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                                                                    EXHIBIT 4(a)

                         DYNAMICS RESEARCH CORPORATION

                       2000 EMPLOYEE STOCK PURCHASE PLAN

     1.   Purpose.  The purpose of the Plan is to provide employees of the
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Company and its Designated Subsidiaries with an opportunity to purchase Common
Stock of the Company through accumulated payroll deductions. It is the intention
of the Company to have the Plan qualify as an "Employee Stock Purchase Plan"
under Section 423 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended. The
provisions of the Plan, accordingly, shall be construed so as to extend and
limit participation in a manner consistent with the requirements of that section
of the Code.

     2.   Definitions.
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          (a)  "Board" shall mean the Board of Directors of Dynamics Research
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Corporation.

          (b)  "Code" shall mean the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended.
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          (c)  "Common Stock" shall mean the Common Stock of Dynamics Research
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Corporation.

          (d)  "Company" shall mean Dynamics Research Corporation, a
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Massachusetts corporation, and any Designated Subsidiary of the Company.

          (e)  "Compensation" shall mean all base straight time gross earnings,
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commissions, overtime, and shift premium exclusive of payments for incentive
compensation, incentive payments, bonuses and other compensation.

          (f)  "Designated Subsidiary" shall mean any Subsidiary which has been
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designated by the Board from time to time in its sole discretion as eligible to
participate in the Plan.

          (g)  "Employee" shall mean any individual who is an Employee of the
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Company for tax purposes whose customary employment with the Company is at least
twenty (20) hours per week. For purposes of the Plan, the employment
relationship shall be treated as continuing intact while the individual is on
sick leave or other leave of absence approved by the Company.  Where the period
of leave exceeds 90 days and the individual's right to reemployment is not
guaranteed either by statute or by contract, the employment relationship shall
be deemed to have terminated on the 91st day of such leave.

          (h)  "Enrollment Date" shall mean the first day of each Offering
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Period.

          (i)  "Exercise Date" shall mean the last day of each Offering Period.
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          (j)  "Fair Market Value" shall mean, as of any date, the value of
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Common Stock determined as follows:

               (1)   If the Common Stock is listed on any established stock
exchange or a national market system, including without limitation the Nasdaq
National Market or The Nasdaq SmallCap Market of The Nasdaq Stock Market, its
Fair Market Value shall be the closing sales price for such stock (or the
closing bid, if no sales were reported) as quoted on such exchange or system for
the date of such determination (or, if such day was not a Trading Day, for the
next preceding date that was a Trading Day) as reported in The Wall Street
Journal or such other source as the Board deems reliable, or;

               (2)  If the Common Stock is regularly quoted by a recognized
securities dealer but selling prices are not reported, its Fair Market Value
shall be the mean of the closing bid and asked prices for the Common Stock on
the date of such determination (or, if such day was not a Trading Day, for the
next preceding date that was a Trading Day) as reported in The Wall Street
Journal or such other source as the Board deems reliable, or;

               (3)  In the absence of an established market for the Common
Stock, the Fair Market Value thereof shall be determined in good faith by the
Board.

          (k)  "Offering Period" shall mean, except as otherwise provided
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pursuant to Section 4, four (4) periods of approximately three (3) months each,
during which an option granted pursuant to the Plan may be exercised, commencing
on the first Trading Day and terminating on the last Trading Day in the period,
as follows: the period beginning May 1 and ending July 31 of the same year, the
period beginning August 1 and ending October 31 of the same year, the period
beginning November 1 and ending January 31 of the following year, or the period
beginning February 1 and ending April 30 of the following year. The duration of
Offering Periods may be changed pursuant to Section 4 of this Plan.

          (l)  "Plan" shall mean this Employee Stock Purchase Plan.
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          (m)  "Purchase Price" shall mean an amount equal to 85% of the Fair
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Market Value of a share of Common Stock on the Enrollment Date or on the
Exercise Date, whichever is lower; provided, however, that the Purchase Price
may be adjusted by the Board pursuant to Section 19.

