Master of Science in Operations Research (MSc)
Degree Requirements

General Requirements

The MSc requires a minimum of 31 credit hours. To earn the MSc in Operations Research, the student must:

1. Successfully complete five courses (subject to Restrictions 1 and 2 below) from the following list:
• OR 501: Introduction to Operations Research
• MA/OR 504: Introduction to Mathematical Programming
• OR/MA/IE 505: Linear Programming
• CSC 505: Design and Analysis of Algorithms
• OR 506: Algorithmic Methods In Nonlinear Programming
• OR 708: Integer Programming
• OR/IE 709: Dynamic Programming
• MA/ST 746: Introduction to Stochastic Processes (can be replaced by OR/IE 760 or OR/MA/ST 773)
• OR/IE 761: Queues and Stochastic Service Systems
• OR/CSC/ECE/IE 762: Computer Simulation Techniques
• Restriction 1: At least one of 505, 506, 709 MUST be chosen.
• Restriction 2: 504 and 505 cannot BOTH be used to satisfy this five course requirement.
2. Enroll in OR 601 (OR Seminar) for one credit hour during residence. Students are expected to attend the seminar throughout their program.
3. Successfully complete a master's thesis (3 to 6 credits of OR 695). Ideally, the thesis will be of sufficient calibre to include publishable research.
4. Students MAY choose three courses in a minor field of study. A maximum of 6 credits of coursework at the 400 level will be allowed in the minor. A student may, with the consent of his/her examination committee, choose NOT to pursue a minor field of study.
5. If additional courses are needed to complete the 31 hour requirement, they must be chosen from the list of OR and OR Cognate courses.
6. Form a Graduate Advisory Committee consisting of at least three faculty, and file a committee approved Plan of Graduate Work with the Graduate School. The Chair (or cochair) and one other committee member should be a member of the OR Faculty. At least one member should represent the minor field of study.
7. Pass a Final Oral Examination conducted by the Advisory Committee. The exam will include, but, at the discretion of the committee, need not be restricted to a "defense of thesis."
8. Upon passing the MSc final oral examination, each MSc student must have the thesis approved by each member of the student's advisory committee. The thesis must be submitted to the thesis editor of the Graduate School and must conform to the Guide for Preparation of Theses and Dissertations, a copy of which may be obtained from the Graduate School. The student should be aware of Graduate School submission deadlines for graduation. Submission of theses to the Graduate School is by appointment only (call 919-515-2871).