a study program consistent with the research topic.
• Acceptance from the Graduate Committee, based on academic transcripts, curriculum vitae, in the presentation of two professors with a doctorate in the Research Preliminary Proposal and the above-mentioned study program.
• Interviews with Industrial Engineering Department professors may be still be required by the Graduate Committee.

For more information, consult: http://www.ind.puc-rio.br/pdf/Manual_Orientacao_Candidatos_Doutorado.pdf

Required Documents

Master's and Doctoral courses

Access ONLINE Registration
http://www.ccpa.puc-rio.br/inscricao_pos

Master

Required:

1. Two Reference Sheets. On the online form, the candidate must indicate referees' names and e-mail addresses’; the system will thus send them a link requesting them to complete an online form. No handwritten letters will be accepted.
2. Curriculum vitae, preferably Lattes Curriculum. Generate a full PDF version from the Lattes Platform;
3. Study Plan. Fill in the form available in PESTUDOSMESTRADO.doc (available at www.ind.puc-rio.br);
4. Undergraduate academic transcripts;
5. Undergraduate Diploma or completion certificate.

Optional:

6. Scholarship Request Form (if applicable). Fill in the form available at BOLSAESTUDOSMESTRADO.Doc (available at www.ind.puc-rio.br);
7. Digital copy (PDF) of relevant academic works. These documents can be uploaded into the system’s “Other Documents” item. Can be attached: Undergraduate Course Completion Work and/or articles published in journals and/or scientific events and/or Scientific Initiation report.
8. Other completion certificates (MBA, Specialization, among others);
9. Other documents. These documents can be uploaded into the system’s “Other Documents” item.

Doctor

Required:

1. Two Reference Sheets. On the online form, the candidate must indicate referees' names and e-mail addresses’; the system will thus send them a link requesting them to complete an online form. No handwritten letters will be accepted.
2. Curriculum vitae, preferably Lattes Curriculum. Generate a full PDF version from the Lattes Platform;
3. Study Plan. Fill in the form available at PESTUDOSDOUTORADO.rtf (available at <www.ind.puc-rio.br); 
4. Research Plan: form available at Form_aceitacao_doutorado.pdf (available at www.ind.puc-rio.br); the preliminary research proposal must be signed by the candidate’s future thesis advisor.
5. Undergraduate academic transcripts;
6. Master’s course academic transcripts;
7. Undergraduate Diploma Completion Certificate
8. Master’s Diploma Completion Certificate

Optional:

9. Scholarship Request Form (if applicable). Fill in the BOLSAESTUDOSDOUTORADO.rft form (available at www.ind.puc-rio.br);
10. Digital copy (PDF) of relevsnt academic works. Can be attached: Master Thesis and/or published articles in journals and/or scientific events.
11. Other completion certificates (MBA, Specialization, among others).
12. Other documents.

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