          (n)  "Reserves" shall mean the number of shares of Common Stock
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covered by each option under the Plan which have not yet been exercised and the
number of shares of Common Stock which have been authorized for issuance under
the Plan but not yet placed under option.

          (o)  "Subsidiary" shall mean a corporation, domestic or foreign, of
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which not less than 50% of the voting shares are held by the Company or a
Subsidiary, whether or not such corporation now exists or is hereafter organized
or acquired by the Company or a Subsidiary.

          (p)  "Trading Day" shall mean a day on which national stock exchanges
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and the Nasdaq System are open for trading.

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     3.   Eligibility.
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          (a)  An Employee is eligible to participate for any Offering Period if
employed by the Company on the date, specified by the payroll office (not more
than thirty (30) days prior to the Enrollment Date for such Offering Period) as
the deadline for completing the subscription agreement referred to in Section
5(a) below with respect to such Offering Period.

          (b)  Any provisions of the Plan to the contrary notwithstanding, no
Employee shall be granted an option under the Plan (i) to the extent that,
immediately after the grant, such Employee (or any other person whose stock
would be attributed to such Employee would own (or pursuant to Section 424(d) of
the Code would be deemed to own) capital stock of the Company and/or hold
outstanding options to purchase such stock possessing five percent (5%) or more
of the total combined voting power or value of all classes of the capital stock
of the Company or of any Subsidiary, or (ii) to the extent that his or her
rights to purchase stock under all employee stock purchase plans of the Company
and its subsidiaries accrues at a rate which exceeds Twenty-Five Thousand
Dollars ($25,000) worth of stock (determined at the fair market value of the
shares at the time such option is granted) for each calendar year in which such
option is outstanding at any time.

     4.   Offering Periods. The Plan shall be implemented by consecutive
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Offering Periods with a new Offering Period commencing on the first Trading Day
on or after May 1, August 1, November 1 and February 1 each year and ending on
the last Trading Day on or before July 31, October 31, January 31 and April 30.
The Board shall have the power to change the duration of Offering Periods
(including the commencement dates thereof) with respect to future offerings
without stockholder approval if such change is announced at least five (5) days
prior to the scheduled beginning of the first Offering Period to be affected
thereafter.

     5.   Participation.
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          (a)  An eligible Employee may become a participant in the Plan by
completing a subscription agreement authorizing payroll deductions and filing it
with the Company's payroll office prior to the applicable Enrollment Date. All
Employees participating in the Plan for an Offering Period shall have the same
rights and privileges except as otherwise permitted under Section 423(b)(5) of
the Code.

          (b)  Payroll deductions for a participant shall commence on the first
payroll period following the Enrollment Date and shall end on the last payroll
in the Offering Period to which such authorization is applicable, unless sooner
terminated by the participant as provided in Section 10 hereof.

     6.   Payroll Deductions.
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          (a)  At the time a participant files his or her subscription
agreement, he or she shall elect to have payroll deductions made on each pay day
during the Offering Period in an amount not exceeding ten percent (10%) of the
Compensation which he or she receives on each pay day during the Offering
Period.

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          (b)  All payroll deductions made for a participant shall be credited
to his or her account under the Plan and shall be withheld in whole percentages.
A participant may not make any additional payments into such account.

          (c)  A participant may discontinue his or her participation in the
Plan as provided in Section 10 hereof. Also, a participant may at any time
during an Offering Period (but only once during any Offering Period) reduce by
one or more whole percentage points his or her specified payroll deduction
percentage as to future withholdings during the period. A participant who
reduces his or her specified payroll deduction percentage in an Offering Period
pursuant to the immediately preceding sentence but who does not withdraw from
the Plan shall continue to be a participant for the Offering Period. The
subscription agreement of a participant described in this subsection shall
remain in effect for successive Offering Periods unless terminated as provided
in Section 10 hereof.

          (d)  Notwithstanding the foregoing, to the extent necessary to comply
with Section 423(b)(8) of the Code and Section 3(b) hereof, a participants
payroll deductions may be decreased to zero percent (0%) at any time during an
Offering Period.  Payroll deductions shall recommence at the rate provided in
such participants subscription agreement at the beginning of the next Offering
Period, unless participation is terminated as provided in Section 10 hereof.

