Industrial Engineering & Operations Research

Master of Engineering Program

Contact Us

Call: 510.642.7983
Email: ieoradmissions@berkeley.edu

Program Overview | How to Apply | Student Profile | FAQ

Program Overview

The Master of Engineering program in Industrial Engineering & Operations Research combines business-oriented coursework with applications-focused industrial engineering and operations research courses emphasizing Optimization Analytics, Risk Modeling, Simulation, and Data Analysis. Machine Learning and Data Science are exciting new topics that combine results from stochastics and optimization to provide a growing range of products and services. It is intended to prepare students for professional practice, explicitly developing skills in managing complex projects and directing financial and operational matters.

Application deadline for fall 2021 M.Eng program: Wednesday, January 6, 2021

Become an Engineering Leader

Expand your effectiveness as an engineer by gaining valuable leadership skills. All students in the program take core leadership courses in areas such as marketing, finance, law, analysis, and project management to help you take the next step in your career.

Develop your technical expertise

The Master of Engineering program not only prepares students with the leadership skills necessary to manage multi-faceted projects, but also helps students gain a deeper understanding of an engineering discipline. Master of Engineering students concentrating in IEOR are required to take IEOR 240 (Optimization Analytics) and IEOR 241 (Risk Modeling, Simulation, and Data Analysis) and two additional IEOR electives of their choice in areas such as data science, financial engineering, supply chain management, operations research, and decision analytics.

Hands-on capstone experience

Set in the heart of the Bay Area, the worldwide epicenter for engineering innovation, students attending UC Berkeley are uniquely positioned to build lasting connections with industry. Through the capstone experience, students form interdisciplinary teams, partner with industry, and benefit from the expertise of industry leaders and faculty to apply their learning by creating real projects.

Download our brochure

Concentrations

Management Science & 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.

Required Technical Courses

At least four 200-level INDENG courses from an approved list must be taken for letter grade.

At least one course from Group A and one course from Group B must be taken:

Group A (Optimization)

INDENG 240 Optimization Analytics*
INDENG 262A Mathematical Programming I
INDENG C227A Introduction to Convex Optimization

Group B (Stochastic Modeling)

INDENG 241 Risk Modeling, Simulation, and Data Analysis*
INDENG 263A Applied Stochastic Process I

*Primary core MEng IEOR technical courses. If you choose to take equivalent, alternative courses (listed below primary courses), please review the course descriptions and syllabi (classes.berkeley.edu). We require the alternative course’s instructor approval to enroll. Please upload faculty approval via this form.

Plus two 200-level INDENG courses from approved list which may change from year to year.

Departmental technical comprehensive examination

Passing the departmental technical comprehensive examination is a requirement for all IEOR MEng students. The three hours written exam is administered every year during the 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): The exam questions focus on formulation (modeling) of optimization problems covering linear, integer, and nonlinear programming problems.

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

All students, regardless of their choices regarding groups A and B, are responsible for properly preparing for the comprehensive exam. A sample of questions for the exam will be available.

INDENG 240 (for optimization) and INDENG 241 (for stochastic modeling) are specifically designed for the IEOR MEng program. In particular, these courses provide complete preparation for the comprehensive exam. It is strongly recommended that students who didn’t have solid introductory courses in the two areas prior to enrolling in the MEng program, enroll in INDENG 240 and INDENG 241.

Recommended Informal Tracks

For guidance, we propose the following tracks. Do note the tracks listed below are not formal, unlike FinTech or Intellectual Property Strategy & Data Analytics, 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. Course Requirements: 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. Course Requirements: INDENG 221 and any one of INDENG 222, 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. Course Requirements: 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
Chancellor's Professor
Ph.D. Stanford University, 1970 Operations Research

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

FinTech

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 future career and success 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 also differs from a Master of Financial Engineering program by being more quantitative and shorter in length.

Required Technical Courses

At least one course from Group A and one course from Group B must be taken:

Group A (Optimization)

INDENG 240 Optimization Analytics*
INDENG 262A Mathematical Programming I
INDENG C227A Introduction to Convex Optimization

*Primary core MEng IEOR technical courses If you choose to take equivalent, alternative courses (listed below primary courses), please review the course descriptions and syllabi (classes.berkeley.edu). We require the alternative course’s instructor approval to enroll. Please upload faculty approval via this form.

Group B (Stochastic Modeling)

INDENG 241 Risk Modeling, Simulation, and Data Analysis*
INDENG 263A Applied Stochastic Process I

Plus the required FinTech electives:

INDENG 242: Applications in Data Analysis

And two from: INDENG 221, 222, 224.

