Minor in Optimization and Quantitative Decision Science (OQDS)

The minor in Optimization and Quantitative Decision Science (OQDS) is focused on developing quantitative skills for optimal decision making in complex and uncertain environments. These skills are increasingly relevant to problems and decisions that face the leaders, managers, engineers, and scientists of our generation. Through this academic program, students will learn to quantify risk and uncertainty, and to view any complex decision through the lens of mathematical optimization. This outlook will give them a more structured understanding of the decision itself, as they learn to rigorously formulate their constraints, objective functions(s), and the uncertainties involved. It will also lead them to the proper algorithmic tools that are needed to arrive at an optimal decision.

The minor can be of interest to students in engineering, the sciences, and the liberal arts who are interested in analytical thinking and quantitative reasoning for the purpose of decision making under uncertainty. Emphasis is placed on rigorous modeling and analysis, taking advantage of the vast flow of data and ubiquitous computing power available today.

The OQDS program complements the minors in Applied and Computational Mathematics, Statistics and Machine Learning, Finance, and Computer Science.

Admission to the Program

The OQDS minor is open to both B.S.E. and A.B. students. B.S.E. students are required to take math through Math 201 and 202, which will satisfy the math prerequisites of any of the core courses. However, there is flexibility in the choice of core courses, and the math prerequisites depend on the electives that a student chooses. For A.B. students, it is their responsibility to take the necessary prerequisites for their program of study; students are encouraged to take Math 202 (and preferably Math 201) prior to the program's core course requirements.

To be admitted, interested students should write to [email protected]. The email should state the student's interest in enrolling in the minor, and should include the following information: the student's class year, major, and whether any course requirements have been satisfied. 

Per University policy, students may join the program from the spring term of the sophomore year through the spring term of the junior year. Students are limited to two minor or certificate program enrollments, but may request permission to enroll in a third program through their residential dean.  

Program of Study

The program for each student is worked out by the student and the departmental adviser. The OQDS minor does not have a GPA requirement and students may elect to take one requirement on a pass/fail grading basis. Students may double count no more than two courses toward their departmental major and the OQDS minor. The program does not have a limit on double counting with other certificate or minor programs, but it is the student’s responsibility to check the double-counting requirements of the other program(s) of interest. Students who choose the option of taking a sixth course in place of our independent work requirement may double count no more than three courses for both their major and the OQDS minor.

Course Requirements

All students must take five courses from the following three areas:

  1. One core course in optimization
  2. One core course in uncertainty analysis
  3. Three elective courses on applications to quantitative decision making

Students may choose to take more than one course from category (1) or (2) and count the additional course(s) towards category (3), as long as at least one course from category (3) is taken.

1) One core course in optimization

  • ORF 307 - Optimization
  • ORF 311 – Stochastic Optimization and Machine Learning in Finance
  • ORF363/COS 323 - Computing and Optimization for the Physical and Social Sciences

In special circumstances, the director of the program may approve alternative graduate courses for qualified students. Examples include ORF 522 (Linear and Nonlinear Optimization), ORF 523 (Convex and Conic Optimization), and ECE 522 (Large-Scale Optimization for Data Science).

2) One core course in uncertainty analysis

  • CEE 460 - Risk Assessment and Management
  • ECE 382 – Probabilistic Systems and Information Processing
  • ECO 202 - Statistics and Data Analysis for Economics
  • GEO 422 – Data, Models and Uncertainty in the Natural Sciences
  • MAT 385 – Probability Theory
  • MAT 486 – Random Processes
  • ORF 245 - Fundamentals of Statistics
  • ORF 309 – Probability and Stochastic Systems
  • ORF 409 – Introduction to Monte Carlo Simulation
  • PHI 371 – Philosophical Foundations of Probability and Decision Theory
  • POL 345/SOC 305 - Introduction to Quantitative Social Science
  • PSY 251 - Quantitative Methods
  • SOC 301 – Statistical Methods in Sociology
  • SPI 200 - Statistics for Social Science

In special circumstances, the director of the program may approve alternative graduate courses for qualified students. An example is ORF 526 (Probability Theory).

