Undergraduate Program
Industrial Engineering
The undergraduate program is
designed to develop the technical skills and intellectual discipline needed by our
graduates to become leaders in industrial engineering and related professions.
The program is distinctive in its
emphasis on quantitative, economic, computer-aided approaches to production and service
management problems. It is focused on providing an experimental and mathematical
problem-formulating and problem-solving framework for industrial engineering work. The
curriculum provides a broad foundation in the current ideas, models, and methods of
industrial engineering. It also includes a substantial component in the humanities and
social sciences to help students understand the societal implications of their work.
The industrial engineering program objectives are:
1. to provide students with the
requisite analytical and computational skills to assess practical situations and
academic problems, formulate models of the problems represented or embedded therein,
design potential solutions, and evaluate their impact;
2. to prepare students for the
workplace by fostering their ability to participate in teams, understand and practice
interpersonal and organizational behaviors, and communicate their solutions and
recommendations effectively through written, oral, and electronic presentations;
3. to familiarize students with
the historical development of industrial engineering tools and techniques and with the
contemporary state of the art, and to instill the need for lifelong learning within
their profession;
4. to instill in our students
an understanding of ethical issues and professional and managerial responsibilities.
The program in industrial
engineering leading to the B.S. degree is accredited by the Engineering Accreditation
Commission of the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET).
Operations Research
The operations research program is one of several applied science programs offered at the School. At the undergraduate level, it offers basic courses in probability, statistics, applied mathematics, simulation, and optimization as well as more professionally oriented operations research courses. The curriculum is well suited for students with an aptitude for mathematics applications. It prepares graduates for professional employment as operations research analysts, e.g., with management consultant and financial service organizations, as well as for graduate studies in operations research or business. It is flexible enough to be adapted to the needs of future medical and law students.
Operations Research: Engineering
Management Systems
This operations research option
is designed to provide students with an understanding of contemporary technology and
management. It is for students who are interested in a technical-management background
rather than one in a traditional engineering field. It consists of required courses in
industrial engineering and operations research, economics, business, and computer
science, intended to provide a foundation for dealing with engineering and management
systems problems. Elective courses are generally intended to provide a substantive core
in at least one technology area and at least one management area.
Due to the flexibility of this
option, it can incorporate the varied educational needs of preprofessional students
interested in law, medicine, business, and finance. In addition, most students are
encouraged to add a minor in economics or computer science to their standard course
schedules.
Operations Research: Financial
Engineering
In the fall of 2006, the
Industrial Engi-neering and Operations Research Department launched a new concentration
in financial engineering. Financial engineering is a multidisciplinary field integrating
financial theory with economics, methods of engineering, tools of mathematics, and
practice of programming. The concentration is designed to provide training in the
application of engineering methodologies and quantitative methods to finance.
Students graduating with this
concentration are prepared to enter careers in securities, banking, financial
management, and consulting industries, and fill quantitative roles in corporate treasury
and finance departments of general manufacturing and service firms.
Students who are interested in pursuing the rigorous concentration in financial engineering must demonstrate proficiency in calculus, computer programming, linear algebra, ordinary differential equations, probability, and statistics. This option is available to the class of 2008 and later. Applications to the concentration will be accepted during the fall semester of the sophomore year, and students will be notified of the departmental decision by the end of that spring semester. The department is seeking students who demonstrate strength and consistency in all the above-mentioned areas. Application to this concentration is available online.
Undergraduate Advanced Track
The undergraduate advanced track is designed for advanced undergraduate students with the desire to pursue further higher education after graduation. Students with a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.4 and faculty approval have the opportunity to participate. Students are invited to apply to the track upon the completion of their sophomore year. Advanced track students are required to take higher-level IEOR courses, including the following:
IEOR E4004 instead of IEOR E3608IEOR E4106 instead of IEOR E3106
IEOR E4403 instead of IEOR E4003
and MATH V2500.
Students successfully
completing the requirements of the undergraduate advanced track will receive recognition
on their academic record.
Minors
A number of minors are available for students wishing to add them to their programs.
IEOR program students may want to
consider minors in economics or computer science. In addition, operations research and
engineering and management systems majors may elect to minor in industrial engineering,
and industrial engineering majors may elect to minor in operations research.
The minor option is not available
for engineering management systems or financial engineering.
Major in Economics— Operations
Research
Students in Columbia College and
the School of General Studies may register for a major in economics and operations
research. This degree provides a student with a foundation in economic theory comparable
to that provided by the general economics major while at the same time introducing the
student to the field of operations research. The program is recommended for students
with strong quantitative skills who are contemplating graduate studies in economics,
operations research, or business.
For more information on the major
in economics and operations research, students should contact the departmental advisers:
In Economics, Professor Susan Elmes, 1018 International Affairs Building, 212-854-3680,
and in IEOR, Professor Donald Goldfarb, 313 S. W. Mudd, 212-854-8011.
Required courses
This program requires a total of
50.5 points: 23 points in economics, 11 points in mathematics, 13.5 points in industrial
engineering and operations research, and 3 points in computer science. Economics
W1105: Principles of economics
W3211: Intermediate microeconomics
W3213: Intermediate macroeconomics
W3412: Introduction to econometrics
one seminar and two electives (one must be above the 2000 level). At least one of the electives must have W3211 or W3213 as a prerequisite.
IEOR E3106: Introduction to operations research: stochastic models
E3600: Introduction to probability and statistics E3608: Introduction to mathematical programming
and
one elective in industrial engineering or operations research.
Mathematics: Choose one of three tracks.
1. V1101, V1102, and V1201 (Calculus I, II, and III), V2010 (Linear algebra);
or
2. V1105, V1106, and V1205 (Calculus I, II, and III), V2010 (Linear algebra);
or
3. V1107, V1108, V1207, V1208.
Computer Science
W1004 or W1007: Introduction to computer programming
or
another approved computer science course that involves substantial work in programming.
Special note: It is important to take IEOR W3600 and IEOR E3608 as early as feasible; they are prerequisites for most other courses in the program.