The Master of Science in Operations Research prepares students for research and professional practice associated with the formulation, analysis, and computer implementation of mathematical models for decision making. Major components include optimization, stochastic modeling, computer simulation, predictive data analytics, and application of these components to realistic and relevant operational analysis problems. Students focus their studies in a concentration area such as data analytics, financial engineering, military operations research, optimization, or stochastic modeling; students can also choose a self-defined concentration with approval of a faculty advisor.

To obtain the MS degree, students complete an approved plan of study that contains a minimum of 30 graduate credits. Appropriate courses may be transferred, with advisor approval, into this degree program. Students may also take courses through the Commonwealth Graduate Engineering Program. The program also prepares students for pursuing advanced graduate study leading to the PhD degree in Systems Engineering and Operations Research.

Admissions

To be admitted to the program, students must hold a baccalaureate degree from an accredited institution in engineering, mathematics, computer science, physical sciences, economics, or a related field. They also must have completed courses in:

Calculus
MATH 113Analytic Geometry and Calculus I (Mason Core)4
MATH 114Analytic Geometry and Calculus II4
MATH 213Analytic Geometry and Calculus III3
Matrix Algebra
MATH 203Linear Algebra3
Differential Equations
MATH 214Elementary Differential Equations3
Applied Probability and Statistics
STAT 346Probability for Engineers3
Scientific Programming Language
CS 112Introduction to Computer Programming (Mason Core)4

Specific application deadlines and requirements are available through the Office of Graduate Admissions.

Banner Code: EC-MS-OPRS

Degree Requirements

Total credits: 30

Students must complete four core courses and the project (15 credits). The remaining 15 credits are electives subject to the requirements below, and can be taken in one of five concentration areas or in an individual plan approved by the student's advisor.

Required Core Courses

OR 541Operations Research: Deterministic Models3
OR 542Operations Research: Stochastic Models3
OR 568Applied Predictive Analytics3
OR 635Discrete System Simulation3
Total Credits12

Project or Thesis (Optional) 

Students must complete three credit hours of OR 699 Masters Project. Students in this course work in teams on approved applied project. A project report is submitted at the end of the semester, and a final project presentation is made to the entire faculty of the SEOR Department. 

Students with the consent of a faculty adviser and departmental approval, may be approved to complete a thesis. 

OR 699Masters Project3
Total Credits3

Methods Courses

Select at least one deterministic methods and one stochastic methods course:6
Deterministic Methods Courses:
OR 641
Linear Programming
OR 642
Integer Programming
OR 643
Network Modeling
OR 644
Nonlinear Programming
OR 670
Metaheuristics for Optimization
Stochastic Methods Courses:
OR 645
Stochastic Processes
OR 646
Stochastic Optimization
OR 647
Queuing Theory
OR 674
Dynamic Programming
OR 675
Reliability Analysis
SYST 664
Bayesian Inference and Decision Theory
Total Credits6

Additional Electives

Select up to three additional electives from the list of allowable electives with written concurrence of the advisor 19
Total Credits9
1

At least two of these electives must be taken from SEOR course offerings, and one of these must be OR 600-level or higher. The remaining course should be taken in an area appropriate to the student's interests, such as operations research, systems engineering, computer science, information systems, statistics, data analytics, electrical and computer engineering, economics, mathematics or supply chain management.

The allowable elective for MS students includes:
A. Within CEC:
     o Any OR course ≥600
     o Any SYST course > 500
     o Any STAT course ≥ 554
     o Any CS course ≥ 500
     o Any ECE course≥ 500 but not 528
     o Any CEIE course > 500 but not 601
 
B. External to CEC (subject to approval by the Department Chair):
     o Any MATH course > 601 and permitted for Math majors;
     o Any CSI course > 610
     o Any ECON course ≥ 611

Concentrations

Students may construct concentration areas by choosing electives from among special groupings. The six concentrations available are data analytics, decision analysis, financial engineering, military operations research, optimization, and stochastic modeling. In addition to the required core courses (12 credits) and project course (3 credits), the remaining 15 credit hours consist of methods and elective courses associated with the concentration areas as outlined below. Students can also devise their own grouping of electives subject to prior approval of their advisor.

Available Concentrations

Concentration in Data Analytics (DNIC)

Students concentrating in data analytics must complete the following:
CS 504Principles of Data Management and Mining3
One deterministic methods course3
One stochastics methods course3
and two courses from the following list:6
OR 604
Practical Optimization
OR 610
Deep Learning for Predictive Analytics
OR 670
Metaheuristics for Optimization
STAT 663
Statistical Graphics and Data Visualization
SYST 664
Bayesian Inference and Decision Theory
Total Credits15

Concentration in Financial Engineering (FNNE)

OR 588Financial Systems Engineering I: Introduction to Options, Futures, and Derivatives3
OR 688Financial Systems Engineering II: Derivative Products and Risk Management3
Select one from the following:3
OR 538
Analytics for Financial Engineering and Econometrics
SYST 548
Technologies and Security for Cryptocurrencies and Financial Transactions
OR 645
Stochastic Processes
OR 671
Judgment and Choice Processing and Decision Making
OR 681
Decision and Risk Analysis
OR 682
Computational Methods in Engineering and Statistics
Students must also complete:6
One deterministic methods course
One stochastics methods course 1
Total Credits15
1

If the student has already taken OR 645 Stochastic Processes this can be substituted for an elective course with written concurrence of the student's advisor

Concentration in Military Operations Research (MOR)

OR 651Military Operations Research I: Cost Analysis3
OR 652Military Operations Research Modeling II: Effectiveness Analysis3
SYST 683Modeling, Simulation, and Gaming3
One deterministic methods course3
One stochastics methods course3
Total Credits15

Concentration in Optimization (OPT)

Select three courses from the following:9
OR 604
Practical Optimization
OR 641
Linear Programming
OR 642
Integer Programming
OR 643
Network Modeling
OR 644
Nonlinear Programming
OR 646
Stochastic Optimization
OR 670
Metaheuristics for Optimization
OR 682
Computational Methods in Engineering and Statistics
Students must also complete:6
One stochastic methods course
One elective course with written concurrence of the student's advisor
Total Credits15

Concentration in Stochastic Models (STM)

Select three courses from the following:9
OR 645
Stochastic Processes
OR 647
Queuing Theory
OR 674
Dynamic Programming
OR 719
Graphical Models for Inference and Decision Making
SYST 664
Bayesian Inference and Decision Theory
STAT 554
Applied Statistics I
or STAT 663
 Statistical Graphics and Data Visualization
Select must also complete:6
One deterministic methods course
One elective course with written concurrence of the student's advisor
Total Credits15

Operations Research and Statistical Science Dual-Degree MS

This program allows students to earn an MS in Operations Research and an MS in Statistical Science by completing 48 credits of coursework in both areas instead of the 60 that would be required if the degrees were sought independently.

Admission Requirements

Applicants must satisfy admission requirements for the MS in Operations Research Program and the MS in Statistical Science Program. A joint faculty committee from the Statistics and Systems Engineering and Operations Research Departments make final admission decisions into the dual-degree program.

