Master of Engineering

Overview

This concentration emphasizes management and engineering perspectives for solving problems, making decisions, and managing risk in complex, real-world systems. Courses in this concentration ensure that students develop a deep understanding of optimization and stochastic modeling, proficiency in the tools of management science and engineering, including simulation and machine learning, and awareness of a variety of applications in relevant areas of operations management.

IEOR Technical Electives

Core Courses
All students from all concentrations must take the following courses for a letter grade:

• INDENG 240 Optimization Analytics
• INDENG 241 Risk Modeling, Simulation, and Data Analysis

INDENG 240 and 241 are the primary core MEng IEOR technical courses, specifically designed for IEOR professional graduate students. For students who took solid introductory courses in Optimization and/or Stochastic Modeling prior to enrolling in the MEng program, it is possible to petition to take PhD-level courses as alternatives (INDENG 262A for INDENG 240, INDENG 263A for INDENG 241). It is strongly recommended to enroll in INDENG 240 and 241, as the Comprehensive Technical Exam is based on them.

If you desire to take INDENG 262A and/or 263A instead of INDENG 240 and/or 241, please review the course descriptions and syllabi (classes.berkeley.edu). It is encouraged that students attend the first class of INDENG 240/241 AND INDENG 262A/263A before making a decision. We require the alternative course(s) instructor approval to enroll. If approved, INDENG 262A and/or 263A should be considered a replacement for INDENG 240 and/or 241; INDENG 240 and 262A cannot both be taken to meet degree requirements, and INDENG 241 and 263A cannot both be taken to meet degree requirements.

The required Comprehensive Technical Exam is based on the material covered in INDENG 240 and 241, and these courses provide complete preparation for the exam. All students are responsible for properly preparing for the Comprehensive Technical Exam. Students approved for the PhD-level alternative courses (INDENG 262A and/or 263A) can audit INDENG 240 and/or 241 to prepare for the exam by reaching out to the instructors to be added to the INDENG 240/241 bCourses.

Additional Technical Electives for the Management Science & Engineering Concentration
Two additional graduate INDENG courses (200-level) from an approved list must be taken for a letter grade. Course offerings may change from year to year.

Departmental Comprehensive Technical Examination

Passing the departmental Comprehensive Technical Examination is a required milestone for all IEOR MEng students. The three-hour written exam is administered every year during RRR week of the Fall semester (the last instruction week of the semester). The exam is composed of two parts as follows:

Optimization (90 minutes): Based on INDENG 240 material, the exam questions focus on formulation (modeling) of optimization problems covering linear, integer, and nonlinear programming problems.

Stochastic Modeling (90 minutes): Based on INDENG 241 material, the exam questions focus on basics of probability theory and stochastic processes, including random variables, conditional expectation, variance and covariance, and Poisson processes.

Comprehensive Exam Sample

INDENG 240 and 241 are specifically designed for IEOR professional graduate students. If a student is interested in taking INDENG 262A and/or 263B instead of INDENG 240 and/or 241, it is encouraged that students attend the first class of INDENG 240/241 AND INDENG 262A/263A before making a decision.
The required Comprehensive Technical Exam is based on the material covered in INDENG 240 and 241, and these courses provide complete preparation for the exam. All students are responsible for properly preparing for the Comprehensive Technical Exam. Students approved for alternative courses can audit INDENG 240 and/or 241 to prepare for the exam by reaching out to the instructors to be added to the INDENG 240/241 bCourses, if they plan to take INDENG 262A/263A.

Recommended Informal Tracks

For guidance, we propose the following tracks. Do note the tracks listed below are not formal, unlike FinTech or Intellectual Property and Entrepreneurship Strategy, and will not be listed on the official transcript.

Decision Analytics – Provides students with a broad understanding of cutting-edge approaches to quantitative analysis and managerial decision-making applicable across a wide range of industries. Recommended Courses: any two of INDENG 220, 231, 250, 251, 252, 253, 254

Risk Management & Finance – Prepares students for careers in finance, energy, and other industries where risk management is critical. Recommended Courses: INDENG 221 and any one of INDENG 222, 224, 231

Simulation & Modeling – Prepares students for careers as analysts focusing on production and distribution systems, service systems, product or process design, or marketing in a wide range of industries. Recommended Courses: INDENG 231 and any one of INDENG 220, 250, 251, 252, 253

Career Landscape

The Master of Engineering's Career Development Team offers a wide range of specialized career management resources

MEng IEOR alumni employment information may be found here.

Contact Information

Professor Ilan Adler
Head MEng Advisor
Ph.D. Stanford University, 1970 Operations Research

Research Areas: Mathematical Programming, Computational Game Theory, Applied Probability

Overview

The FinTech concentration focuses on machine learning and data analytics with an emphasis on financial time series analysis. We aim to prepare you for a successful career in financial and tech companies. This skill set is especially pertinent to banks, consulting firms, financial technology, and investment firms.