Additional Notes:

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

Departmental technical comprehensive examination

Optimization (90 minutes): The exam questions focus on formulation (modeling) of optimization problems covering linear, integer, and nonlinear programming problems.

All students, regardless of their choices regarding groups A and B, are responsible for properly preparing for the comprehensive exam. A sample of questions for the exam will be available.

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 Endowment Fund
Ph.D. Rutgers University, 1999 Mathematics

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

Intellectual Property and Entrepreneurship Strategy

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 rights interact with entrepreneurial strategies and business models?

Managing intellectual assets is an increasing challenge in the innovation economy. While Intellectual Property 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 IP and commercialization paths while on the job or as founders of a startup. The intent of the IP and Entrepreneurship Strategy concentration is to give such engineers the necessary background before they enter the workforce or start their own venture, as part of their MEng degree.

Capstone partners for this concentration include government and industry organizations such as the Qualcomm, U.S. Patent & Trade Office, PARC, Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, and others.

Required Technical Courses

At least four approved 200-level INDENG courses must be taken for letter grade, including:

INDENG 240 Optimization Analytics*

INDENG 241 Risk Modeling, Simulation, and Data Analysis*

INDENG 242: Applications in Data Analysis

Plus, two business electives are also required:

ENGIN 273: Intellectual Property and Innovation: Analysis, Strategy, and Management (fall)

ENGIN 274: Commercializing Science and Technology Breakthroughs (spring)

And finally, students must complete an Intellectual Property and Entrepreneurship capstone, which requires either 1) an analysis of the commercial or societal opportunities for a breakthrough patent, or 2) development of IP Strategy analysis tools in prediction, natural language processing, or visualization.

Departmental technical comprehensive examination

Optimization (90 minutes): The exam questions focus on formulation (modeling) of optimization problems covering linear, integer, and nonlinear programming problems.

All students are responsible for properly preparing for the comprehensive exam. A sample of questions for the exam will be available.

Career Landscape

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

Contact Information

Professor Lee Fleming
Faculty Director, Coleman Fung Institute for Engineering Leadership
Coleman Fung Chair in Engineering Leadership, IEOR

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

How to Apply

UPDATE as of August 2020: Due to Covid 19 testing difficulties, the GRE is not required for Fall 2021 admits. However, you are welcome to include the exam in your portfolio. Learn more

Before Apply

Decide on a Program

The Industrial Engineering and Operations Research department offers the following Master of Engineering concentrations:

General (Full-Time or Part-Time)
FinTech

Applicants who apply to the FinTech program will be automatically considered for the General program if not eligible for FinTech.

Deadlines

Each year, the application deadline is in January for the following fall term.

For Fall 2020, the application deadline is January 6, 2020 at 8:59pm PT.

We accept applications once per year for a fall semester program start.

Tuition/Financial Aid

Please visit the Fung Institute website for information regarding tuition and financial aid.

There is no separate application process to be considered for funding. All applicants are considered for aid.

Apply

Online Application

The fall term application is available every year in September. When available, applicants may find it HERE.

Applicants may apply to only one single degree program or one concurrent degree program per admission term.

Application Fee

You apply for graduate admission online, and will be required to submit the application fee using a major credit card. The application fee is not refundable. If you are a U.S. Citizen or current Permanent Resident, the application fee is $105; for all others, the fee is $125 (Application Fee Waiver Information).

Berkeley students and alumni who have received or will be conferred a bachelors degree from Berkeley are automatically granted fee waivers. More information HERE.

Transcripts

Please review the transcript submission requirements HERE.

Please note, applicants are not required to mail transcripts to our office at the time of application. For the application review process, applicants should upload all required materials to the online application.

International applicants should review the provided website for detailed information as to what documents are needed to upload.

When submitting your application, do not convert your GPA to a 4.0 scale. Indicate your GPA as it relates to your home institution grading scale.

Applicants are expected to have their Bachelor's degree conferred by the start of the intended MEng IEOR start term, not by the application deadline.

GRE

~ The GRE is now optional for applications for Fall 2021 and after. ~

GRE scores and official test scores should be received by the application deadline. More details HERE.

There are no substitutions (e.g. GMAT, work experience) for submitting the GRE.

We do not have a minimum GRE score requirement as we conduct a comprehensive review.

UC Berkeley current undergraduates and alumni who earned their Berkeley Bachelor's degree with a 3.5 or higher cumulative GPA are not required to submit GRE scores. This option is open to any UC Berkeley current undergraduates and alumni from all majors, though we strongly recommend the GRE for those who hold non-technical degrees or feel the scores would be a positive addition to their application. Applicants can leave the GRE score blank or list a zero score.