MS-OPRS/STAT Dual Degree Requirements

Total credits: 48

Required Courses

OR 541Operations Research: Deterministic Models3
OR 542Operations Research: Stochastic Models3
OR 635Discrete System Simulation3
OR 699Masters Project3
STAT 544Applied Probability3
STAT 554Applied Statistics I3
STAT 634Case Studies in Data Analysis3
STAT 652Statistical Inference3
STAT 654Applied Statistics II3
Total Credits27

Elective Credits in OR Courses

Select 12 elective credits in OR courses at the 600 level, including at least one deterministic methods course and at least one stochastic methods course:12
Deterministic Methods Courses:
OR 641
Linear Programming
OR 642
Integer Programming
OR 643
Network Modeling
OR 644
Nonlinear Programming
OR 670
Metaheuristics for Optimization
Stochastic Methods Courses:
OR 645
Stochastic Processes
OR 646
Stochastic Optimization
OR 647
Queuing Theory
OR 674
Dynamic Programming
OR 675
Reliability Analysis
SYST 664
Bayesian Inference and Decision Theory
Total Credits12

Elective Credits in STAT Courses

Select 9 elective credits from any STAT courses numbered 540-7759
Total Credits9

Notes

  • Students currently enrolled in one of the MS programs must declare pursuit of the dual MS within one year of matriculation into the first MS program.
  • A maximum of 6 credits across the two disciplines may be in independent research (thesis). The requirements for independent research are the same as detailed for the associated MS program.
  • Students in either the BS (selected)/Operations Research, Accelerated MS program or the BS (selected)/Statistical Science, Accelerated MS program cannot get a reduction of 6 credits toward this dual degree. Students who want to proceed to a PhD degree will only be able to waive the number of credits specified in the associated PhD degree requirements, even though they will have 48 credits at the MS level.
  • If a student decides not to complete the required 48 credits, a single MS degree will not be granted unless the student fulfills the requirements for the MS in Operations Research or the MS in Statistical Science.
  • Once a student receives one of the MS degrees from either department, the student will no longer be eligible for the reduction in credit (i.e., will need to complete 30 credits) if the student later decides to earn the other MS degree.
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Bioengineering, BS/Operations Research, Accelerated MS

Overview

Highly-qualified undergraduates may be admitted to the bachelor's/accelerated master's program and obtain a Bioengineering, BS and an Operations Research, MS in an accelerated time-frame after satisfactory completion of a minimum of 140 credits.

Admitted students are able to use up to 12 graduate credits in partial satisfaction of requirements for the undergraduate degree. Upon completion and conferral of the bachelor's degree and with satisfactory performance (grade of 'B' or better) in each of the graduate courses, students are given advanced standing in the master's program. 

See AP.6.7 Bachelor's/Accelerated Master's Degrees for policies related to this program.

Students in an accelerated degree program must fulfill all university requirements for the master's degree. For policies governing all graduate degrees, see AP.6 Graduate Policies.

BAM Pathway Admission Requirements

Applicants to all graduate programs at George Mason University must meet the admission standards and application requirements for graduate study as specified in Graduate Admissions Policies and Bachelor's/Accelerated Master's Degree policies.

Bioengineering, BS students will be considered for admission into the BAM Pathway after completion of a minimum of 60 credits with an overall GPA of at least 3.3, and completion of all MATH and PHYS requirements. Students must additionally complete MATH 203 Linear Algebra prior to applying for the graduate program.

Students who are accepted into the BAM Pathway will be allowed to register for graduate level courses after successful completion of a minimum of 75 undergraduate credits and course-specific pre-requisites.

Accelerated Master's Admission Requirements

The criteria for admission are identical to criteria for admission to the Operations Research, MS program. Students already admitted in the BAM Pathway will be admitted to the Operations Research, MS program, if they have met the following criteria, as verified on the Bachelor’s/Accelerated Master’s Transition form:

  • An overall GPA of at least 3.3
  • Successfully meeting Mason’s requirements for undergraduate degree conferral (graduation) and completing the application for graduation.

Accelerated Pathway Requirements

To maintain the integrity and quality of both the undergraduate and graduate degree programs, undergraduate students interested in taking graduate courses must choose from the following:

Advanced Standing course: Students must complete all credits that satisfy requirements for both the BS and MS programs. Up to four courses (12 credits) of approved master’s level courses taken as part of the undergraduate degree may be applied to the graduate degree. The courses selected for this purpose must be approved by the academic advisors of both the BS and MS programs and by the SEOR department chair. For the BS programs that allow undergraduate electives from the department of system engineering and operations research, the students may choose the graduate version of such elective courses to replace the corresponding undergraduate courses.

  • Students selecting up to two courses (6 credits) of approved master’s level courses may select from the Bioengineering courses given below.
  • Students selecting up to three or four courses (9 or 12 credits) of approved master’s level courses may select at most two courses from the Bioengineering course list and select the remaining courses from the Systems Engineering and Operations Research course list given below. Students are highly recommended to select courses marked as core courses because it applies to the master’s degree regardless of the graduate-level concentration chosen in the Operations Research, MS. The undergraduate version of these courses, if any, may not be applied toward the Operations Research, MS. Credit may not be received for both the undergraduate and graduate version of these courses. 
  • Some of the courses in the Systems Engineering and Operations Research course list applies only to certain concentrations in the Operations Research, MS program. 
  • Students must pay attention to the prerequisites required for a course, and the master's degree concentration that the course may satisfy.

Select from the following Bioengineering courses:

Required course:
BENG 575
Intellectual Property, Regulatory Concepts and Product Development
Select at most one from the following Bioengineering courses:
BENG 501
Bioengineering Research Methods
BENG 514
Pathophysiology and the Role of New Technologies in Human Diseases
BENG 520
Biomedical Data Analytics
BENG 521
Cell and Tissue Engineering
or BENG 541
 Biomaterials
BENG 526
Neural Engineering
BENG 537
Medical Image Processing
or BENG 538
 Medical Imaging

Select the remaining from the following Systems Engineering and Operations Research courses:

SYST 521
Network Analysis
OR 538
Analytics for Financial Engineering and Econometrics
OR 541
Operations Research: Deterministic Models (Core)
OR 542
Operations Research: Stochastic Models (Core)
OR 568
Applied Predictive Analytics (Core)
OR 588
Financial Systems Engineering I: Introduction to Options, Futures, and Derivatives

While still in undergraduate status, a maximum of 6 additional graduate credits may be taken as reserve graduate credit and applied to the master's program. Reserve graduate credits do not apply to the undergraduate degree.

For more detailed information on coursework and timeline requirements, see AP.6.7 Bachelor's/Accelerated Master's Degrees.

Degree Conferral

Students must apply the semester before they expect to complete the BS requirements to have the BS degree conferred. In addition, at the beginning of the student's final undergraduate semester, students must complete a Bachelor's/Accelerated Master's Transition form. At the completion of MS requirements, a master's degree is conferred.

