Offered at: San Luis Obispo Campus
The Industrial Technology and Packaging (ITP) major blends business, design, science, and technology to prepare students for the development of innovative, sustainable products and packaging systems, and the efficient supply chains needed to bring them to market.
Graduates are well-positioned for diverse and high-demand roles, including packaging engineer, structural designer, product developer, industrial engineer, supply chain specialist, manufacturing engineer, quality engineer, operations engineer, and business analyst.
The ITP curriculum spans a wide array of interdisciplinary subjects, such as user-centered design, design thinking, sustainability, entrepreneurship, marketing, project management, advanced manufacturing systems, materials science, supply chain and operations management, distribution and logistics, lean processes, Lean Six Sigma, technical sales, business analytics, program management, and procurement.
Students select from two concentrations aligned with current industry needs:
- Industrial Technology
- Packaging
Throughout the program, students engage in collaborative, project-based learning that emphasizes real-world application. This immersive approach builds strong teamwork skills and develops future industrial leaders with the ability to manage innovation, optimize processes, and drive sustainable business solutions.
Concentrations
Industrial Technology
Offered at: San Luis Obispo Campus
The Industrial Technology Concentration offers an exceptional interdisciplinary curriculum centered around product development, manufacturing, and the intricacies of supply chain and operations management.
Students will immerse themselves in a diverse array of courses encompassing technology, product design, materials, manufacturing technology, quality assurance, automation, process improvement, Lean Six Sigma methodologies, innovation commercialization, entrepreneurship, business administration, project management, operations management, and the dynamics of supply chain management.
Packaging
Offered at: San Luis Obispo Campus
Packaging has evolved from a purely logistical or materials-based function into a dynamic, strategic discipline central to value creation in modern business. The Packaging Concentration offers a comprehensive exploration of the entire packaging value chain, integrating key elements of business, design, engineering, materials science, and technology.
Students in this program develop a deep understanding of critical industry challenges, including sustainability, inclusion, accessibility, and globalization, along with their broader impacts. We empower students to align their passions with purpose, equipping them to contribute meaningfully across a range of industries such as food and beverage, cosmetics and personal care, consumer goods, automotive, healthcare, and electronics.
Graduates of this highly regarded program are well-prepared for diverse career paths in packaging engineering, research and development, procurement, manufacturing, technical sales, and management. The Packaging Concentration opens doors to a wide spectrum of opportunities, reflecting its relevance, versatility, and growing demand across the global marketplace.
Program Learning Objectives
- Apply knowledge and skills to identify opportunities and solve problems related to packaging systems, product development, and supply chain management.
- Use appropriate methods and current technology to analyze data and drive decisions related to packaging systems, product development, and supply chain management.
- Evaluate the implications of business, design, science, and technology decisions on society.
- Recognize the ethical consequences of business, design, science, and technology decisions.
- Apply sustainability principles to packaging systems, product development ,and supply chain management.
- Demonstrate effective visual communication skills.
- Demonstrate effective written communication skills.
- Demonstrate effective oral communication skills.
- Demonstrate effective participation in teams.
Concentrations
Industrial Technology
- Apply knowledge and skills to identify opportunities and solve problems related to product development and supply chain management.
- Use appropriate methods and current technology to analyze data and drive decisions related to product development and supply chain management.
- Evaluate the implications of business, design, science, and technology decisions on society.
- Recognize the ethical consequences of business, design, science, and technology decisions.
- Apply sustainability principles to product development and supply chain management.
- Demonstrate effective visual communication skills.
- Demonstrate effective written communication skills.
- Demonstrate effective oral communication skills.
- Demonstrate effective participation in teams.
Packaging
- Apply knowledge and skills to identify opportunities and solve problems related to packaging systems and supply chain management.
- Use appropriate methods and current technology to analyze data and drive decisions related to packaging systems and supply chain management.
- Evaluate the implications of business, design, science, and technology decisions on society.
- Recognize the ethical consequences of business, design, science, and technology decisions.
- Apply sustainability principles to packaging systems and supply chain management.
- Demonstrate effective visual communication skills.
- Demonstrate effective written communication skills.
- Demonstrate effective oral communication skills.
- Demonstrate effective participation in teams.