          (e)  At the time the option is exercised, in whole or in part, or at
the time some or all of the Company's Common Stock issued under the Plan is
disposed of, the participant must make adequate provision for the Company's
federal, state, or other tax withholding obligations, if any, which arise upon
the exercise of the option or the disposition of the Common Stock. At any time,
the Company may, but shall not be obligated to, withhold from the participants
compensation the amount necessary for the Company to meet applicable withholding
obligations, including any withholding required to make available to the Company
any tax deductions or benefits attributable to sale or early disposition of
Common Stock by the Employee.

     7.   Grant of Option.  On the Enrollment Date of each Offering Period, each
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eligible Employee participating in such Offering Period shall be granted an
option to purchase on the Exercise Date of such Offering Period (at the
applicable Purchase Price) up to a number of shares of the Company's Common
Stock determined by dividing such Employee's payroll deductions accumulated
prior to such Exercise Date and retained in the Participants account as of the
Exercise Date by the applicable Purchase Price; provided that in no event shall
an Employee be permitted to purchase during each Offering Period more than 250
shares (subject to any adjustment pursuant to Section 18), and provided further
that such purchase shall be subject to the limitations set forth in Sections
3(b) and 13 hereof. Any options granted prior to shareholder approval will be
conditioned on shareholder approval. Exercise of the option shall occur as
provided in Section 8 hereof, unless the participant has withdrawn pursuant to
Section 10 hereof. The Option, except to the extent exercised, shall expire on
the last day of the Offering Period.

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     8.   Exercise of Option.  Unless a participant withdraws from the Plan as
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provided in Section 10 hereof, his or her option for the purchase of shares
shall be exercised automatically on the Exercise Date, and the maximum number of
full and fractional shares subject to option shall be purchased for such
participant at the applicable Purchase Price with the accumulated payroll
deductions in his or her account. Any other monies left over in a participant's
account after the Exercise Date shall be returned to the participant.  During a
participant's lifetime, a participant's option to purchase shares hereunder is
exercisable only by him or her.

     9.   Delivery.  As promptly as practicable after each Exercise Date on
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which a purchase of shares occurs, the Company shall arrange the delivery to
each participant, as appropriate, of the shares purchased upon exercise of his
or her option.

     10.  Withdrawal.
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          (a)  A participant may withdraw all but not less than all the payroll
deductions credited to his or her account and not yet used to exercise his or
her option under the Plan prior to exercise by giving written notice to the
Company. All of the participant's payroll deductions credited to his or her
account shall be paid to such participant promptly after receipt of notice of
withdrawal and such participants option for the Offering Period shall be
automatically terminated, and no further payroll deductions for the purchase of
shares shall be made for such Offering Period. If a participant withdraws from
an Offering Period, payroll deductions shall not resume at the beginning of the
succeeding Offering Period unless the participant delivers to the Company a new
subscription agreement

          (b)  A participant's withdrawal from an Offering Period shall not have
any effect upon his or her eligibility to participate in any similar plan which
may hereafter be adopted by the Company or in succeeding Offering Periods which
commence after the termination of the Offering Period from which the participant
withdraws.

     11.  Termination of Employment.  Upon a participant's ceasing to be an
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Employee for any reason, he or she shall be deemed to have elected to withdraw
from the Plan and the payroll deductions credited to such participant's account
during the Offering Period but not yet used to exercise the option shall be
returned to such participant or, in the case of his or her death, to the person
or persons entitled thereto under Section 15 hereof, and such participant's
option shall be automatically terminated.

     12.  Interest.  No interest shall accrue on the payroll deductions of a
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participant in the Plan.

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     13.  Stock.
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          (a)  Subject to adjustment upon changes in capitalization of the
Company as provided in Section 18 hereof the maximum number of shares of the
Company's Common Stock which shall be made available for sale under the Plan
shall be eight hundred thousand (800,000) shares. If, on a given Exercise Date,
the number of shares with respect to which options are to be exercised exceeds
the number of shares then available under the Plan, the Company shall make a pro
rata allocation of the shares remaining available for purchase in as uniform a
manner as shall be practicable and as it shall determine to be equitable.