Civil and Infrastructure Engineering, BS/Operations Research, Accelerated MS

Overview

Highly-qualified undergraduates may be admitted to the bachelor's/accelerated master's program and obtain a Civil and Infrastructure Engineering, BS and an Operations Research, MS in an accelerated time-frame after satisfactory completion of a minimum of 139 credits.

Admitted students are able to use up to 12 graduate credits in partial satisfaction of requirements for the undergraduate degree. Upon completion and conferral of the bachelor's degree and with satisfactory performance (grade of 'B' or better) in each of the graduate courses, students are given advanced standing in the master's program. 

See AP.6.7 Bachelor's/Accelerated Master's Degrees for policies related to this program.

Students in an accelerated degree program must fulfill all university requirements for the master's degree. For policies governing all graduate degrees, see AP.6 Graduate Policies.

BAM Pathway Admission Requirements

Applicants to all graduate programs at George Mason University must meet the admission standards and application requirements for graduate study as specified in Graduate Admissions Policies and Bachelor's/Accelerated Master's Degree policies.

Civil and Infrastructure Engineering, BS students will be considered for admission into the BAM Pathway after completion of a minimum of 60 credits with an overall GPA of at least 3.3, and completion of all MATH and PHYS requirements. Students must additionally complete MATH 203 Linear Algebra prior to applying for the graduate program.

Students who are accepted into the BAM Pathway will be allowed to register for graduate level courses after successful completion of a minimum of 75 undergraduate credits and course-specific pre-requisites.

Accelerated Master's Admission Requirements

The criteria for admission are identical to criteria for admission to the Operations Research, MS program. Students already admitted in the BAM Pathway will be admitted to the Operations Research, MS program, if they have met the following criteria, as verified on the Bachelor’s/Accelerated Master’s Transition form:

  • An overall GPA of at least 3.3
  • Successfully meeting Mason’s requirements for undergraduate degree conferral (graduation) and completing the application for graduation.

Accelerated Pathway Requirements

To maintain the integrity and quality of both the undergraduate and graduate degree programs, undergraduate students interested in taking graduate courses must choose from the following:

Advanced Standing course: Students must complete all credits that satisfy requirements for both the BS and MS programs. Up to four courses (12 credits) of approved master’s level courses taken as part of the undergraduate degree may be applied to the graduate degree. The courses selected for this purpose must be approved by the academic advisors of both the BS and MS programs and by the SEOR department chair. For the BS programs that allow undergraduate electives from the department of system engineering and operations research, the students may choose the graduate version of such elective courses to replace the corresponding undergraduate courses.

  • Students selecting up to two courses (6 credits) of approved master’s level courses may select from the Civil and Infrastructure Engineering courses given below.
  • Students selecting up to three or four courses (9 or 12 credits) of approved master’s level courses may select at most two courses from the Civil and Infrastructure Engineering course list and select the remaining courses from the Systems Engineering and Operations Research course list given below. Students are highly recommended to select courses marked as core courses because it applies to the master’s degree regardless of the graduate-level concentration chosen in the Operations Research, MS. The undergraduate version of these courses, if any, may not be applied toward the Operations Research, MS. Credit may not be received for both the undergraduate and graduate version of these courses. 
  • Some of the courses in the Systems Engineering and Operations Research course list applies only to certain concentrations in the Operations Research, MS program. 
  • Students must pay attention to the prerequisites required for a course, and the master's degree concentration that the course may satisfy.

Select at most two from the following Civil and Infrastructure Engineering courses:

CEIE 501
Sustainable Development
CEIE 512
Structural Steel Design
CEIE 532
Foundation Design
CEIE 535
Engineering Geology
CEIE 540
Water Supply and Distribution
CEIE 542
Open Channel Flow
CEIE 550
Environmental Engineering Systems
CEIE 553
Water and Wastewater Treatment Processes
CEIE 557
Remote Monitoring Techniques for Civil Engineering Applications
CEIE 561
Traffic Engineering
CEIE 562
Urban Transportation Planning
CEIE 571
Construction Administration
CEIE 572
Building Information Modeling
CEIE 573
Legal Aspects of the Construction Process
CEIE 574
Construction Computer Application and Informatics
CEIE 576
Construction Cost Estimating

Select the remaining from the following Systems Engineering and Operations Research courses:

SYST 521
Network Analysis
OR 538
Analytics for Financial Engineering and Econometrics
OR 541
Operations Research: Deterministic Models (Core)
OR 542
Operations Research: Stochastic Models (Core)
OR 568
Applied Predictive Analytics (Core)
OR 588
Financial Systems Engineering I: Introduction to Options, Futures, and Derivatives

While still in undergraduate status, a maximum of 6 additional graduate credits may be taken as reserve graduate credit and applied to the master's program. Reserve graduate credits do not apply to the undergraduate degree.

For more detailed information on coursework and timeline requirements, see AP.6.7 Bachelor's/Accelerated Master's Degrees.

Degree Conferral

Students must apply the semester before they expect to complete the BS requirements to have the BS degree conferred. In addition, at the beginning of the student's final undergraduate semester, students must complete a Bachelor's/Accelerated Master's Transition form. At the completion of MS requirements, a master's degree is conferred.

Computer Engineering, BS/Operations Research, Accelerated MS

Overview

Highly-qualified undergraduates may be admitted to the bachelor's/accelerated master's program and obtain a Computer Engineering, BS and an Operations Research, MS in an accelerated time-frame after satisfactory completion of a minimum of 144 credits.

Admitted students are able to use up to 12 graduate credits in partial satisfaction of requirements for the undergraduate degree. Upon completion and conferral of the bachelor's degree and with satisfactory performance (grade of 'B' or better) in each of the graduate courses, students are given advanced standing in the master's program. 

See AP.6.7 Bachelor's/Accelerated Master's Degrees for policies related to this program.

Students in an accelerated degree program must fulfill all university requirements for the master's degree. For policies governing all graduate degrees, see AP.6 Graduate Policies.

BAM Pathway Admission Requirements

Applicants to all graduate programs at George Mason University must meet the admission standards and application requirements for graduate study as specified in Graduate Admissions Policies and Bachelor's/Accelerated Master's Degree policies.

Computer Engineering, BS students will be considered for admission into the BAM Pathway after completion of a minimum of 60 credits with an overall GPA of at least 3.3, and completion of all MATH and PHYS 160/161, and PHYS 260/261 requirements. Students must additionally complete MATH 203 Linear Algebra prior to applying for the graduate program.

Students who are accepted into the BAM Pathway will be allowed to register for graduate level courses after successful completion of a minimum of 75 undergraduate credits and course-specific pre-requisites.

Accelerated Master's Admission Requirements

The criteria for admission are identical to criteria for admission to the Operations Research, MS program. Students already admitted in the BAM Pathway will be admitted to the Operations Research, MS program, if they have met the following criteria, as verified on the Bachelor’s/Accelerated Master’s Transition form:

  • An overall GPA of at least 3.3
  • Successfully meeting Mason’s requirements for undergraduate degree conferral (graduation) and completing the application for graduation.