3) Three elective courses on applications to quantitative decision making

  • ARC 311 – Building Science and Technology: Building Systems
  • ARC 404 – Advanced Design Studio
  • CBE 442 - Design, Synthesis and Optimization of Chemical Processes
  • CBE 449 - Numerical and Monte Carlo Methods in Engineering and Scientific Computing
  • COS 324 - Introduction to Machine Learning
  • COS 445 - Economics and Computing
  • COS 484 - Natural Language Processing
  • COS 510 - Programming Languages
  • COS 598D – Optimization for Machine Learning
  • ECE 364 - Machine Learning for Predictive Data Analytics
  • ECE 435 – Machine Learning and Pattern Recognition
  • ECO 312 - Econometrics: A Mathematical Approach
  • ECO 418 - Strategy and Information
  • ECO 462 - Portfolio Theory and Asset Management
  • ECO 466 - Fixed Income, Options and Derivatives: Models and Applications
  • EGR 395 - Venture Capital & Finance of Innovation
  • EGR 494 – Leadership Development for Business
  • EGR 497 - Entrepreneurial Leadership
  • EGR/ECE 491 - High-Tech Entrepreneurship
  • MAE 331 – Aircraft Flight Dynamics
  • MAE 345 – Introduction to Robotics
  • MAE 410/ENE 410/CBE 410 – Optimization for the Design and Analysis of Energy Systems
  • MAE 433 - Automatic Control Systems
  • MAE 434 – Modern Control
  • MAE 573 – Applied Optimization for Energy Systems Engineering
  • MAT 378 – Theory of Games
  • MAT 490 – Mathematical Introduction to Machine Learning
  • MOL/QCB 485 – Mathematical Models in Biology
  • MUS/COS 314 – Computer and Electronic Music through Programming, Performance, and Composition
  • MUS 316 – Computer and Electronic Music Composition
  • ORF 350 – Analysis of Big Data
  • ORF 387 - Networks
  • ORF 401 – Electronic Commerce
  • ORF 405 – Regression and Applied Time Series
  • ORF 407 – Fundamentals of Queueing Theory
  • ORF 418 – Optimal Learning
  • ORF 435 – Financial Risk Management
  • ORF 467 – Transportation Systems Analysis
  • ORF 542 – Stochastic Optimal Control
  • POL 341 – Experimental Methods in Politics
  • POL 346 – Applied Quantitative Analysis
  • POL 347/ECO 347 – Game Theory in Politics
  • PSY 255/CGS 255 – Cognitive Psychology
  • SPI 340/PSY 321 - The Psychology of Decision Making and Judgment

In special circumstances, the director of the program may approve alternative graduate courses for qualified students. Examples include ECE 524 (Foundations of Reinforcement Learning), ORF/APC 550 (Probability in High Dimension).

The program is willing to occasionally add courses which clearly satisfy the objective(s) of each area. Students wishing to propose a course should send the syllabus to [email protected], with an explanation of which area the course satisfies, and why.

Independent Work

A senior thesis or project must be completed that demonstrates a command of some portion of the core disciplines of uncertainty analysis and/or optimization. Students in departments that require a one-semester project can typically use a suitably designed project to satisfy the requirement.

Acceptable theses can cover a wide range of topics, but they must demonstrate a command of the core disciplines of the OQDS minor, including stochastics and/or optimization. The thesis must involve appropriate mathematical modeling and analysis that leads to a conclusion or scientific result. A thesis with minimal or no mathematical modeling is not acceptable.

Theses that do not meet these criteria typically involve topics that lack significant mathematical modeling or data analysis. For example, theses that focus solely on descriptive or qualitative studies (such as historical accounts of a nation's economy), or laboratory-based theses that do not involve significant mathematical or data-driven analysis, are not appropriate. Collecting observations and computing basic statistics, for instance, is not sufficient.

The thesis/research report must be sent to [email protected] for approval to ensure it is sufficiently relevant to the minor. The director may consult the executive committee in making this decision.

The program expectation is that theses or independent projects will involve mathematical models and either the formulation and solution of mathematical optimization problems (using optimization software or by developing custom algorithms), or the application of probability theory to quantify risk and uncertainty.

The majority of our students are expected to complete a thesis or an independent research project. However, to account for cases where securing an adviser may be difficult, we offer students the option to take a sixth course in place of the independent work requirement. This sixth course can be either a core OQDS course or an elective.

Committee

Director: Amir Ali Ahmadi, Operations Research and Financial Engineering

Interdepartmental Committee

  • Elad Hazan, Computer Science (2015-2026)
  • Alain Kornhauser, Operations Research and Financial Engineering (2005-2026)
  • Peter Ramadge, Electrical and Computer Engineering (2019-2026)
  • Elizaveta Rebrova, Operations Research and Financial Engineering (2025-2026)
  • Clancy Rowley, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering (2019-2026)
  • Bartolomeo Stellato, Operations Research and Financial Engineering (2025-2026)

Program Staff

  • Caitlin Daley, Undergraduate Program Administrator, ORFE and OQDS
  • Yael Mendes, Administrative Assistant for Academic Programs, ORFE and OQDS

* Rather than writing to individual email addresses, students should write to [email protected] with all minor-related items.  Faculty or staff will then reply as appropriate.