M.Eng. Program in Operations Research and Information Engineering

Our Master of Engineering program is a full-time, professionally focused degree that enhances traditional math, science, and engineering skills while emphasizing their real-world application to practical challenges. It's highly valued in the marketplace and continues to be an attractive option for well-prepared undergraduates in a variety of fields, including Operations Research as well as Industrial Engineering, Computer Science, Information Science, Mathematics, Finance, Statistics, and many other quantitative disciplines.
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Many students complete the M.Eng. program in just two semesters. Depending on the student’s undergraduate degree and intended M.Eng. concentration, a third semester may be required. Notably, our M.Eng. Financial Engineering Concentration is designed as a three-semester program and includes a semester at Cornell Financial Engineering Manhattan. Most program concentrations require participation in activities that take place during the winter intersession and/or in August before the formal start of the fall semester. Instead of a research thesis, the degree requires an engineering design project. This is different from a research degree, which is focused on in-depth research and development for a future in academia.

M.Eng. Program at a Glance

  • 30

    Minimum number of credits

  • 2-3

    Semesters

  • 6

    Concentrations

  • 1

    Design project

Upcoming Info Sessions

Concentrations

6 concentrations are offered through the Master of Engineering program, providing students ample opportunity to pursue a wide range of careers.

  • Applied Operations Research

    The Applied Operations Research Concentration is the most general of the concentrations and allows the most flexibility with respect to elective courses. The concentration is most appropriate for students with undergraduate degrees in operations research who want to increase the depth and breadth of their exposure to operations research and its applications, and for those with undergraduate degrees in other fields who want to gain a solid foundation in the theory and practice of operations research.

  • Data Analytics

    The Data Analytics concentration focuses on the theory and tools needed to make fact-based, data-driven decisions associated with the development, pricing, promotion, and distribution of ideas, goods, and services. Data Analytics students complete additional work in the Data Science/Statistical Modeling core category, and complete elective work relevant to the application of the skills built by the core. This structure is designed to ensure that students gain a solid foundation that spans statistical theory, data technology, and data-driven analysis and strategy.

  • Financial Engineering

    The Financial Engineering Concentration prepares students for careers that involve the quantitative analysis and management of financial instruments and risk. Such jobs frequently involve: (1) mathematical modeling and analysis of stocks, bonds, options, currency exchange rates and other structured products, (2) developing quantitative models to help corporations understand and manage their exposure to risk, and/or (3) implementing algorithms to monitor, price, and/or trade financial instruments. Unlike other concentrations, this one is specifically designed to be a three-semester program (fall-spring-fall), with the third (i.e., second fall) semester taking place at Cornell Financial Engineering Manhattan in New York City.

  • Information Technology

    The Information Technology concentration prepares students to participate in the development, acquisition, and integration of information systems (particularly those embodying operation research approaches) to ensure that strategic business needs are satisfied. Students will complete elective coursework in technology and infrastructure, information economics and strategy, and managing the implementation of information systems.

  • Manufacturing and Industrial Engineering

    The Manufacturing and Industrial Engineering concentration (MIE), which is delivered in coordination with the Sibley School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, prepares students to use their operations research skills to improve manufacturing environments and associated processes across the supply chain network. This concentration covers aspects of design, production, distribution of goods and services, as well as fundamentals of modern manufacturing technology. Relevant coursework includes application of computer-aided engineering tools for system analysis, and management and improvement of manufacturing processes. Industrial experience is advantageous but not required.

  • Strategic Operations

    The Strategic Operations concentration provides a comprehensive look at how business and operations strategies are aligned and executed for success, including corporate structure, marketing, product development, manufacturing, quality management, human capital strategies, and globalization issues. Students in this concentration follow a program of ORIE applications courses and Johnson business courses. The keystone of the concentration is the Strategic Operations Practicum offered by the Johnson School. The practicum integrates classroom material and guest lectures with company site visits and team-based project work with industry partners.  The Strategic Operations project complements, but does not replace, the ORIE M.Eng. project. Graduate students from the College of Engineering, the Johnson School, and the School of Industrial and Labor Relations participate in the practicum.

Spotlights

  • Two overlapping circular images of small groups of students at laptops

    From Bail to Banking: M.Eng. Projects Blend Theory, Practice

    The M.Eng. program in the School of Operations Research and Information Engineering at Cornell University showcases an exceptional breadth of student projects that reflect both the diversity of industries served and the evolving frontiers of data science and analytics. These…

  • Finding Beauty in Logic, Impact in Data

    When Vandana Bharvani was growing up in Bombay, India, she found herself captivated by the elegance of mathematics. “There’s something really beautiful about how a logical solution can bring clarity to something complex,” she recalls. Her early fascination with numbers…

  • M.Eng. alum asks “What can I learn next?”

    Operations Research and Information Engineering M.Eng. alum Irene Poh ’01 M.Eng. ’02 believes that one key to a successful and satisfying career is to avoid defining your job as simply what you do. “It’s so much better to always ask…

  • Cornell Tech M.Eng. Program

    Cornell Tech offers an M.Eng. program in Operations Research and Information Engineering based at their Roosevelt Island, New York City campus. This program is separate from our Ithaca campus degree as well as from the Cornell Financial Engineering in Manhattan program.

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