Operations Research/Management Science Education and Training

Expand your reach with operations research training that fits your career aspirations

Operational research, also known as OR, is a field that can be used in a large variety of industries. Whether you want to improve the flow of your factory floor or find the most efficient method to link computers in your network, operations research/management science education and training can be the key to reaching your next set of career goals.

Educating yourself on sequential activities will allow you to make the decisions on efficiency and efficacy of a large variety of situations. Once you can analyze situations more effectively, you'll be much more marketable and able further your career. Operations research/management science education and training can come in a variety of ways, including:

1. Starting out with your undergraduate degree in operations research and management science.

2. Earning a graduate degree while learning operational research techniques.

3. Taking online training in appropriate production planning.

Get an undergraduate degree in operations research

An undergraduate degree is the absolute minimum requirement if you want a career in business operations research. Without an undergraduate degree, you won't be able to find a job in operations research. If you're moving to OR as a career change, you're most likely to have credits count for your degree if your original degree was in engineering, mathematics or computer science.
Stanford University offers an undergraduate degree in Management Science and Engineering, and this can be further concentrated towards operations research. The George Washington University has an undergraduate degree in Systems Engineering that covers operations research, as well as a minor specific to OR in the same department.

Meet the market's demands with a graduate degree in operational research

Most employers prefer that people within the operational research realm have a Master's degree.
The University of North Carolina offers a dual-degree program that allows students to earn both their undergraduate and graduate degrees in five years. The University of Cincinnati can help you earn an MSQA that includes in-depth operations research coverage.

Continue to learn about operations research once you have graduated

Once you're finished with your degree program, it's important that you stay up-to-date on the latest in operational research. While most OR careers don't have formal continuing education requirements, you should always seek to learn more to promote yourself as a current OR expert.
The Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS)offers a variety of educational opportunities, no matter what your career stage may be. The International Federation of Operational Research Societies (IFORS) offers educational resources and tutorials that highlight continued training resources.

• Even with the operations research tools available today, computer knowledge is absolutely essential to a career in operations research. You need to be able to learn how to program in a variety of languages, including some that are applicable only to the OR realm.

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