Accelerated Pathway Requirements

To maintain the integrity and quality of both the undergraduate and graduate degree programs, undergraduate students interested in taking graduate courses must choose from the following:

Advanced Standing course: Students must complete all credits that satisfy requirements for both the BS and MS programs. Up to four courses (12 credits) of approved master’s level courses taken as part of the undergraduate degree may be applied to the graduate degree. The courses selected for this purpose must be approved by the academic advisors of both the BS and MS programs and by the SEOR department chair.

  • Students selecting up to two courses (6 credits) of approved master’s level courses may select from the Electrical and Computer Engineering courses given below.
  • Students selecting up to three or four courses (9 or 12 credits) of approved master’s level courses may select at most two courses from the Electrical and Computer Engineering course list and select the remaining courses from the Systems Engineering and Operations Research course list given below. Note that ECE 542 can be used to meet the ECE 465 requirement for the Computer Engineering, BS program. Students are highly recommended to select courses marked as core courses because it applies to the master’s degree regardless of the graduate-level concentration chosen in the Operations Research, MS. The undergraduate version of these courses, if any, may not be applied toward the Operations Research, MS. Credit may not be received for both the undergraduate and graduate version of these courses. 
  • Some of the courses in the Systems Engineering and Operations Research course list applies only to certain concentrations in the Operations Research, MS program. 
  • Students must pay attention to the prerequisites required for a course, and the master's degree concentration that the course may satisfy.

Select at most two from the following Electrical and Computer Engineering courses:

ECE 505
Hardware Security
ECE 508
Internet of Things
ECE 511
Computer Architecture
ECE 512
Computer Architecture Security
ECE 516
Mobile Systems and Applications
ECE 521
Linear Systems and Control
ECE 527
Learning From Data
ECE 528
Introduction to Random Processes in Electrical and Computer Engineering
ECE 530
Sensor Engineering
ECE 531
Introduction to Wireless Communications and Networks
ECE 535
Digital Signal Processing
ECE 542
Computer Network Architectures and Protocols
ECE 545
Digital System Design with VHDL
ECE 554
Machine Learning for Embedded Systems
ECE 555
GPU Architecture and Programming
ECE 556
Neuromorphic Computing
ECE 567
Optical Fiber Communications
ECE 580
Small Spacecraft Engineering
ECE 590
Selected Topics in Engineering

Select the remaining from the following Systems Engineering and Operations Research courses:

SYST 521
Network Analysis
OR 538
Analytics for Financial Engineering and Econometrics
OR 541
Operations Research: Deterministic Models (Core)
OR 542
Operations Research: Stochastic Models (Core)
OR 568
Applied Predictive Analytics (Core)
OR 588
Financial Systems Engineering I: Introduction to Options, Futures, and Derivatives

While still in undergraduate status, a maximum of 6 additional graduate credits may be taken as reserve graduate credit and applied to the master's program. Reserve graduate credits do not apply to the undergraduate degree.

For more detailed information on coursework and timeline requirements, see AP.6.7 Bachelor's/Accelerated Master's Degrees.

Degree Conferral

Students must apply the semester before they expect to complete the BS requirements to have the BS degree conferred. In addition, at the beginning of the student's final undergraduate semester, students must complete a Bachelor's/Accelerated Master's Transition form. At the completion of MS requirements, a master's degree is conferred.

Computer Science, BS/Operations Research, Accelerated MS

Overview

Highly-qualified undergraduates may be admitted to the bachelor's/accelerated master's program and obtain a Computer Science, BS and an Operations Research, MS in an accelerated time-frame after satisfactory completion of a minimum of 138 credits.

Admitted students are able to use up to 12 graduate credits in partial satisfaction of requirements for the undergraduate degree. Upon completion and conferral of the bachelor's degree and with satisfactory performance (grade of 'B' or better) in each of the graduate courses, students are given advanced standing in the master's program. 

See AP.6.7 Bachelor's/Accelerated Master's Degrees for policies related to this program.

Students in an accelerated degree program must fulfill all university requirements for the master's degree. For policies governing all graduate degrees, see AP.6 Graduate Policies.

BAM Pathway Admission Requirements

Applicants to all graduate programs at George Mason University must meet the admission standards and application requirements for graduate study as specified in Graduate Admissions Policies and Bachelor's/Accelerated Master's Degree policies.

Computer Science, BS students will be considered for admission into the BAM Pathway after completion of a minimum of 60 credits with an overall GPA of at least 3.3, and completion of all MATH and Science requirements. Students must additionally complete MATH 203 Linear Algebra prior to applying for the graduate program.

Students who are accepted into the BAM Pathway will be allowed to register for graduate level courses after successful completion of a minimum of 75 undergraduate credits and course-specific pre-requisites.

Accelerated Master's Admission Requirements

The criteria for admission are identical to criteria for admission to the Operations Research, MS program. Students already admitted in the BAM Pathway will be admitted to the Operations Research, MS program, if they have met the following criteria, as verified on the Bachelor’s/Accelerated Master’s Transition form:

  • An overall GPA of at least 3.3
  • Successfully meeting Mason’s requirements for undergraduate degree conferral (graduation) and completing the application for graduation.

Accelerated Pathway Requirements

To maintain the integrity and quality of both the undergraduate and graduate degree programs, undergraduate students interested in taking graduate courses must choose from the following:

Advanced Standing course: Students must complete all credits that satisfy requirements for both the BS and MS programs. Up to four courses (12 credits) of approved master’s level courses taken as part of the undergraduate degree may be applied to the graduate degree. The courses selected for this purpose must be approved by the academic advisors of both the BS and MS programs and by the SEOR department chair. For the BS programs that allow undergraduate electives from the department of system engineering and operations research, the students may choose the graduate version of such elective courses to replace the corresponding undergraduate courses.

  • Students selecting up to two courses (6 credits) of approved master’s level courses may select from the combined Computer Science course list and Systems Engineering and Operations Research course list given below.
  • Students selecting up to three or four courses (9 or 12 credits) of approved master’s level courses may select at most two courses from the Computer Science course list and select the remaining courses from the Systems Engineering and Operations Research course list given below. Students are highly recommended to select courses marked as core courses because it applies to the master’s degree regardless of the graduate-level concentration chosen in the Operations Research, MS. The undergraduate version of these courses, if any, may not be applied toward the Operations Research, MS. Credit may not be received for both the undergraduate and graduate version of these courses. 
  • Students must pay attention to the prerequisites required for a course, and the master's degree concentration that the course may satisfy.

Select at most two from the following Computer Science courses:

CS 540
Language Processors
CS 550
Database Systems
CS 551
Computer Graphics
CS 555
Computer Communications and Networking
CS 571
Operating Systems
CS 580
Introduction to Artificial Intelligence
CS 583
Analysis of Algorithms
CS 584
Theory and Applications of Data Mining

Select the remaining from the following Systems Engineering and Operations Research courses:

OR 541
Operations Research: Deterministic Models (Core)
OR 542
Operations Research: Stochastic Models (Core)

While still in undergraduate status, a maximum of 6 additional graduate credits may be taken as reserve graduate credit and applied to the master's program. Reserve graduate credits do not apply to the undergraduate degree.

