Purpose – The aim of this research is to determine the importance and impact of project-based learning (PBL) on students' knowledge in Lean and Six Sigma courses where practical application of theoretical knowledge is necessary. Design/methodology/approach – Students teams were given hands-on collaborative projects conducted with local companies. After the completion of the project, a student evaluation survey was conducted and the responses were analysed in two different phases. The first phase consisted of collecting responses from the Lean and Six Sigma courses; observing the impact of the semester project on students' knowledge based on the response percentages. The second phase analyses the responses from both the Lean and Six Sigma courses, by performing a Fisher's exact test to examine how similar the students received knowledge from the use of the semester project. Findings – Results showed that the inclusion of the semester project in the courses had a positive impact on the students' knowledge in learning course concepts and the students were able to apply theoretical knowledge in solving real-world problems. It is also observed that the response patterns are different in most of the aspects between both the courses. Research limitations/implications – This research evaluates student learning with statistical tests and is limited only for classroom teaching techniques. Further, this research states that application-oriented courses should be accompanied by projects as it helps in better understanding the course deliverables for the students. Originality/value – Research evaluating the impact of PBL on students' knowledge in Lean and Six Sigma courses does not currently exist. Statistical analysis of survey responses from both the Lean and Six Sigma courses was performed using a χ2 test of independence to examine how similar the students received knowledge from the use of the semester project.

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