operational research

Operations Research Center

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Master’s in operations research.

MIT’s master’s degree (SM) program in operations research (OR) teaches you important OR techniques—with an emphasis on the practical, real-world applications of OR—through a combination of challenging coursework and hands-on research.

In addition to the writing competency requirements, our rigorous curriculum includes seven graduate-level courses in such areas as optimization, applied probability, and statistics as well as advanced topics in OR that complement your academic interests and career goals. You must complete 66 credit units, of which at least 42 must be in advanced subjects, to earn your degree.

What’s more, you’ll put classroom theory into practice by writing a thesis based on independent research you’ve conducted under the guidance of your faculty advisor. Prior to graduation, you’ll present your research to your fellow ORC members.

Upon completion of our two-year program, you’ll be ready to put your knowledge and skills to good use in a variety of fields, including business, education, and research. In fact, recent graduates of our program have been sought after for such positions as technical staff members in business or industry, government planners, and private consultants.

For more information about the Master's program, please see our Master's Degree Syllabus .

Dual SM in OR

Students who are currently enrolled in another master’s degree (SM) program at MIT may consider pursuing a dual SM in OR. In order to pursue a dual masters degree in the OR program you would need to submit an application to the Center for consideration for admission. Once accepted into the program, you must be currently enrolled in another SM program at MIT in order to pursue the dual SM. The dual SM program requires that you complete coursework for both programs. Courses must be distinct and you cannot double count courses. For more information, please contact the ORC at 617-253-3601 or orc_staff @mit.edu .

For more information about ORC course offerings, please see our Course Offerings page .

What is Operations Research?

Operations research (OR) is the discipline of applying advanced analytical methods—such as optimization, statistics, machine learning, and probability — to make better decisions that impact society and the world positively.

Phone: 617-253-3601 Email: [email protected]

Annals of Operations Research

The Annals of Operations Research is a peer-reviewed journal focusing on all key aspects of operations research including theory, practice, and computation.

Publishes full-length research articles, short notes, expositions and surveys, and reports on computational studies.
Features case studies presenting new and innovative practical applications.
Periodically releases special volumes focusing on defined fields of operations research.
Includes dedicated sections focusing on the areas of data science, medicine/health care, and sustainability in supply chain management.

This is a transformative journal , you may have access to funding.

Endre Boros

Latest issue

Volume 335, Issue 3

Design and Management of Humanitarian Supply Chains for Pandemics: Lessons from COVID-19

Latest articles

The profitability-sustainability trade-off in complex chemical value chains.

Matteo Cosmi
Joachim Arts
Steffen Klosterhalfen

Contract manufacturer encroachment and its impact on OEM’s sales mode and social welfare in a platform-based supply chain

Yuelin Shen

Classification and estimation of case-mix adjusted performance indices for binary outcomes

Marco Doretti
Giorgio E. Montanari

Flexible supply-demand matching mechanism for C2B crowdsourcing logistics platforms with heterogeneous environment-inclined merchants

Shanyong Wang
Shiqiang Li

Autoregressive conditional dynamic semivariance models with value-at-risk estimates

Sree Vinutha Venkataraman

Journal updates

Call for papers.

Learn more about upcoming Special Issues for the Annals of Operations Research that are open for submissions.

Recent Top Cited Papers

Annals of Operations Research highlights some of the recent top cited papers from the journal.

Indexed by Scopus

The Annals of Operations Research is indexed by Scopus and has a CiteScore of 7.1 for 2022.

SDG 12 Related Publications from the Annals of Operations Research

The UN's Sustainable Development Goal 12 is focused on "responsible consumption and production." Learn more about SDG 12 and discover related research published in the Annals of Operations Research .