For more detailed information on coursework and timeline requirements, see AP.6.7 Bachelor's/Accelerated Master's Degrees.

Degree Conferral

Students must apply the semester before they expect to complete the BS requirements to have the BS degree conferred. In addition, at the beginning of the student's final undergraduate semester, students must complete a Bachelor's/Accelerated Master's Transition form. At the completion of MS requirements, a master's degree is conferred.

Cyber Security Engineering, BS/Operations Research, Accelerated MS

Overview

Highly-qualified undergraduates may be admitted to the bachelor's/accelerated master's program and obtain a Cyber Security Engineering, BS and an Operations Research, MS in an accelerated time-frame after satisfactory completion of a minimum of 144 credits.

Admitted students are able to use up to 12 graduate credits in partial satisfaction of requirements for the undergraduate degree. Upon completion and conferral of the bachelor's degree and with satisfactory performance (grade of 'B' or better) in each of the graduate courses, students are given advanced standing in the master's program. 

See AP.6.7 Bachelor's/Accelerated Master's Degrees for policies related to this program.

Students in an accelerated degree program must fulfill all university requirements for the master's degree. For policies governing all graduate degrees, see AP.6 Graduate Policies.

BAM Pathway Admission Requirements

Applicants to all graduate programs at George Mason University must meet the admission standards and application requirements for graduate study as specified in Graduate Admissions Policies and Bachelor's/Accelerated Master's Degree policies.

Cyber Security Engineering, BS students will be considered for admission into the BAM Pathway after completion of a minimum of 60 credits with an overall GPA of at least 3.3, and completion of all MATH and PHYS requirements. Students must additionally complete MATH 203 Linear Algebra prior to applying for the graduate program.

Students who are accepted into the BAM Pathway will be allowed to register for graduate level courses after successful completion of a minimum of 75 undergraduate credits and course-specific pre-requisites.

Accelerated Master's Admission Requirements

The criteria for admission are identical to criteria for admission to the Operations Research, MS program. Students already admitted in the BAM Pathway will be admitted to the Operations Research, MS program, if they have met the following criteria, as verified on the Bachelor’s/Accelerated Master’s Transition form:

  • An overall GPA of at least 3.3
  • Successfully meeting Mason’s requirements for undergraduate degree conferral (graduation) and completing the application for graduation.

Accelerated Pathway Requirements

To maintain the integrity and quality of both the undergraduate and graduate degree programs, undergraduate students interested in taking graduate courses must choose from the following:

Advanced Standing course: Students must complete all credits that satisfy requirements for both the BS and MS programs. Up to four courses (12 credits) of approved master’s level courses taken as part of the undergraduate degree may be applied to the graduate degree. The courses selected for this purpose must be approved by the academic advisors of both the BS and MS programs and by the SEOR department chair. For the BS programs that allow undergraduate electives from the department of system engineering and operations research, the students may choose the graduate version of such elective courses to replace the corresponding undergraduate courses.

  • Students selecting up to two courses (6 credits) of approved master’s level courses may select from the combined Cyber Security Engineering course list and Systems Engineering and Operations Research course list given below.
  • Students selecting up to three or four courses (9 or 12 credits) of approved master’s level courses may select at most two courses from the Cyber Security Engineering course list and select the remaining courses from the Systems Engineering and Operations Research course list given below. Students are highly recommended to select courses marked as core courses because it applies to the master’s degree regardless of the graduate-level concentration chosen in the Operations Research, MS. The undergraduate version of these courses, if any, may not be applied toward the Operations Research, MS. Credit may not be received for both the undergraduate and graduate version of these courses. 
  • Some of the courses in the Systems Engineering and Operations Research course list applies only to certain concentrations in the Operations Research, MS program. 
  • Students must pay attention to the prerequisites required for a course, and the master's degree concentration that the course may satisfy.

Select at most two from the following Cyber Security Engineering courses:

CYSE 570
Fundamentals of Operating Systems
CYSE 580
Hardware and Cyber Physical Systems

Select the remaining from the following Systems Engineering and Operations Research courses:

SYST 521
Network Analysis
SYST 548
Technologies and Security for Cryptocurrencies and Financial Transactions
OR 538
Analytics for Financial Engineering and Econometrics
OR 541
Operations Research: Deterministic Models (Core)
OR 542
Operations Research: Stochastic Models (Core)
OR 568
Applied Predictive Analytics (Core)
OR 588
Financial Systems Engineering I: Introduction to Options, Futures, and Derivatives

While still in undergraduate status, a maximum of 6 additional graduate credits may be taken as reserve graduate credit and applied to the master's program. Reserve graduate credits do not apply to the undergraduate degree.

For more detailed information on coursework and timeline requirements, see AP.6.7 Bachelor's/Accelerated Master's Degrees.

Degree Conferral

Students must apply the semester before they expect to complete the BS requirements to have the BS degree conferred. In addition, at the beginning of the student's final undergraduate semester, students must complete a Bachelor's/Accelerated Master's Transition form. At the completion of MS requirements, a master's degree is conferred.

Electrical Engineering, BS/Operations Research, Accelerated MS

Overview

Highly-qualified undergraduates may be admitted to the bachelor's/accelerated master's program and obtain an Electrical Engineering, BS and an Operations Research, MS in an accelerated time-frame after satisfactory completion of a minimum of 139 credits.

Admitted students are able to use up to 12 graduate credits in partial satisfaction of requirements for the undergraduate degree. Upon completion and conferral of the bachelor's degree and with satisfactory performance (grade of 'B' or better) in each of the graduate courses, students are given advanced standing in the master's program. 

See AP.6.7 Bachelor's/Accelerated Master's Degrees for policies related to this program.

Students in an accelerated degree program must fulfill all university requirements for the master's degree. For policies governing all graduate degrees, see AP.6 Graduate Policies.

BAM Pathway Admission Requirements

Applicants to all graduate programs at George Mason University must meet the admission standards and application requirements for graduate study as specified in Graduate Admissions Policies and Bachelor's/Accelerated Master's Degree policies.

Electrical Engineering, BS students will be considered for admission into the BAM Pathway after completion of a minimum of 60 credits with an overall GPA of at least 3.3, and completion of all MATH, PHYS 160/161, and PHYS 260/261 requirements. Students must additionally complete MATH 203 Linear Algebra prior to applying for the graduate program.

Students who are accepted into the BAM Pathway will be allowed to register for graduate level courses after successful completion of a minimum of 75 undergraduate credits and course-specific pre-requisites.

Accelerated Master's Admission Requirements

The criteria for admission are identical to criteria for admission to the Operations Research, MS program. Students already admitted in the BAM Pathway will be admitted to the Operations Research, MS program, if they have met the following criteria, as verified on the Bachelor’s/Accelerated Master’s Transition form:

  • An overall GPA of at least 3.3
  • Successfully meeting Mason’s requirements for undergraduate degree conferral (graduation) and completing the application for graduation.