Degree Requirements and Curriculum
In addition to the program requirements listed on this page, students must also satisfy requirements outlined in more detail in the Minimum Requirements for Graduation section of this catalog, including:
- 40 units of upper-division courses
- 2.0 GPA
- Graduation Writing Requirement (GWR)
- U.S. Cultural Pluralism (USCP)
Note: No Major or Support courses may be selected as credit/no credit. In addition, no more than 12 units of cooperative or internship courses can count towards your degree requirements.
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| MAJOR COURSES | ||
| ITP 1100 | Student Orientation, College Success, and Career Readiness | 1 |
| ITP 1125 | Introduction to Industrial Technology and Packaging | 1 |
| ITP 1150 | Power Systems and Renewable Energy | 3 |
| ITP 2233 | Product Modeling and Communication | 3 |
| ITP 3303 | Lean Six Sigma Green Belt | 3 |
| ITP 3326 | Product Design and Development | 3 |
| ITP 3330 | Packaging Fundamentals (Upper-Division 2/5) 1 | 3 |
| ITP 3341 | Packaging Polymers and Processing | 3 |
| ITP 3371 | Supply Chain Management in Manufacturing and Services | 3 |
| ITP 4409 | Packaging Machinery and Processes | 3 |
| ITP 4411 | Packaging Sustainability | 3 |
| ITP 4464 | Senior Project | 3 |
| Concentration | ||
| (See list of concentrations below) | 30-32 | |
| SUPPORT COURSES | ||
| BUS 3346 | Principles of Marketing | 3 |
| BUS 3391 | Information Systems | 3 |
| CHEM 1120 | Fundamentals of Chemical Structure and Properties (5A & 5C) 1 | 4 |
| ECON 2001 | Survey of Economics (4B) 1 | 3 |
| Select from the following: (2) 1 | 4 | |
| Calculus I | ||
| Business Calculus and Business Calculus Workshop | ||
| PHYS 1121 | College Physics I | 4 |
| STAT 1110 | Applied Statistical Concepts and Methods | 3 |
| or STAT 1210 | Business Statistics I | |
| GENERAL EDUCATION | ||
| (See GE program requirements below) | 30 | |
| FREE ELECTIVES | ||
| Free Electives 2 | 2-4 | |
| Total Units | 120 | |
- 1
Required in Major or Support; also satisfies General Education (GE) requirement.
- 2
- If a General Education (GE) course is used to satisfy a Major or Support requirement, additional units of Free Electives may be needed to complete the total units required for the degree.
Concentrations
Industrial Technology
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| REQUIRED COURSES | ||
| ITP 2260 | Materials and Manufacturing Technology | 3 |
| ITP 3390 | Industrial Automation | 3 |
| ITP 4403 | Lean and Quality Systems Management | 3 |
| ITP 4410 | Operations Planning and Control | 3 |
| ITP 4415 | Supply Chain and Logistics | 3 |
| ITP 4428 | Commercialization of Innovation | 3 |
| ITP 4496 | Product Development and Manufacturing I | 3 |
| ITP 4497 | Product Development and Manufacturing II | 3 |
| Approved Electives | ||
| Select from the following: | 6-8 | |
Industrial Technology and Packaging | ||
| Personal Leadership - 7 Habits | ||
| Industrial Safety and Maintenance | ||
| Packaging Design Fundamentals | ||
| Industrial and Packaging Materials | ||
| Special Topics | ||
| Industrial Facilities Management | ||
| International Supply Chains | ||
| Special Problems for Advanced Undergraduates | ||
| Lean Six Sigma Green Belt Certification Project | ||
| Business-to-Business Complex Solutions Selling | ||
| Instrumental Analysis of Packaging Polymers | ||
| Quality Evaluation of Packaged Products | ||
| Packaging Laws and Regulations | ||
| Internship/Cooperative Education | ||
| Healthcare Packaging | ||
| Distribution Packaging Dynamics | ||
| Packaging Development | ||
Business Analytics | ||
| Business Application Development | ||
| Database Systems in Business | ||
Business Management | ||
| Financial Accounting for Nonbusiness Majors | ||
or BUS 2214 | Financial Accounting | |
| Managerial Accounting | ||
| Human Resources Management and Human Resources Management Project | ||
| Organizational Behavior | ||
