An articulation program of foundation courses is required if the student's background is deficient. Programs of study may be tailored to emphasize the individual interests of graduate students. Many master's degree students work closely with individual faculty members on theoretical or applied research problems. Areas of specialization include production control, facilities layout, quality assurance, decision support systems, health systems, and reliability. The faculty carries out research in such methodological areas as mathematical programming, location theory, stochastic processes, and combinatorial optimization and in such applied areas as manufacturing control, production scheduling, capacity planning, and emergency evacuation.
Graduate students have access to a computer lab for project work with faculty members.
Remote and batch processing are available on the University's IBM mainframe computer, with terminals available throughout the department and the College of Engineering. An extensive network of PCs and workstations is also available. The Center for Applied Optimization has recently expanded the UNIX network with a grant from NSF, and IBM has provided an extensive SP system for research in e-commerce and supply chain management. Financial Aid Teaching and research assistantships are available from the department, and the Graduate School provides additional funding for fellowships. A limited number of research fellowships are available for applicants seeking the Ph.D. degree.