Accelerated Pathway Requirements

To maintain the integrity and quality of both the undergraduate and graduate degree programs, undergraduate students interested in taking graduate courses must choose from the following:

Advanced Standing course: Students must complete all credits that satisfy requirements for both the BS and MS programs. Up to four courses (12 credits) of approved master’s level courses taken as part of the undergraduate degree may be applied to the graduate degree. The courses selected for this purpose must be approved by the academic advisors of both the BS and MS programs and by the SEOR department chair.

  • Students selecting up to two courses (6 credits) of approved master’s level courses may select from the Electrical and Computer Engineering courses given below.
  • Students selecting up to three or four courses (9 or 12 credits) of approved master’s level courses may select at most two courses from the Electrical and Computer Engineering course list and select the remaining courses from the Systems Engineering and Operations Research course list given below. Note that ECE 587 can be used to meet the ECE 433 requirement for the Electrical Engineering, BS program. Students are highly recommended to select courses marked as core courses because it applies to the master’s degree regardless of the graduate-level concentration chosen in the Operations Research, MS. The undergraduate version of these courses, if any, may not be applied toward the Operations Research, MS. Credit may not be received for both the undergraduate and graduate version of these courses. 
  • Some of the courses in the Systems Engineering and Operations Research course list applies only to certain concentrations in the Operations Research, MS program. 
  • Students must pay attention to the prerequisites required for a course, and the master's degree concentration that the course may satisfy.

Select at most two from the following Electrical and Computer Engineering courses:

ECE 505
Hardware Security
ECE 508
Internet of Things
ECE 511
Computer Architecture
ECE 513
Applied Electromagnetic Theory
ECE 514
Grid Digitization and Automation
ECE 516
Mobile Systems and Applications
ECE 517
Cyber Infrastructure of the Smart Grid
ECE 518
Power System Protection and Control
ECE 519
Power Electronics for Modern Power Systems
ECE 521
Linear Systems and Control
ECE 527
Learning From Data
ECE 528
Introduction to Random Processes in Electrical and Computer Engineering
ECE 530
Sensor Engineering
ECE 531
Introduction to Wireless Communications and Networks
ECE 532
Secure Wireless Communications and Networks
ECE 535
Digital Signal Processing
ECE 538
Medical Imaging
ECE 539
Neural Engineering
ECE 542
Computer Network Architectures and Protocols
ECE 550
System Engineering Design
ECE 552
Big Data Technologies
ECE 565
Introduction to Optical Electronics
ECE 567
Optical Fiber Communications
ECE 580
Small Spacecraft Engineering
ECE 584
Semiconductor Device Fundamentals
ECE 586
Digital Integrated Circuits
ECE 587
Design of Analog Integrated Circuits
ECE 590
Selected Topics in Engineering

Select the remaining from the following Systems Engineering and Operations Research courses:

SYST 521
Network Analysis
OR 538
Analytics for Financial Engineering and Econometrics
OR 541
Operations Research: Deterministic Models (Core)
OR 542
Operations Research: Stochastic Models (Core)
OR 568
Applied Predictive Analytics (Core)
OR 588
Financial Systems Engineering I: Introduction to Options, Futures, and Derivatives

While still in undergraduate status, a maximum of 6 additional graduate credits may be taken as reserve graduate credit and applied to the master's program. Reserve graduate credits do not apply to the undergraduate degree.

For more detailed information on coursework and timeline requirements, see AP.6.7 Bachelor's/Accelerated Master's Degrees.

Degree Conferral

Students must apply the semester before they expect to complete the BS requirements to have the BS degree conferred. In addition, at the beginning of the student's final undergraduate semester, students must complete a Bachelor's/Accelerated Master's Transition form. At the completion of MS requirements, a master's degree is conferred.

Mechanical Engineering, BS/Operations Research, Accelerated MS

Overview

Highly-qualified undergraduates may be admitted to the bachelor's/accelerated master's program and obtain a Mechanical Engineering, BS and an Operations Research, MS in an accelerated time-frame after satisfactory completion of a minimum of 139 credits.

Admitted students are able to use up to 12 graduate credits in partial satisfaction of requirements for the undergraduate degree. Upon completion and conferral of the bachelor's degree and with satisfactory performance (grade of 'B' or better) in each of the graduate courses, students are given advanced standing in the master's program. 

See AP.6.7 Bachelor's/Accelerated Master's Degrees for policies related to this program.

Students in an accelerated degree program must fulfill all university requirements for the master's degree. For policies governing all graduate degrees, see AP.6 Graduate Policies.

BAM Pathway Admission Requirements

Applicants to all graduate programs at George Mason University must meet the admission standards and application requirements for graduate study as specified in Graduate Admissions Policies and Bachelor's/Accelerated Master's Degree policies.

Mechanical Engineering, BS students will be considered for admission into the BAM Pathway after completion of a minimum of 60 credits with an overall GPA of at least 3.3, and completion of all MATH and PHYS requirements. Students must additionally complete MATH 203 Linear Algebra prior to applying for the graduate program.

Students who are accepted into the BAM Pathway will be allowed to register for graduate level courses after successful completion of a minimum of 75 undergraduate credits and course-specific pre-requisites.

Accelerated Master's Admission Requirements

The criteria for admission are identical to criteria for admission to the Operations Research, MS program. Students already admitted in the BAM Pathway will be admitted to the Operations Research, MS program, if they have met the following criteria, as verified on the Bachelor’s/Accelerated Master’s Transition form:

  • An overall GPA of at least 3.3
  • Successfully meeting Mason’s requirements for undergraduate degree conferral (graduation) and completing the application for graduation.

Accelerated Pathway Requirements

To maintain the integrity and quality of both the undergraduate and graduate degree programs, undergraduate students interested in taking graduate courses must choose from the following:

Advanced Standing course: Students must complete all credits that satisfy requirements for both the BS and MS programs. Up to four courses (12 credits) of approved master’s level courses taken as part of the undergraduate degree may be applied to the graduate degree. The courses selected for this purpose must be approved by the academic advisors of both the BS and MS programs and by the SEOR department chair. For the BS programs that allow undergraduate electives from the department of system engineering and operations research, the students may choose the graduate version of such elective courses to replace the corresponding undergraduate courses.

  • Students selecting up to two courses (6 credits) of approved master’s level courses may select from the combined Mechanical Engineering course list and Systems Engineering and Operations Research course list given below.
  • Students selecting up to three or four courses (9 or 12 credits) of approved master’s level courses may select at most two courses from the Mechanical Engineering course list and select the remaining courses from the Systems Engineering and Operations Research course list given below. Students are highly recommended to select courses marked as core courses because it applies to the master’s degree regardless of the graduate-level concentration chosen in the Operations Research, MS. The undergraduate version of these courses, if any, may not be applied toward the Operations Research, MS. Credit may not be received for both the undergraduate and graduate version of these courses. 
  • Some of the courses in the Systems Engineering and Operations Research course list applies only to certain concentrations in the Operations Research, MS program. 
  • Students must pay attention to the prerequisites required for a course, and the master's degree concentration that the course may satisfy.

