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  • M.S. Management Science and Engineering
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    • MSOR Program Plan
    • MSOR Career Information
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Graduate

M.S. Operations Research

The Master of Science in Operations Research program (30 points) is designed to enable students to concentrate their studies in methodological areas such as mathematical programming, stochastic models, and simulation. The department offers a variety of domain specific courses in areas including logistics, supply chain management, revenue management, financial engineering, risk management, entrepreneurship, and general management.

MSOR degree candidates are required to satisfy a core program of graduate courses:

IEOR E4004: Intro to OR: Deterministic Models
IEOR E4106: Intro to OR: Stochastic Models
IEOR E4404: Simulation
SIEO W4150: Introduction to Probability and Statistics (can be waived if the student has the right background in probability and statistics)

All students must take at least 18 points of graduate work in the IEOR Department (denoted by courses with the IEOR designation) and at least 30 points of graduate studies at Columbia. In addition to courses within the engineering school, students can also take electives from various schools within the university, such as Columbia Business School, the School of International and Public Affairs, the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, and the School of Law.

The Department requires that students in the Program achieve grades of B- or higher in each of the fundamental core courses (IEOR E4004 and IEOR E4106). Poor performance in these courses is indicative of inadequate preparation and is very likely to lead to serious problems in completing the Program. In addition, students must maintain a cumulative GPA equivalent to a B- during every term enrolled. Students failing to meet these criteria may be asked to withdraw from his/her Program.

The Department suggests a number of elective courses and four optional concentrations depending on areas of interest.

For students interested in the Concentration in Financial and Managerial Applications, the Department recommends taking:

For students interested in the Concentration in Logistics and Supply Chain Management, the Department recommends taking:

For students interested in the Concentration in Optimization, the Department recommends taking at least three of the following elective courses:

IEOR E4000: Production and Operations Management
IEOR E4405: Production Scheduling
IEOR E4408: Resource Allocations: Models, Algorithms & Applications
IEOR E4405: Operations Research in Public Policy
IEOR E4507: Healthcare Operations Management
IEOR E4510: Project Management
IEOR E4520: Applied Systems Engineering
IEOR E4600: Applied Integer Programming
IEOR E4611: Decision Models and Applications
IEOR E4615: Service Engineering
IEOR E4630: Asset Allocation
OPMN B8815: Supply Chain Management

For students interested in the Concentration in Applied Probability, the Department recommends taking at least three of the following elective courses:

DRAN B8839: Demand and Supply Analytics
IEOR E4000: Production and Operations Management
IEOR E4407: Game Theoretic Models of Operation
IEOR E4601: Dynamic Pricing and Revenue Management
IEOR E4602: Quantitative Risk Management
IEOR E4700: Intro to Financial Engineering
OPMN B8815: Supply Chain Management