| Negotiation and Negotiation Project | ||
Entrepreneurship | ||
| Introduction to Entrepreneurship | ||
| Customer Development | ||
| Total Units | 30-32 | |
Packaging
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| REQUIRED COURSES | ||
| ITP 2234 | Packaging Design Fundamentals | 3 |
| ITP 2241 | Industrial and Packaging Materials | 3 |
| ITP 3334 | Structural Packaging Design | 3 |
| ITP 4408 | Fiber-Based Packaging | 3 |
| ITP 4430 | Healthcare Packaging | 3 |
| ITP 4475 | Distribution Packaging Dynamics | 3 |
| ITP 4498 | Packaging Development | 3 |
| Approved Electives | ||
| Select from the following: 1 | 9-11 | |
Industrial Technology and Packaging | ||
| Industrial Safety and Maintenance | ||
| Materials and Manufacturing Technology | ||
| Special Topics | ||
| International Supply Chains | ||
| Industrial Automation | ||
| Special Problems for Advanced Undergraduates | ||
| Lean and Quality Systems Management | ||
| Lean Six Sigma Green Belt Certification Project | ||
| Business-to-Business Complex Solutions Selling | ||
| Operations Planning and Control | ||
| Instrumental Analysis of Packaging Polymers | ||
| Quality Evaluation of Packaged Products | ||
| Packaging Laws and Regulations | ||
| Supply Chain and Logistics | ||
| Internship/Cooperative Education | ||
| Commercialization of Innovation | ||
Food Science | ||
| The Science of Food for the Consumer | ||
Business Analytics | ||
| Business Application Development | ||
| Database Systems in Business | ||
Business Management | ||
| Financial Accounting for Nonbusiness Majors | ||
or BUS 2214 | Financial Accounting | |
| Managerial Accounting | ||
| Human Resources Management and Human Resources Management Project | ||
| Organizational Behavior | ||
| Negotiation and Negotiation Project | ||
Entrepreneurship | ||
| Introduction to Entrepreneurship | ||
| Customer Development | ||
| Total Units | 30 | |
- 1
Units in excess of total will be applied towards major's free electives.
General Education (GE) Requirements
- 43 units required, 13 of which are specified in Major and/or Support.
- If any of the remaining 30 Units is used to satisfy a Major or Support requirement, additional units of Free Electives may be needed to complete the total units required for the degree.
- See the complete GE course listing.
- A grade of C- or better is required in one course in each of the following GE Areas: 1A (English Composition), 1B (Critical Thinking), 1C (Oral Communication), and 2 (Mathematics and Quantitative Reasoning).
| Lower-Division General Education | ||
| Area 1 | English Communication and Critical Thinking | |
| 1A | Written Communication | 3 |
| 1B | Critical Thinking | 3 |
| 1C | Oral Communication | 3 |
| Area 2 | Mathematics and Quantitative Reasoning | |
| 2 | Mathematics and Quantitative Reasoning (3 units in Support) 1 | 0 |
| Area 3 | Arts and Humanities | |
| 3A | Arts | 3 |
| 3B | Humanities: Literature, Philosophy, Languages other than English | 3 |
| Area 4 | Social and Behavioral Sciences (Area 4 courses must come from at least two different course prefixes.) | |
| 4A | American Institutions (Title 5, Section 40404 Requirement) | 3 |
| 4B | Social and Behavioral Sciences (3 units in Support) 1 | 0 |
| Area 5 | Physical and Life Sciences | |
| 5A | Physical Sciences (3 units in Support) 1 | 0 |
| 5B | Life Sciences | 3 |
| 5C | Laboratory (may be embedded in a 5A or 5B course) (1 units in Support) 1 | 0 |
| Area 6 | Ethnic Studies | |
| 6 | Ethnic Studies | 3 |
| Upper-Division General Education | ||
| Upper-Division 2/5 | Mathematics and Quantitative Reasoning or Physical and Life Sciences (3 units in Major) 1 | 0 |
| Upper-Division 3 | Arts and Humanities | 3 |
| Upper-Division 4 | Social and Behavioral Sciences (Area 4 courses must come from at least two different course prefixes.) | 3 |
| Total Units | 30 | |
- 1
- Required in Major or Support; also satisfies General Education (GE) requirement.