Select at most two from the following Mechanical Engineering courses:

ME 521
Energy Transfer
ME 531
Energy Transmission
ME 541
Power Generation
ME 542
Energy Utilization

Select the remaining from the following Systems Engineering and Operations Research courses:

SYST 521
Network Analysis
OR 538
Analytics for Financial Engineering and Econometrics
OR 541
Operations Research: Deterministic Models (Core)
OR 542
Operations Research: Stochastic Models (Core)
OR 568
Applied Predictive Analytics (Core)
OR 588
Financial Systems Engineering I: Introduction to Options, Futures, and Derivatives

While still in undergraduate status, a maximum of 6 additional graduate credits may be taken as reserve graduate credit and applied to the master's program. Reserve graduate credits do not apply to the undergraduate degree.

For more detailed information on coursework and timeline requirements, see AP.6.7 Bachelor's/Accelerated Master's Degrees.

Degree Conferral

Students must apply the semester before they expect to complete the BS requirements to have the BS degree conferred. In addition, at the beginning of the student's final undergraduate semester, students must complete a Bachelor's/Accelerated Master's Transition form. At the completion of MS requirements, a master's degree is conferred.

Statistics, BS/Operations Research, Accelerated MS

Overview

Highly-qualified undergraduates may be admitted to the bachelor's/accelerated master's program and obtain a Statistics, BS and an Operations Research, MS in an accelerated time-frame after satisfactory completion of a minimum of 138 credits.

Admitted students are able to use up to 12 graduate credits in partial satisfaction of requirements for the undergraduate degree. Upon completion and conferral of the bachelor's degree and with satisfactory performance (grade of 'B' or better) in each of the graduate courses, students are given advanced standing in the master's program. 

See AP.6.7 Bachelor's/Accelerated Master's Degrees for policies related to this program.

Students in an accelerated degree program must fulfill all university requirements for the master's degree. For policies governing all graduate degrees, see AP.6 Graduate Policies.

BAM Pathway Admission Requirements

Applicants to all graduate programs at George Mason University must meet the admission standards and application requirements for graduate study as specified in Graduate Admissions Policies and Bachelor's/Accelerated Master's Degree policies.

Statistics, BS students will be considered for admission into the BAM Pathway after completion of a minimum of 60 credits with an overall GPA of at least 3.3, and completion of all MATH requirements. Students must additionally complete MATH 203 Linear Algebra prior to applying for the graduate program.

Students who are accepted into the BAM Pathway will be allowed to register for graduate level courses after successful completion of a minimum of 75 undergraduate credits and course-specific pre-requisites.

Accelerated Master's Admission Requirements

The criteria for admission are identical to criteria for admission to the Operations Research, MS program. Students already admitted in the BAM Pathway will be admitted to the Operations Research, MS program, if they have met the following criteria, as verified on the Bachelor’s/Accelerated Master’s Transition form:

  • An overall GPA of at least 3.3
  • Successfully meeting Mason’s requirements for undergraduate degree conferral (graduation) and completing the application for graduation.

Accelerated Pathway Requirements

To maintain the integrity and quality of both the undergraduate and graduate degree programs, undergraduate students interested in taking graduate courses must choose from the following:

Advanced Standing course: Students must complete all credits that satisfy requirements for both the BS and MS programs. Up to four courses (12 credits) of approved master’s level courses taken as part of the undergraduate degree may be applied to the graduate degree. The courses selected for this purpose must be approved by the academic advisors of both the BS and MS programs and by the SEOR department chair. For the BS programs that allow undergraduate electives from the department of system engineering and operations research, the students may choose the graduate version of such elective courses to replace the corresponding undergraduate courses.

  • Students selecting up to two courses (6 credits) of approved master’s level courses may select from the combined Statistics course list and Systems Engineering and Operations Research course list given below.
  • Students selecting up to three or four courses (9 or 12 credits) of approved master’s level courses may select at most two courses from the Statistics course list and select the remaining courses from the Systems Engineering and Operations Research course list given below. Students are highly recommended to select courses marked as core courses because it applies to the master’s degree regardless of the graduate-level concentration chosen in the Operations Research, MS. The undergraduate version of these courses, if any, may not be applied toward the Operations Research, MS. Credit may not be received for both the undergraduate and graduate version of these courses. 
  • Some of the courses in the Systems Engineering and Operations Research course list applies only to certain concentrations in the Operations Research, MS program. 
  • Students must pay attention to the prerequisites required for a course, and the master's degree concentration that the course may satisfy.

Select from the following Statistics courses:

STAT 544
Applied Probability
STAT 554
Applied Statistics I

Select the remaining from the following Systems Engineering and Operations Research courses:

SYST 573
Decision and Risk Analysis
SYST 538
Analytics for Financial Engineering and Econometrics
SYST/OR 568
Applied Predictive Analytics (Core)
SYST 588
Financial Systems Engineering I: Introduction to Options, Futures, and Derivatives
OR 541
Operations Research: Deterministic Models (Core)
OR 542
Operations Research: Stochastic Models (Core)

While still in undergraduate status, a maximum of 6 additional graduate credits may be taken as reserve graduate credit and applied to the master's program. Reserve graduate credits do not apply to the undergraduate degree.

For more detailed information on coursework and timeline requirements, see AP.6.7 Bachelor's/Accelerated Master's Degrees.

Degree Conferral

Students must apply the semester before they expect to complete the BS requirements to have the BS degree conferred. In addition, at the beginning of the student's final undergraduate semester, students must complete a Bachelor's/Accelerated Master's Transition form. At the completion of MS requirements, a master's degree is conferred.

Systems and Industrial Engineering BS/Operations Research, Accelerated MS

Overview

Highly-qualified undergraduates may be admitted to the bachelor's/accelerated master's program and obtain a Systems and Industrial Engineering, BS and an Operations Research, MS in an accelerated time-frame after satisfactory completion of a minimum of 141 credits.

Admitted students are able to use up to 12 credits of approved advanced standing graduate courses in partial satisfaction of requirements for the undergraduate degree. Upon completion and conferral of the bachelor's degree and with satisfactory performance (grade of 'B' or better) in each of the advanced standing graduate courses, the courses are applied to partial satisfaction of requirements for the master's program.

See AP.6.7 Bachelor's/Accelerated Master's Degrees for policies related to this program.

Students in an accelerated degree program must fulfill all university requirements for the master's degree. For policies governing all graduate degrees, see AP.6 Graduate Policies.

BAM Pathway Admission Requirements

Applicants to all graduate programs at George Mason University must meet the admission standards and application requirements for graduate study as specified in Graduate Admissions Policies and Bachelor's/Accelerated Master's Degree policies.

Systems and Industrial Engineering, BS students will be considered for admission into the BAM Pathway after completion of a minimum of 60 credits with an overall GPA of at least 3.3, and completion of all MATH and PHYS requirements. Students must additionally  complete MATH 203 Linear Algebra prior to applying for the graduate program.

Students who are accepted into the BAM Pathway will be allowed to register for graduate level courses after successful completion of a minimum of 75 undergraduate credits and course-specific pre-requisites.

