Operations Research and Information Engineering (ORIE-MENG)

College of Engineering

Program Website

Program Description

This professional degree program stresses applications of operations research. The centerpiece of the program is a team-based project on a significant real- world problem. The course work centers on additional study of analytical techniques, with particular emphasis on the design or improvement of systems and processes in manufacturing, information, finance, and service organizations.

The ORIE M.Eng. program is designed to serve two groups of students: graduates of the undergraduate major in ORE who wish to deepen their practical knowledge of the field, and qualified undergraduates from other fields who want to complement their engineering or technical backgrounds with a solid foundation in operations research and information engineering.

For admission, all entering students must have completed a calculus-based course in probability and statistics, an intermediate-level programming course in computer science, as well as four semesters of mathematics: differential and integral calculus, linear algebra, and multivariate calculus.

Specific concentrations have additional prerequisites:

  • For the data analytics concentration, the entering student must have completed a second semester of calculus-based probability and statistics.
  • For the financial engineering concentration, the entering student must have completed:
    • A second semester-long course of calculus-based probability and statistics
    • A basic mathematics-focused finance course (e.g., not an accounting course)
    • Additional proficiency in differential equations and more advanced knowledge of Python or R are strongly recommended, but not required.

There are several concentrations, which empowers students to pursue the aspect of Operations Research that they find most interesting: applied operations research (AOR), data analytics (DA), financial engineering (FE), information technology (IT), and manufacturing and industrial engineering (MIE).

All concentrations except for financial engineering can typically be completed in two semesters. For scheduling reasons, and depending on the student’s preparation, an additional summer or semester may be needed.

The financial engineering concentration is designed to be completed in three semesters. This permits an industry internship in the summer between semesters as well as a third semester of study in New York City, referred to as Cornell Financial Engineering Manhattan (CFEM).