Program Overview

Introduction to Operations Research with Engineering (ORwE)

The Operations Research with Engineering (ORwE) program, initiated in Fall 2011, offers a Doctor of Philosophy (Interdisciplinary) degree with a specialty in Operations Research with Engineering. This program involves mathematically modeling physical systems to determine a course of action for improving or optimizing their functionality.

Program Description

Operations Research (OR) encompasses the mathematical modeling of both naturally occurring and man-made systems. Examples of such systems include manufacturing systems, chemical processes, socio-economic systems, mechanical systems, and mining systems. The ORwE PhD Specialty allows students to complete an interdisciplinary doctoral degree in Operations Research with Engineering by taking courses and conducting research in eight departments/divisions:

• Applied Mathematics and Statistics
• Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences
• Engineering and Computational Sciences
• Civil and Environmental Engineering
• Economics & Business
• Mining Engineering
• Mechanical Engineering
• Metallurgical & Materials Engineering

Specialty Requirements

Doctoral students develop a customized curriculum to fit their needs. The degree requires a minimum of 72 graduate credit hours, including coursework and a thesis.

• Coursework is valid for nine years towards a Ph.D. degree; any exceptions must be approved by the Director of the ORwE program and student advisor.
• Core Courses: 25.0 semester hours
• Area of Specialization Courses: 12.0 semester hours
• Total Semester Hours: 37.0
• Research Credits: At least 24.0 research credits

Course Work

The student's faculty advisor and the doctoral thesis committee must approve the student's program of study and the topic for the thesis.

Core Courses

• CSCI/MATH 406 ALGORITHMS (3.0 semester hours)
• MEGN 502 ADVANCED ENGINEERING ANALYSIS (4.0 semester hours)
• MATH 530 STATISTICAL METHODS I (3.0 semester hours)
• EBGN 555 LINEAR PROGRAMMING (3.0 semester hours) Total Semester Hours: 13.0

Area of Specialization Courses

Select four of the following courses (12.0 semester hours):

• EBGN 528 INDUSTRIAL SYSTEMS SIMULATION
• MATH 542 SIMULATION
• CSCI 542 SIMULATION
• MTGN 450/MLGN 550 STATISTICAL PROCESS CONTROL AND DESIGN OF EXPERIMENTS
• EBGN 560 DECISION ANALYSIS
• EENG 517 THEORY AND DESIGN OF ADVANCED CONTROL SYSTEMS
• EBGN 655 ADVANCED LINEAR PROGRAMMING
• CSCI 562 APPLIED ALGORITHMS AND DATA STRUCTURES
• MNGN 536 OPERATIONS RESEARCH TECHNIQUES IN THE MINERAL INDUSTRY
• MNGN 538 GEOSTATISTICAL ORE RESERVE ESTIMATION
• EBGN 509 MATHEMATICAL ECONOMICS
• EBGN 575 ADVANCED MINING AND ENERGY ASSET VALUATION
• MATH 531 STATISTICAL METHODS II
• xxxx 598/698 Special Topics (Requires approval of the advisor and ORwE program director)

Qualifying Examination Process and Thesis Proposal

Upon completion of the core coursework, students must pass qualifying written examinations to become a candidate for the Ph.D. ORwE specialty. The proposal defense should be done within ten months of passing the qualifying exam.

Transfer Credits

Students may transfer up to 24.0 hours of graduate-level coursework from other institutions toward the Ph.D. degree, subject to the restriction that those courses must not have been used as credit toward a Bachelor's degree. The student must have achieved a grade of B or better in all graduate transfer courses, and the transfer must be approved by the student's Doctoral Thesis Committee and the Director of the ORwE program.

Unsatisfactory Progress

In addition to the institutional guidelines for unsatisfactory progress, unsatisfactory progress will be assigned to any full-time student who does not pass the following prerequisite and core courses in the first fall semester of study:

• CSCI 262 DATA STRUCTURES (3.0 semester hours)
• EBGN 555 LINEAR PROGRAMMING (3.0 semester hours)
• MATH 530 STATISTICAL METHODS I (3.0 semester hours) And the following in the first spring semester of study:
• CSCI 406 ALGORITHMS (3.0 semester hours) Unsatisfactory progress will also be assigned to any students who do not complete requirements as specified in their admission letter. Any exceptions to the stipulations for unsatisfactory progress must be approved by the ORwE committee. Part-time students develop an approved course plan with their advisor.

Prerequisites

Students must have completed the following undergraduate prerequisite courses with a grade of B or better:

• CSCI 261 PROGRAMMING CONCEPTS (3.0 semester hours)
• CSCI 262 DATA STRUCTURES (3.0 semester hours) Students entering in the fall semester must have completed the Programming (CSCI 261) prerequisite or equivalent. Students will only be allowed to enter in the spring semester if they have developed a course program such that they are able to take the qualifying exam within 3 semesters.