Undergraduate Programs

Business Analytics and Operations Research (BAOR)

The Business Analytics and Operations Research concentration provides students with scientific, mathematical, and engineering approaches that promote effective and informed managerial decision-making. As part of the Management Science major, students learn fundamental analytical methodologies including optimization, probability, and statistics. Students in the BAOR concentration have opportunities to master additional analytical skills such as artificial intelligence, data mining, forecasting, game theory, risk analysis, and systems dynamics. Students also have the opportunity to learn where these analytic techniques can be effectively employed, such as in manufacturing systems, supply chain management, transportation planning, health care management, and engineering design.

The curriculum below has been updated for the Class of 2014. Students in the Classes of 2012 and ’13 have the option of completing this curriculum or the previous version. (In the previous version, 15.053 and 15.761 were not required subjects, 15.053 did not count toward the concentration, and students were required to take at least two full electives taught within Course 15.)

Required subjects		Units
15.053*†	Optimization Methods in Management Science	12
15.761*	Introduction to Operations Management	9
Plus two full subjects from the following list (two six-unit subjects count as one elective)		Units
2.852	Manufacturing Systems Analysis	12
6.034	Artificial Intelligence	12
6.046	Design and Analysis of Algorithms	12
6.938	Engineering Risk-Benefit Analysis	12
14.12	Economic Applications of Game Theory	12
15.025	Game Theory for Strategic Advantage	9
15.034	Data Analysis for Management	9
15.062	Data Mining: Finding the Data and Models that Create Value	6
15.068	Statistical Consulting	9
15.071	The Analytical Edge	9
15.073	Logistical and Transportation Planning Methods	12
15.762	Supply Chain Planning	6
15.763	Manufacturing System and Supply Chain Design	6
15.770	Logistics Systems	12
15.871	Introduction to System Dynamics	6
15.872	System Dynamics II	6
15.875	Applications of System Dynamics	9
18.433	Combinatorial Optimization	12

Prof. James Orlin provides a list of additional OR electives and information about the concentration on his OR Concentration site.

* 15.053 and 15.761 also satisfy departmental requirements.

† Students may use 15.058 as a substitution for 15.053. Additional information about these courses can be found on Prof. James Orlin’s web pages.