The basic structure of your degree is fixed according to the Degree Regulations and the curriculum. Within these boundaries, you have a possibility to make choices that support your own interests, goals, and life situation in different phases of your studies.

Start planning your studies by familiarizing yourself with the curriculum.

In order to support graduation in 2 years, it is important to recognize the critical path. You are encouraged to choose your major before the 1st year starts. Thereby, the first autumn emphasizes the compulsory courses of the major enabling the research assignment already in the first spring (or the 2nd autumn). The research assignment is a prerequisite for starting the master’s thesis. Although the intensive work takes place in the 2nd spring, preparations for the master’s thesis should gradually start in the beginning of the second year. The choice and timing of the optional courses of the major should support the progress in the critical path.

During the 1st autumn, you should choose your minor (whether the choice is restricted of free). In the planning and scheduling of studies, take into consideration quotas, prerequisite knowledge and the suggested sequence for the courses in the minor. The sooner the choice of the minor is made; the more possibilities you have to level the overall workload without delaying the graduation. Likewise, planning of a semester in a foreign university becomes easier.

The last element in making the personal study plan is choosing the electives. 

Master’s Programme in Industrial Engineering and Management offers five majors:

• Operations Management
• Organisation Design and Leadership
• Product and Innovation Management
• Strategy
• Technology Entrepreneurship (new major in the 2026-2028 curriculum)

You can choose your major freely. If you are unsure about your choice, you can change your major later. The majors have common content, which makes it easy to include already completed courses into the new major. 

Please familiarize yourself with the role of minor in Industrial Engineering and Management degree in the curriculum. Depending on your educational background, your choice of minor is either restricted or free. Your prior studies are assessed during the admission process. The choice of minor is free only in case your bachelor’s degree clearly meets the targeted engineering competence.

• You can browse all current Aalto University minors here: Minors
• Apply approval for the choice of minor in your personal study plan in Sisu. 

Instructions for choosing a minor when your choice of minor is restricted

Only minors provided by Aalto Schools of technology (CHEM, ELEC, ENG, or SCI) are suitable. However, if a minor includes an optional course with economic, societal or otherwise non-engineering content, you should choose another optional course. 

Examples of suitable master level minors include e.g. 

• SCI3068 Computer Science
• SCI3070 Machine Learning, Data Science and Artificial Intelligence
• SCI3077 Systems and Operations Research
• SCI3066 Complex Systems
• SCI3065 Biomedical Engineering
• SCI3093 Bioinformatics and Digital Health
• ELEC3032 Communications Engineering
• SCI3067 Human Neuroscience and Technology
• ELEC3070 Signal Processing and Data Science
• ELEC3069 Speech and Language Technology
• SCI3164 Software Engineering
• ENG3076 Advanced Energy Solutions
• SCI3075 Engineering Physics. 

You can include also a Bachelor level minor in your degree, if the minor is allowed for IEM Bachelor students. For the list of allowed bachelor’s level minors please see IEM BSc curriculum. Notice that bachelor’s level minors are offered mainly in Finnish, but for example these minors are offered in English: CHEM3055 Chemical Engineering, ELEC3057 Digital Systems and Design, ENG3083 Computational Engineering, SCI3104 Quantum Technology, SCI3096 Data Science, SCI3167 Computer Science L (there are two BSc level Computer Science minors, please notice that only SCI3167 is acceptable for IEM students).

Disallowed minors

The offering of Aalto Schools of technology include also minors that are not suitable. The minor should extend and deepen your engineering competence in another field of engineering than IEM. Therefore, it should have a clear focus, and typical basic or intermediate engineering studies as prerequisites.

Aalto schools of technology also offer minors for students with a more varying background or minors that are not sufficiently focused on a specified field of engineering.Typically, such minors have a very open structure, broad objectives, and content. In addition, they may include courses organized by Aalto Schools of Business or Arts, over even by the Department of Industrial Engineering and Management; or courses that have strong business, societal, or varying content although they are organised by departments in the Schools ofTechnology. Such minors are disallowed. For example, following minors in the 2026-2028 curriculum belong to this group:

• All minors offered by the Department of Industrial Engineering and Management, including SCI3170 Computational Finance and Risk Management and SCI3090 Startup Minor/SCI3110 AVP Startup Minor
• Code: CS.a Creative Sustainability
• Code: BIZ5230 (BIZ)/IDBM.a (ARTS) International Design Business Management
• SCI3038 Multi-Disciplinary Energy Studies
• ENG3074 Real Estate Economics
• ENG3073 Human-Centered Living Environment
• SCI3072 USchool
• SCI3073 Analytics and Data Science
• SCI3172 Riskianalyysi
• ENG3094 Interdiscplinary Product Development
• ENG4007 Kiinteistötalous
• SCI3063 Tilastotiede/Statistics
• SCI3030 Informaatioverkostot
• ENG3049 Aaltonaut
• SCI3114 Tulevaisuudentutkimus/ Futures Studies
• ENG3099 Luonnonvarojen kestävä käyttö

The list of restricted minors is not comprehensive. There can be other minors with similar disapproved properties. 

Instructions for choosing a minor when your choice of minor is free

Free choice means you may select your minor from the offerings of any Aalto school (ARTS, BIZ, CHEM, ELEC, ENG, SCI). The content of your minor must not overlap with your major. Minors offered by the university-level service unit, the Language Centre, can be included in your degree only as a second minor.

Are you studying according to the 2024-2026 curriculum? Please see the minor subject guidelines here

Are you studying according to the 2022-2024 curriculum? Please see the minor subject guidelines here.
 

Start planning the exchange well in advance! This will give you time to consider your destination carefully and acquire needed language skills and possible language certificates.

Plan in which part of your degree you include the exchange studies. During the exchange you can take courses

• for your electives.
• for your major: you can take courses equivalent to mandatory courses of the major, and/or you can include exchange courses in the optional part of the major. If you take optional courses for the major, you don’t have to find equivalent courses from our curriculum. However, the courses you select must meet the learning outcomes of the major.
• for your minor. You can include suitable courses in your chosen minor at Aalto. If your choice of minor is restricted, do not selected courses from business schools/faculties. If your choice of minor is free, you can complete the International Studies Minor during exchange.

According to Aalto regulations, it is not possible to transfer courses which have overlapping content with your other courses. Choose courses that will provide new knowledge!

There must be room for exchange studies in your degree. 

• The studies you have already completed, including those not included in your HOPS (but shown in your transcript of records), will be taken into account when assessing whether there is room for planned exchanges in your degree. 

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