Management Science and Engineering (MS&E) spans engineering, business and public policy. Our faculty teach and do research on data modeling, behavioral science, finance, entrepreneurship, risk, operations and decision-making. We believe that tackling society’s most significant problems requires strong analytical skills and a clear understanding of people and organizations. Our dual emphasis on analytics and human behavior optimally prepares our students to address these challenges.
Faculty and students in MS&E research topics as diverse as recommendation systems for Internet commerce, business models for social networking, planning for transportation management, climate modeling, national security policy-making, smart power grids, high-tech strategy and the implications of new technologies for work and organizations. Based largely on the quality of our teaching and research, the National Research Council (NRC) ranks MS&E first among all departments of Operations Research, Systems Engineering and Industrial Engineering in the United States.
Because of our breadth, MS&E holds a central position in the network of interdisciplinary collaborations at Stanford. Our emphasis on quantitative modeling and related algorithms forges strong connections with other departments in the School of Engineering, as well as with the departments of Mathematics and Statistics. In collaboration with the School of Medicine, for example, we are creating new decision tools for physicians and patients, complex data models to aid public health decisions, and improved delivery systems for health care services. Our behavioral scientists have strong ties to the School of Education, the Sociology Department and Stanford’s Graduate School of Business.
The department is also well connected to high-tech firms and venture capitalists in Silicon Valley, and we work with them to explore the opportunities information technologies create for developing new markets and for building and managing companies in new ways. Many of our faculty, students and alumni are actively involved in entrepreneurship and innovation, often in collaboration with local high-tech firms.
Students can pursue bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees in Management Science and Engineering. Our graduates are well equipped to plan, design and implement complex economic, technical and management systems. After graduating, many of our students go on to work in Silicon Valley technology companies as founders, executives, analysts and engineers. Others find employment worldwide in finance, academia, management consulting, industrial engineering, operations research, economics, public policy, medicine and law.