The FinTech concentration differs from the Management Science & Engineering concentration in that it is focused on the Financial Industry. The FinTech concentration differs from a Master of Financial Engineering program by being more quantitative and shorter in length.

IEOR Technical Electives

Core Courses
All students from all concentrations must take the following courses for a letter grade:

• INDENG 240 Optimization Analytics
• INDENG 241 Risk Modeling, Simulation, and Data Analysis

INDENG 240 and 241 are the primary core MEng IEOR technical courses, specifically designed for IEOR professional graduate students. For students who took solid introductory courses in Optimization and/or Stochastic Modeling prior to enrolling in the MEng program, it is possible to petition to take PhD-level courses as alternatives (INDENG 262A for INDENG 240, INDENG 263A for INDENG 241). It is strongly recommended to enroll in INDENG 240 and 241, as the Comprehensive Technical Exam is based on them.

If you desire to take INDENG 262A and/or 263A instead of INDENG 240 and/or 241, please review the course descriptions and syllabi (classes.berkeley.edu). It is encouraged that students attend the first class of INDENG 240/241 AND INDENG 262A/263A before making a decision. We require the alternative course(s) instructor approval to enroll. If approved, INDENG 262A and/or 263A should be considered a replacement for INDENG 240 and/or 241; INDENG 240 and 262A cannot both be taken to meet degree requirements, and INDENG 241 and 263A cannot both be taken to meet degree requirements.

The required Comprehensive Technical Exam is based on the material covered in INDENG 240 and 241, and these courses provide complete preparation for the exam. All students are responsible for properly preparing for the Comprehensive Technical Exam. Students approved for the PhD-level alternative courses (INDENG 262A and/or 263A) can audit INDENG 240 and/or 241 to prepare for the exam by reaching out to the instructors to be added to the INDENG 240/241 bCourses.

Additional Technical Electives for the FinTech Concentration
Required concentration coursework listed below must be completed for a letter grade.
INDENG 290: Applications of Machine Learning to Electronic Markets
And two from: INDENG 221, 222, 223, 224

Additional FinTech Notes:

• The FinTech concentration requires students to complete 1 additional technical elective as compared to the Management Science & Engineering MEng IEOR track.
• Students interested in more advanced studies are recommended to take INDENG 223.

Departmental Comprehensive Technical Examination

Passing the departmental Comprehensive Technical Examination is a required milestone for all IEOR MEng students. The three-hour written exam is administered every year during RRR week of the Fall semester (the last instruction week of the semester). The exam is composed of two parts as follows:

Optimization (90 minutes): Based on INDENG 240 material, the exam questions focus on formulation (modeling) of optimization problems covering linear, integer, and nonlinear programming problems.

Stochastic Modeling (90 minutes): Based on INDENG 241, the exam questions focus on basics of probability theory and stochastic processes, including random variables, conditional expectation, variance and covariance, and Poisson processes.

Comprehensive Exam Sample

INDENG 240 and 241 are specifically designed for IEOR professional graduate students. If a student is interested in taking INDENG 262A and/or 263B instead of INDENG 240 and/or 241, it is encouraged that students attend the first class of INDENG 240/241 AND INDENG 262A/263A before making a decision.

The required Comprehensive Technical Exam is based on the material covered in INDENG 240 and 241, and these courses provide complete preparation for the exam. All students are responsible for properly preparing for the Comprehensive Technical Exam. Students approved for alternative courses can audit INDENG 240 and/or 241 to prepare for the exam by reaching out to the instructors to be added to the INDENG 240/241 bCourses, if they plan to take INDENG 262A/263A.

Career Landscape

Industry Employers

BlackRock, JP Morgan, Google, Facebook, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Citadel, Amazon, Bank of America, Bracebridge Capital, Capital Group, Duff & Phelps, First Republic Bank, Four Twenty Seven, Greensparc Inc., HSBC, Incline Investment Management, LLC, Inferess, Lending Club, Menta Capital LLC, Pluribus Labs, Sensato Investors, STOXX Limited, Stripe Inc., The Voleon Group, Uber Technologies, Unison Home, Ownership Investors (formerly FirstREX), and more.

Berkeley MEng alumni working in FinTech include:

• Alpha Strategy Researcher, BlackRock
• Credit Risk Data Analyst, Prosper Marketplace
• Data Scientist, Business Analytics, Facebook
• Data Scientist, CircleUp
• Portfolio Analytics Analyst, BlackRock
• Risk Analyst, Prosper Marketplace

Contact Information

Professor Xin Guo
Coleman Fung Chair in Financial Modeling
Ph.D. Rutgers University, 1999 Mathematics

Research Areas: Theory of stochastic controls and stochastic games, high frequency trading, applied probability and statistical learning.

