Department: Management Science and Engineering
Contacts
Office: Huang Engineering Center, 475 Via Ortega, 94305-4121
Mail Code: 94305-4026
Web Site: https://msande.stanford.edu/
Courses offered by the Department of Management Science and Engineering are listed under the subject code MS&E on the Stanford Bulletin's ExploreCourses web site.
The Department of Management Science and Engineering leads at the interface of engineering, business, and public policy. The department’s mission is, through education and research, to advance the design, management, operation, and interaction of technological, economic, and social systems. The department’s engineering research strength is integrated with its educational program at the undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral levels: graduates of the program are trained as engineers and future leaders in technology, policy, and industry. Research and teaching activities are complemented by an outreach program that encourages the transfer of ideas to the environment of Silicon Valley and beyond.
Management Science and Engineering (MS&E) provides programs of education and research by integrating three basic strengths:
depth in conceptual and analytical foundations
comprehensive coverage of functional areas of application
interaction with other Stanford departments, Silicon Valley industry, and organizations throughout the world.
The analytical and conceptual foundations include decision and risk analysis, dynamic systems, economics, optimization, organizational science, and stochastic systems. The functional areas of application include entrepreneurship, finance, information, marketing, organizational behavior, policy, production, and strategy. Close associations with other engineering departments and with industry enrich the programs by providing opportunities to apply MS&E methods to important problems and by motivating new theoretical developments from practical experience. MS&E’s programs also provide a basis for contributing to other areas such as biotechnology, defense policy, environmental policy, information systems, and telecommunications.
Undergraduate Programs in Management Science and Engineering
MS&E offers a program leading to the degree of Bachelor of Science as well as undergraduate minor.
The undergraduate curriculum in Management Science and Engineering provides students training in the fundamentals of engineering systems analysis to prepare them to plan, design, and implement complex economic and technological management systems where a scientific or engineering background is necessary or desirable. The major prepares students for a variety of career paths, including investment banking, management consulting, facilities and process management, or for graduate school in industrial engineering, operations research, business, economics, law, medicine, or public policy.
The educational objectives of the undergraduate degree program are:
Principles and Skills—provide students with a basic understanding of management science and engineering principles, including analytical problem solving and communications skills.
Preparation for Practice—prepare students for practice in a field that sees rapid changes in tools, problems, and opportunities.
Preparation for Continued Growth—prepare students for graduate study and self development over an entire career.
Preparation for Service—develop in students the awareness, background, and skills necessary to become responsible citizens, employees, and leaders.
MS&E also participates with the departments of Computer Science, Mathematics, and Statistics in a program leading to a B.S. in Data Science. See the “Data Science” section of this bulletin.
Graduate Programs in Management Science and Engineering
MS&E offers programs leading to the degrees of Master of Science and Doctor of Philosophy. The department also offers a coterminal B.S./M.S. degree, a dual master’s degree in cooperation with each of the other departments in the School of Engineering, joint master's degrees with the School of Law and the Public Policy Program, and a Ph.D. minor.
The master’s degree is designed to be a terminal degree program with a professional focus. The M.S. degree can be earned in one academic year (three academic quarters) of full-time work, although most students choose to complete the program in five academic quarters, or eighteen months, and work as an intern in the Summer Quarter.
Admission
The deadline for application to the doctoral program is December 1, 2023, the deadline for application to the external master's program is December 12, 2023. Coterminal applicants should review the deadlines on the MS&E intranet.
Except in unusual circumstances, external admission is limited to the Autumn Quarter because courses are arranged sequentially with basic courses and prerequisites offered early in the academic year.
Assistantships and Fellowships
A limited number of fellowships and assistantships are awarded each year. Applicants admitted to the doctoral program, who have indicated on their application that they would like to be considered for financial aid, are automatically considered for these assistantships and fellowships. New and returning master's students may apply for course assistantships each quarter, but priority is given to MS&E doctoral students.
Information about loan programs and need-based aid for U.S. citizens and permanent residents can be obtained from the Financial Aid Office.
Careers in MS&E
MS&E students are candidates for careers in consulting, product and project management, financial analysis, and work in policy arenas. A significant number join or found start-ups. Many have become leaders in technology-based businesses which have an increasing need for analytically oriented people who understand both business and technology. Other graduates make careers tackling the problems faced by local, national, and international governments by developing new healthcare systems, new energy systems and a more sustainable environment. The major problems of the day demand an ability to integrate the technical, social and economic ways of thinking. This is precisely what the department educates its students to do.
Professional Education
The Stanford Center for Professional Development (SCPD) provides opportunities for to take courses part-time at Stanford and online.
The Honors Cooperative Program (HCP) provides opportunities for working professionals to earn an M.S. degree over a longer period, by taking one or two courses per academic quarter. Some courses are only offered on campus; HCP students may attend those courses at Stanford to meet the degree requirements. It is possible to complete this program as a remote HCP student although the remote offerings are limited. Students must apply for a degree program through the standard application process, and must meet the standard application deadlines.
The non-degree option (NDO) program allows the opportunity to take Stanford graduate courses on a part-time basis without having to be formally admitted to a degree program. NDO students enroll as distance learners where up to 18 units of graduate credit earned may later be applied toward a degree program (if admitted), or may be applied toward a certificate. Students who have completed an undergraduate degree with a minimum of a 3.2 grade point average, may apply to take MS&E courses online each quarter through the Stanford Center for Professional Development. Completion of multivariable calculus and linear algebra is required for most MS&E courses and graduate certificates. For additional information about the NDO application process and deadlines, see the SCPD web site, or contact SCPD at (650) 725-3000.
Faculty
Emeriti: (Professors) James L. Adams, Stephen R. Barley, Richard W. Cottle, B. Curtis Eaves, Warren H. Hausman, Frederick S. Hillier, Ronald A. Howard, Donald L. Iglehart, David G. Luenberger, Michael M. May, William J. Perry, David A. Thompson; (Associate Professor) Samuel S. Chiu; (Professors, Research) Siegfried S. Hecker, Walter Murray, Michael A. Saunders; (Professor, Teaching) Robert E. McGinn
Chair: Pamela J. Hinds
Director of Graduate Studies: Riitta Katila
Director of Undergraduate Studies: Ross D. Shachter
Professors: Itai Ashlagi, Nicholas Bambos, Jose Blanchet, Margaret L. Brandeau, Kathleen M. Eisenhardt, Kay Giesecke, Peter W. Glynn, Ashish Goel, Pamela J. Hinds, Ramesh Johari, Riitta Katila, M. Elisabeth Paté-Cornell, Amin Saberi, Robert I. Sutton, James L. Sweeney, Benjamin Van Roy, Yinyu Ye
Associate Professors: Charles E. Eesley, Ross D. Shachter, Aaron Sidford, Edison T. S. Tse, Johan Ugander, Melissa A. Valentine
Assistant Professors: Arvind Karunakaran, Irene Y. Lo, Markus Pelger, Vasilis Syrgkanis, Madeleine Udell, Ellen Vitercik
Professor (Research): John P. Weyant
Professor (Teaching): Thomas H. Byers
Courtesy Professors: Paul Milgrom, Douglas K. Owens