          (b)  The participant shall have no interest or voting right in shares
covered by his option until such option has been exercised.

          (c)  Shares purchased by a participant under the Plan shall be
registered in the name of the participant or in the name of the participant and
his or her spouse as determined by the participant.

     14.  Administration.  The Plan shall be administered by the Board or a
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committee of members of the Board appointed by the Board. The Board or its
committee shall have full and exclusive discretionary authority to construe,
interpret and apply the terms of the Plan, to determine eligibility and to
adjudicate all disputed claims filed under the Plan. Every finding, decision and
determination made by the Board or its committee shall, to the full extent
permitted by law, be final and binding upon all parties.

     15.  Designation of Beneficiary.
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          (a)  A participant may file a written designation of a beneficiary who
is to receive any shares and cash, if any, from the participant's account under
the Plan in the event of such participant's death subsequent to an Exercise Date
on which the option is exercised but prior to delivery to such participant of
such shares and cash. In addition, a participant may file a written designation
of a beneficiary who is to receive any cash from the participant's account under
the Plan in the event of such participant's death prior to exercise of the
option. If a participant is married and the designated beneficiary is not the
spouse, spousal consent shall be required for such designation to be effective.

          (b)  Such designation of beneficiary may be changed by the participant
at any time by written notice. In the event of the death of a participant and in
the absence of a beneficiary validly designated under the Plan who is living at
the time of such participants death, the Company shall deliver such shares
and/or cash to the executor or administrator of the estate of the participant,
or if no such executor or administrator has been appointed (to the knowledge of
the Company), the Company, in its discretion, may deliver such shares and/or
cash to the spouse or to any one or more dependents or relatives of the
participant, or if no spouse, dependent or relative is known to the Company,
then to such other person as the Company may designate.

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     16.  Transferability.  Neither payroll deductions credited to a
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participant's account nor any rights with regard to the exercise of an option or
to receive shares under the Plan may be assigned, transferred, pledged or
otherwise disposed of in any way (other than by will, the laws of descent and
distribution or as provided in Section 15 hereof) by the participant. Any such
attempt at assignment, transfer, pledge or other disposition shall be without
effect, except that the Company may treat such act as an election to withdraw
funds from an Offering Period in accordance with Section 10 hereof.

     17.  Use of Funds.  All payroll deductions received or held by the Company
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under the Plan may be used by the Company for any corporate purpose until they
are invested as provided herein, and the Company shall not be obligated to
segregate such payroll deductions.

     18.  Adjustments Upon Changes in Capitalization, Dissolution, Liquidation,
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Merger or Sale.
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          (a)  Changes in Capitalization.  Subject to any required action by the
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stockholders of the Company, the Reserves, the maximum number of shares each
participant may purchase per Offering Period (pursuant to Section 7), as well as
the price per share and the number of shares of Common Stock covered by each
option under the Plan which has not yet been exercised shall be appropriately
adjusted for any increase or decrease in the number of issued shares of Common
Stock resulting from a stock split reverse stock split, stock dividend,
combination or reclassification of the Common Stock, or any other increase or
decrease in the number of shares of Common Stock effected without receipt of
consideration by the Company; provided, however, that conversion of any
convertible securities of the Company shall not be deemed to have been "effected
without receipt of consideration". Such adjustment shall be made by the Board,
whose determination in that respect shall be final, binding and conclusive.
Except as expressly provided herein, no issuance by the Company of shares of
stock of any class, or securities convertible into shares of stock of any class,
shall affect, and no adjustment by reason thereof shall be made with respect to,
the number or price of shares of Common Stock subject to an option.

