<p>Hello everyone. I wanted to know if USC's Master of Science in Operations Research Engineering is a solid course. I know that it belongs to the ISE dept and that dept is well known. But MS in ORE is just one of their courses and was wondering if anyone could tell me if this course is any good. Would appreciate any feedback on this matter! Thank you!</p>
<p>My USC MS degree, which I got in 1989, looks to have morphed into the one you’re interested in. So there may be some bias here.</p>
<p>I’d say it’s very solid. Back in the 80’s, the USC industrial/systems engineering programs were strongly supported by the Southern California aerospace industry and NASA, and the university was one of the best in the field. Other universities have probably caught up, but a USC degree in these fields will still be very highly regarded.</p>
<p>The whole program was also damn interesting. I enjoyed it a lot more than I enjoyed getting my undergraduate Computer Science degree.</p>
<p>Thank you for your reply simba9. Glad to know that Industrial/Systems Engg is a solid department. Can you also tell me if you know anything about Operations Research Engineering offered by USC in particular? Since you are a USC alumni, I gather you’d have some information about this. Their MS in Indust/Systems Engineering is a mainstream and well-known program. Although the same ISE Department also offers another MS in Operations Research Engineering, which I am interested in. Do you think that course is worthwhile too? Or is trivial compared to Ind/Systems Engg?
Also, since you’re from USC, could you tell me how easy it is to change majors after the 1st Semester? I heard USC allows that flexibility. If I join an MS in Op. Research Engg and then want to change over to ISE, is that easy to do? Highly appreciate your help and responses.</p>
<p>Hi Michelle88, Both programs are very worthwhile. While there is lots of overlap between degrees, it looks like the ISE degree is more focused on traditional engineering and manufacturing, while the Operations Research degree is more computer-focused. I wouldn’t say one is more trivial than the other.</p>
<p>I’m afraid I can’t help you much regarding how easy it is to transfer between majors, since I graduated in 1989 and my experience is rather dated. While I changed majors 4 times as an undergrad, I never even thought about changing programs in graduate school. That’s a question for the folks in the Industrial and Systems Engineering department.</p>
<p>What I can do is give you an opinion on what you should expect after you graduate, and with either of the degrees you’re considering, you shouldn’t have much of a problem finding work. It may not correspond exactly with what you studied, but there are plenty of jobs for those who know how to apply computer technology to real-world problems, and that’s what those two programs do.</p>
<p>Thank you very much simba9. Your opinion on the matter definitely helped! :)</p>