The Department of Management Science and Engineering leads at the interface of engineering, business and public policy.
The department’s mission is, through education and research, to advance the design, management, operation and interaction of technological, economic and social systems. The department’s engineering research strength is integrated with its educational program at the undergraduate, master’s and doctoral levels: graduates of the program are trained as engineers and future leaders in technology, policy and industry. Research and teaching are complemented by an outreach program that encourages the transfer of ideas to the environment of Silicon Valley and beyond.
Management Science and Engineering (MS&E) provides programs of education and research by integrating three basic strengths:
- depth in conceptual and analytical foundations
- comprehensive coverage of functional areas of application
- interaction with other Stanford departments, Silicon Valley industry and organizations throughout the world.
The analytical and conceptual foundations include decision and risk analysis, dynamic systems, economics, optimization, organizational science and stochastic systems. The functional areas of application include entrepreneurship, finance, information, marketing, organizational behavior, policy, production and strategy. Close associations with other engineering departments and with industry enrich the programs by providing opportunities to apply MS&E methods to important problems and by motivating new theoretical developments from practical experience. MS&E’s programs also provide a basis for contributing to other areas such as biotechnology, defense policy, environmental policy, information systems and telecommunications.
The MS prepares engineers for a lifelong career addressing the critical technical and managerial needs of private and public organizations. The program emphasizes developing analytic abilities, making better decisions, developing and executing strategies while also leading people who innovate. Unlike an MBA, our master’s program addresses the technical as well as the behavioral challenges of running organizations and complex systems. We emphasize quantitative analytic skills and an entrepreneurial spirit.
The PhD is conferred upon candidates who have demonstrated substantial scholarship and the ability to conduct independent research. Through course work and guided research, the program prepares students to make original contributions in Management Science and Engineering and related fields.