Accelerated Master's Admission Requirements

The criteria for admission are identical to criteria for admission to the Operations Research, MS program. Students already admitted in the BAM Pathway will be admitted to the Operations Research, MS program, if they have met the following criteria, as verified on the Bachelor’s/Accelerated Master’s Transition form:

  • An overall GPA of at least 3.3
  • Successfully meeting Mason’s requirements for undergraduate degree conferral (graduation) and completing the application for graduation.

Accelerated Pathway Requirements

To maintain the integrity and quality of both the undergraduate and graduate degree programs, undergraduate students interested in taking graduate courses must choose from the following:

Advanced Standing course: Students must complete all credits that satisfy requirements for both the BS and MS programs. Up to four courses (12 credits) of approved master’s level courses taken as part of the undergraduate degree may be applied to the graduate degree.

These courses may be chosen from the list of graduate courses in the following table. For Systems and Industrial Engineering, BS students, these graduate courses replace the corresponding undergraduate courses listed in the table. The undergraduate version of these courses may not be applied toward the Operations Research, MS.

Undergraduate Graduate  
OR 441 OR 541 Core course in the graduate program. Credit may not be received for both courses.
OR 442 OR 542 Core course in the graduate program. Credit may not be received for both courses.
SYST 414 SYST 514 The course applies only to certain concentrations in the graduate program; credit may not be received for both courses.
SYST 420 SYST 521/OR 643 Credit may not be received for both courses.
SYST 438 SYST 538 The course applies only to certain concentrations in the graduate program; credit may not be received for both courses.
SYST 448 SYST 548 The course applies only to certain concentrations in the graduate program; credit may not be received for both courses.
SYST 460 SYST 560 The course applies only to certain concentrations in the graduate program; credit may not be received for both courses.
SYST 461 SYST 660 The course applies only to certain concentrations in the graduate program; credit may not be received for both courses.
SYST 468 OR/SYST 568 Core course in the graduate program. Credit may not be received for both courses.
SYST 473 SYST 573 Credit may not be received for both courses.
SYST 488 SYST 588 The course applies only to certain concentrations in the graduate program; credit may not be received for both courses.

Any other 500-level course may be applied to both the undergraduate and graduate degrees with approval of the advisor and SEOR department chair. Students must pay attention to the prerequisites required for a course, and the master's degree concentration that the course may satisfy.

While still in undergraduate status, a maximum of 6 additional graduate credits may be taken as reserve graduate credit and applied to the master's program. Reserve graduate credits do not apply to the undergraduate degree.

For more detailed information on coursework and timeline requirements, see AP.6.7 Bachelor's/Accelerated Master's Degrees.

Degree Conferral

Students must apply the semester before they expect to complete the BS requirements to have the BS degree conferred. In addition, at the beginning of the student's final undergraduate semester, students must complete a Bachelor's/Accelerated Master's Transition form. At the completion of MS requirements, a master's degree is conferred.

BS (selected)/Operations Research, Accelerated MS

Overview

Highly-qualified undergraduates may be admitted to the bachelor's/accelerated master's program and obtain a BS in their major and an Operations Research, MS in an accelerated time-frame after satisfactory completion of a minimum of 138 credits.

Admitted students are able to use up to 12 graduate credits in partial satisfaction of requirements for the undergraduate degree. Upon completion and conferral of the bachelor's degree and with satisfactory performance (grade of 'B' or better) in each of the graduate courses, students are given advanced standing in the master's program. 

See AP.6.7 Bachelor's/Accelerated Master's Degrees for policies related to this program.

Students in an accelerated degree program must fulfill all university requirements for the master's degree. For policies governing all graduate degrees, see AP.6 Graduate Policies.

BAM Pathway Admission Requirements

Applicants to all graduate programs at George Mason University must meet the admission standards and application requirements for graduate study as specified in Graduate Admissions Policies and Bachelor's/Accelerated Master's Degree policies.

Mason undergraduate students majoring in both engineering and non-engineering disciplines will be considered for admission into the BAM Pathway if 1) such an accelerated Operations Research, MS pathway is allowable from the student's BS program, which will be determined by the academic advisors of both the BS and MS programs and by the SEOR department chair, 2) they have completed of a minimum of 60 credits with an overall GPA of at least 3.3, and 3) they have completed all MATH and PHYS requirements. Students must additionally complete MATH 203 Linear Algebra prior to applying for the graduate program.

Students who are accepted into the BAM Pathway will be allowed to register for graduate level courses after successful completion of a minimum of 75 undergraduate credits and course-specific pre-requisites.

Accelerated Master's Admission Requirements

The criteria for admission are identical to criteria for admission to the Operations Research, MS  program. Students already admitted in the BAM Pathway will be admitted to the Operations Research, MS program, if they have met the following criteria, as verified on the Bachelor’s/Accelerated Master’s Transition form:

  • An overall GPA of at least 3.3
  • Successfully meeting Mason’s requirements for undergraduate degree conferral (graduation) and completing the application for graduation.

Accelerated Pathway Requirements

To maintain the integrity and quality of both the undergraduate and graduate degree programs, undergraduate students interested in taking graduate courses must choose from the following:

Advanced Standing course: Students must complete all credits that satisfy requirements for both the BS and MS programs. Up to four courses (12 credits) of approved master’s level courses taken as part of the undergraduate degree may be applied to the graduate degree. The courses selected for this purpose must be approved by the academic advisors of both the BS and MS programs and by the SEOR department chair. For the BS programs that allow undergraduate electives from the department of system engineering and operations research, the students may choose the graduate version of such elective courses to replace the corresponding undergraduate courses.

  • Students are highly recommended to select courses marked as core courses because it applies to the master’s degree regardless of the graduate-level concentration chosen in the Operations Research, MS program. The undergraduate version of these courses, if any, may not be applied toward the Operations Research, MS. Credit may not be received for both the undergraduate and graduate version of these courses. 
  • Some of the courses in the Systems Engineering and Operations Research course list applies only to certain concentrations in the Operations Research, MS program. 
  • Students must pay attention to the prerequisites required for a course, and the master's degree concentration that the course may satisfy.

The courses may be chosen from the list of Systems Engineering and Operations Research graduate courses in the following table. 

SYST 521
Network Analysis
OR 538
Analytics for Financial Engineering and Econometrics
OR 541
Operations Research: Deterministic Models (Core)
OR 542
Operations Research: Stochastic Models (Core)
OR 568
Applied Predictive Analytics (Core)
OR 588
Financial Systems Engineering I: Introduction to Options, Futures, and Derivatives

Any other 500-level course may be applied to both the undergraduate and graduate degrees with approval of the advisor and SEOR department chair. 

While still in undergraduate status, a maximum of 6 additional graduate credits may be taken as reserve graduate credit and applied to the master's program. Reserve graduate credits do not apply to the undergraduate degree.

For more detailed information on coursework and timeline requirements, see AP.6.7 Bachelor's/Accelerated Master's Degrees.

Degree Conferral

Students must apply the semester before they expect to complete the BS requirements to have the BS degree conferred. In addition, at the beginning of the student's final undergraduate semester, students must complete a Bachelor's/Accelerated Master's Transition form. At the completion of MS requirements, a master's degree is conferred.