Overview

How can we use science and technology to make the world a better place? What is the best way to develop and commercialize ideas for economic and social impact? How do intellectual property (IP) rights interact with entrepreneurial strategies and business models?

Formulating technology strategy and managing intellectual assets is an increasing challenge in the economy. While IP management has typically been practiced by lawyers and sometimes senior business people, engineers are becoming indispensable to IP management due to increasingly complex technologies. Engineers often pick up their understanding of technology strategy and commercialization paths while on the job or as founders of a startup. The intent of the Intellectual Property and Entrepreneurship Strategy (IPES) concentration is to give such engineers the necessary training before they enter the workforce or start their own venture.

Capstone partners for this concentration include government and industry organizations such as the U.S. Patent & Trade Office, Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, UC Berkeley College of Engineering faculty, and others.

The program opens up a broad range of future professional opportunities at the intersection of innovation, business development and technology-based disruption in knowledge-intensive organizations. Our alumni work as technology managers, business developers and analysts, management consultants, entrepreneurs and IP specialists, in industry and government. Graduates are experts in their specialized technical area and capable of leading interdisciplinary teams in technology-based business settings.

IEOR Technical Electives

Core Courses

All students from all concentrations must take the following courses for a letter grade:

• INDENG 240 Optimization Analytics
• INDENG 241 Risk Modeling, Simulation, and Data Analysis

INDENG 240 and 241 are the primary core MEng IEOR technical courses, specifically designed for IEOR professional graduate students. For students who took solid introductory courses in Optimization and/or Stochastic Modeling prior to enrolling in the MEng program, it is possible to take PhD-level courses as alternatives (INDENG 262A for INDENG 240; INDENG 263A for INDENG 241). However, it is strongly recommended to enroll in INDENG 240 and 241, as the required Comprehensive Technical Exam (see below) is based on the material covered in INDENG 240 and 241, and these courses provide complete preparation for the exam. All students are responsible for properly preparing for the Comprehensive Technical Exam. Students who choose to take the PhD-level alternative courses (INDENG 262A and/or 263A) can audit INDENG 240 and/or 241 to prepare for the exam by reaching out to the instructors to be added to the INDENG 240/241 bCourse(s).

If students desire to take INDENG 262A and/or 263A instead of INDENG 240 and/or 241, it is encouraged for them to review the course descriptions and syllabi (classes.berkeley.edu). It is also encouraged that students attend the first class of INDENG 240/241 AND INDENG 262A/263A before making a decision. We require a signed attestation for students to remain enrolled in the alternative course(s). Additionally, students must commit to their Core Course choices after the add/drop deadline. 

INDENG 262A and/or 263A should be considered a replacement for INDENG 240 and/or 241; INDENG 240 and 262A cannot both be taken to meet degree requirements, and INDENG 241 and 263A cannot both be taken to meet degree requirements.

Additional Technical Electives for the IPES Concentration
Required concentration coursework listed below must be completed for a letter grade.

• INDENG 242A: Machine Learning & Data Analytics
• One more INDENG 200-level course from an approved list (course offerings may change from year to year)

Students must complete an IPES capstone, which requires an analysis of the competitive landscape for a breakthrough patent.

Departmental Comprehensive Technical Examination

Passing the departmental Comprehensive Technical Examination is a required milestone for all IEOR MEng students. The three-hour written exam is administered every year during RRR week of the Fall semester (the last instruction week of the semester). The exam is composed of two parts as follows:

Optimization (90 minutes): Based on INDENG 240 material, the exam questions focus on fundamental principles of linear programming as well as formulation (modeling) of optimization problems, covering linear, integer, network, and nonlinear programming problems.

Stochastic Modeling (90 minutes): Based on INDENG 241 material, the exam questions focus on basics of probability theory and stochastic processes, including random variables, conditional expectation, variance and covariance, and Poisson processes.

Comprehensive Exam Sample

The required Comprehensive Technical Exam is based on the material covered in INDENG 240 and 241, and these courses provide complete preparation for the exam. All students are responsible for properly preparing for the Comprehensive Technical Exam. Students who choose to take the alternative courses can audit INDENG 240 and/or 241 to prepare for the exam by reaching out to the instructors to be added to the INDENG 240/241 bCourse(s), if they plan to take INDENG 262A/263A.

Career Landscape

Graduates will be better prepared to start their own technology and science-based firms and will find work in engineering functions, government patent offices, and strategic analysis groups within business, legal, and consulting firms.

Contact Information

Professor Lee Fleming
Research Areas:  Innovation, innovation strategy, intellectual property, regional industrial dynamics, technology strategy, entrepreneurship