Master of Operations Research and Management Science

The Master of Operations Research and Management Science teaches students how to employ mathematical models and other analytical methods to help make better business management decisions. Using optimisation stochastic models, simulation, statistics and forecasting methods, students will be able to design measures of performance and reliability, understand the key drivers of system behaviour, predict future trends, manage large-scale interacting systems, control complex planning, scheduling and operational processes and help to maximise profits and efficiency.

The range of topics include:

• Mathematics of Risk
• Optimisation for Industry
• Business Forecasting
• Project Management
• Systems Modelling and Simulation

This professional entry program offers students the opportunity to undertake professional skills modules that provide high-level training in areas of business, communications and science applications, as well as core studies in the mathematical and statistical theory.

After completing this course students will:

• have learned how basic techniques in operations research are applied in industry;
• understand how to turn an industrial problem into a mathematical formulation;
• know how to solve important mathematical optimisation problems arising in industrial framework;
• be familiar with the most commonly used mathematical models and be able to apply them in various situations; and
• be able to estimate the values of parameters that drive models from statistical data and have an appreciation of the uncertainty in those estimates.

Students must complete 200 points including:

• Discipline Core subjects (62.5 points);
• Discipline Elective subjects (62.5 points);
• Professional Skills Core subjects (50 points);
• Professional Skills Elective subjects (25 points).

Discipline Core

Students must take:

Discipline Electives

Students must select five of the following subjects:

Professional Skills Core

Students must take:

and either two of the following three subjects:

or both of

Professional Skills Electives

Students must select two of the following subjects:

*Up to two third-year level undergraduate subjects will be allowed as discipline electives to meet prerequisite/assumed knowledge requirements.

An undergraduate degree in a quantitative discipline such as mathematics, statistics and operations research, engineering, information technology, economics, commerce, with at least H3 (65%) in the major or equivalent. As part of their degree studies, applicants must have completed an appropriate sequence of at least 25 points of second-year undergraduate university-level mathematics and statistics or equivalent subjects.

The Master of Operations Research and Management Science welcomes applications from students with disabilities. It is University and degree policy to take all reasonable steps to minimise the impact of disability upon academic study, and reasonable adjustments will be made to enhance a student’s participation in the degree.

The Master of Operations Research and Management Science requires all students to enrol in subjects where they will require:
(1) the ability to comprehend complex science and technology related information;
(2) the ability to communicate knowledge and application of science clearly and independently.

Students must possess behavioural and social attributes that enable them to participate in a complex learning environment. Students are required to take responsibility for their own participation and learning. They also contribute to the learning of other students in collaborative learning environments, demonstrating interpersonal skills and an understanding of the needs of other students. Assessment may include the outcomes of tasks completed in collaboration with other students.

There may be additional inherent academic requirements for some subjects, and these requirements are listed within the description of the requirements for each of these subjects.

Students who feel their disability will impact on meeting this requirement are encouraged to discuss this matter with the relevant Subject Coordinator and the Disability Liaison Unit: http://www.services.unimelb.edu.au/disability/

Graduates will:

• have the ability to demonstrate advanced independent critical enquiry, analysis and reflection;
• have a strong sense of intellectual integrity and the ethics of scholarship;
• have in-depth knowledge of their specialist discipline(s);
• reach a high level of achievement in writing, project activities, problem-solving and communication;
• be critical and creative thinkers, with an aptitude for continued self-directed learning;
• be able to examine critically, synthesise and evaluate knowledge across a broad range of disciplines;
• have a set of flexible and transferable skills for different types of employment; and
• be able to initiate and implement constructive change in their communities, including professions and workplaces.

National Professional Science Master’s Association (NPSMA) (http://www.npsma.org//)