Colleges and Schools
This specialization (often referred to as management science or by the acronym OR/MS) prepares you to understand new and innovative approaches to operations management.
Completion Requirements
- 134 total quarter credit hours
- Foundation course (6 cr.)
- Core Knowledge Area Modules (KAMs I, II, III) (42 cr.)
- Specialized Knowledge Area Modules (KAMs V, VI, VII) (42 cr.)*
- Foundation Research Sequence (14 cr.)
- Proposal, dissertation, and oral presentation (30 cr.)
- Professional Development Plan and Program of Study
- 20 days of residency (two 4-day and two 6-day residencies)
Time to completion may vary by student, depending on individual progress and credits transferred. For a personalized estimate of your time to completion, call your enrollment advisor at 866-492-5336.
Walden offers frequent start dates so that you can begin when it’s convenient for you. Next Start Date: October 6. Admission policies vary by program. Call 1-866-492-5336 or apply now.
*Students may substitute three graduate-level courses or two graduate-level courses and an independent study for KAM VII with the approval of their faculty mentor and the program chair, provided that they complete a minimum of two KAMs.
Foundation Course
| Course Code | Course Title | Credits |
| SBSF 8005 | Foundations for Doctoral Study | 6 |
Core KAMs
| Course Code | Course Title | Credits |
| KAM I: Principles of Societal Development | ||
| SBSF 8111 | Breadth: Theories of Societal and Cultural Development | 5 |
| AMDS 8121 | Depth: Current Research in Societal and Cultural Development (Operations Research) | 5 |
| AMDS 8131 | Application: Professional Practice and Societal and Cultural Development (Operations Research) | 4 |
| KAM II: Principles of Human Development | ||
| SBSF 8210 | Breadth: Theories of Human Development | 5 |
| AMDS 8221 | Depth: Current Research in Human Development—Decision Analysis (Operations Research) | 5 |
| AMDS 8231 | Application: Professional Practice and Human Development—Applied Decision Analysis (Operations Research) | 4 |
| KAM III: Principles of Organizational and Social Systems | ||
| SBSF 8310 | Breadth: Theories of Organizational and Social Systems | 5 |
| AMDS 8321 | Depth: Current Research in Organizational and Social Systems—Systems Engineering (Operations Research) | 5 |
| AMDS 8331 | Application: Professional Practice and Organizational and Social Systems—Applications of Systems Engineering and Analysis (Operations Research) | 4 |
Foundation Research Sequence
This sequence provides the student with the background to effectively complete doctoral-level research. The sequence is composed of three online quarter-based courses:
| Course Code | Course Title | Credits |
| SBSF 8417 | Foundation Research Seminar I: Human Inquiry and Science | 4 |
| AMDS 8427 | Foundation Research Seminar II: Design in Applied Management and Decision Sciences Research | 5 |
| AMDS 8437 | Foundation Research Seminar III: Data Analysis in Applied Management and Decision Sciences Research | 5 |
Specialized KAMs
| Course Code | Course Title | Credits |
| KAM V: Deterministic Operations Research Techniques | ||
| AMDS 8511 | Breadth: Theory of Deterministic Methods | 5 |
| AMDS 8521 | Depth: Current Research in Deterministic Methods | 5 |
| AMDS 8531 | Application: Professional Practice: Application of Deterministic Methods | 4 |
| KAM VI: Stochastic Operations Research Techniques | ||
| AMDS 8611 | Breadth: Theory of Stochastic Methods | 5 |
| AMDS 8621 | Depth: Current Research in Stochastic Methods | 5 |
| AMDS 8631 | Application: Professional Practice: Application of Stochastic Methods | 4 |
| KAM VII: Research | ||
| AMDS 8710 | Breadth: Research Methods | 5 |
| AMDS 8720 | Depth: Selected Research Methods | 5 |
| AMDS 8730 | Application: Research Design | 4 |
Dissertation
| Course Code | Course Title | Credits |
| AMDS 9000 | Dissertation | 30 |
Course Descriptions (pdf)