          (b) Dissolution or Liquidation.  In the event of the proposed
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dissolution or liquidation of the Company, the Offering Period then in progress
shall be shortened by setting a new Exercise Date (the "New Exercise Date"), and
shall terminate immediately prior to the consummation of such proposed
dissolution or liquidation, unless provided otherwise by the Board. The New
Exercise Date shall be before the date of the Company's proposed dissolution or
liquidation. The Board shall notify each participant in writing, at least ten
(10) business days prior to the New Exercise Date, that the Exercise Date for
the participant's option has been changed to the New Exercise Date and that the
participant's option shall be exercised automatically on the New Exercise Date,
unless prior to such date the participant has withdrawn from the Offering Period
as provided in Section 10 hereof.

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          (c)  Merger or Asset Sale.  In the event of a proposed sale of all or
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substantially all of the assets of the Company, or the merger of the Company
with or into another corporation, each outstanding option shall be assumed or an
equivalent option substituted by the successor corporation or a Parent or
Subsidiary of the successor corporation. In the event that the successor-
corporation refuses to assume or substitute for the option, the Offering Period
then in progress shall be shortened by setting a new Exercise Date (the "New
Exercise Date"). The New Exercise Date shall be before the date of the Company's
proposed sale or merger. The Board shall notify each participant in writing, at
least ten (10) business days prior to the New Exercise Date, that the Exercise
Date for the participants option has been changed to the New Exercise Date and
that the participants option shall be exercised automatically on the New
Exercise Date, unless prior to such date the participant has withdrawn from the
Offering Period as provided in Section 10 hereof.

     19.  Amendment or Termination.
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          (a)  The Board may at any time and for any reason terminate or amend
the Plan. Except as provided in Section 18 hereof, no such termination can
affect options previously granted, provided that an Offering Period may be
terminated by the Board on any Exercise Date if the Board determines that the
termination of the Offering Period or the Plan is in the best interests of the
Company and its stockholders. Except as provided in Section 18 and Section 19
hereof, no amendment may make any change in any option theretofore granted which
adversely affects the rights of any participant. To the extent necessary to
comply with Section 423 of the Code (or any other applicable law, regulation or
stock exchange rule), the Company shall obtain shareholder approval in such a
manner and to such a degree as required.

          (b)  Without limiting the generality of subsection (a) above, the
Board or its committee shall be entitled, without stockholder consent and
without regard to whether any participant rights may be considered to have been
"adversely affected", to: change the Offering Periods, limit the frequency
and/or number of changes in the amount withheld during an Offering Period,
establish the exchange ratio applicable to amounts withheld in a currency other
than U.S. dollars, permit payroll withholding in excess of the amount designated
by a participant in order to adjust for delays or mistakes in the Company's
processing of properly completed withholding elections, establish reasonable
waiting and adjustment periods and/or accounting and crediting procedures to
ensure that amounts applied toward the purchase of Common Stock for each
participant properly correspond with amounts withheld from the participant's
Compensation, and establish such other limitations or procedures as the Board
(or its committee) determines in its sole discretion advisable which are
consistent with the Plan. Notwithstanding the foregoing, no Offering Period
shall be longer than twenty-seven (27) months.

     20.  Notices.  All notices or other communications by a participant to the
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Company under or in connection with the Plan shall be deemed to have been duly
given when received in the form specified by the Company at the location, or by
the person, designated by the Company for the receipt thereof.

     21.  Conditions Upon Issuance of Shares.  Shares shall not be issued with
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respect to an option unless the exercise of such option and the issuance and
delivery of such shares pursuant thereto shall comply with all applicable
provisions of law, domestic or foreign, including, without limitation, the
Securities Act of 1933, as amended, the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as
amended, the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder, and the requirements
of any stock exchange upon which the shares may then be listed, and shall be
further subject to the approval of counsel for the Company with respect to such
compliance.

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     As a condition to the exercise of an option, the Company may require the
person exercising such option to represent and warrant at the time of any such
exercise that the shares are being purchased only for investment and without any
present intention to sell or distribute such shares if, in the opinion of
counsel for the Company, such a representation is required by any of the
aforementioned applicable provisions of law.

     22.  Term of Plan.  The Plan shall become effective upon the earlier to
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occur of its adoption by the Board of Directors or its approval by the
stockholders of the Company. It shall continue in effect for a term of ten (10)
years unless sooner terminated under Section 19 hereof.

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