TOEFL/IELTS

All applicants from countries in which the official language is not English are required to submit official evidence of English language proficiency.

TOEFL and IELTS submission instructions and exemption information may be found HERE.

The university minimum requires for the purposes of admission that your most recent TOEFL score must be at least 90 or 7 for the IELTS. There are no minimum band score requirements.

The MEng IEOR program recommends a minimum TOEFL overall score of 100 to be competitive in the applicant pool.

Essays

The Statement of Purpose is your "academic statement" and should convey why you are interested in the MEng IEOR program, what you will contribute to the program and what you plan to do after the program. The average length of this statement is two pages double spaced.

The Personal History statement should provide insight to you as a person and any personal experiences that have influenced you to apply for graduate studies in IEOR. This statement can also include any obstacles or barriers that you have overcome during your education career, or any social or community projects/ programs with which you have worked.

Letters of Recommendation

Three letters of recommendation are required and should come from academic or professional experiences where individuals can speak to your potential success in the MEng IEOR program.

Resume

Be sure to upload your resume so that the admission committee may gain a more in depth understanding about your academic and professional experiences.

After Apply

Status Check

After submitting your application, you may check the status of the materials received or processed, such as: fee waivers, test scores, letters of recommendation, and admission decision.

We ask that applicants do not contact the department to request a status check. If there are missing materials needed to continue review, we will notify the applicant.

Decision Notification

You will be notified of your application decision by email which will be posted on your status page.

If you have received a fellowship offer, you will be receiving a separate email announcing your award details.

Admissions decisions will be released in early March.

Admitted Students

We encourage applicants who have received an offer of admission to submit the Statement of Intent to Register as soon as they have decided on a graduate program and no later than April 15th.

After a student accepts an offer of admission, the student will begin to receive information regarding registration, orientation, and his/her I-20 (for international students).

We kindly ask that all admitted students inform us of their intention to attend (accept or decline).

Deferring Admission

Admitted students who have accepted their admission offer may request for their application to be deferred to the following fall term by emailing the MEng IEOR admissions office with the following information:

Name
Student ID
Reason for deferral

If the department approves, a deferral recommendation will be forwarded to the Graduate Division. The Graduate Division will then review and issue a final decision on the deferral application.

More information may be found HERE.

Denied Students

The admission committee conducts a comprehensive and thorough review of each application. We are unable to offer specific reasons for denial. While we do not want to deny applicants, admission to Berkeley, particularly to our graduate program, is extremely competitive with generally more qualified applications received than allotted slots for new students.

Additional admission information for the FinTech program

Requisites

Review Process

Student Profile

Fall 2019

500+ Applicants

104 Full-Time Students

5 Part-Time Students

18 Countries

50+ Institutions

72% Undergrad Engineering Majors

29% Undergrad Industrial Engineering and Operations Research Majors

28% Undergrad Finance, Math, Econ, Stats and Related Majors

44% Identify as Female

Capstone Project Profiles

Golnazshahmirzadi_Fung_May_10_2019_WebSize_80A9247

[Blue Goji] Improving Mobility for Elderly Users of Infinity Treadmill

[Arris Composites] Optimizing the Design and Manufacturing of Aligned Carbon Fiber

Golnazshahmirzadi_Fung_May_10_2019_WebSize_80A9456

[General Motors] Modeling the Energy Impact of Autonomous Vehicles

Bipedal Robotic Locomotion

Golnazshahmirzadi_Fung_May_10_2019_printsize_80A9206

Object Scanning and Replication Using 3D Camera

View more project profiles at the Fung Institute

Employment Data

Recent News

Fung Feature: Winners of Kaggle x Google Cloud & NCAA Competition

By Vishrut Rana | June 3, 2020

Fung Feature: Fellipe Marcellino awarded 2020 Intellectual Technical Contribution Award

By Vishrut Rana | May 27, 2020

Fung Feature: Francesco Piccoli wins 2020 Intellectual Leadership Contribution Award

By Vishrut Rana | May 27, 2020

« Previous
1
2
3
4
…
8
Next »

Day in the Life

What's it like to be a master of engineering student?

Get an inside perspective of the life of a master of engineering student at the University of California, Berkeley with this "Day in the Life" video with MEng student Kaan Ardic.

Timeline

Full-Time

Our accelerated program provides an intensive, industry-oriented experience that can be completed in just one year.

Frequently Asked Questions

Prospective Students

Should I apply for the MS or MEng or PhD?

If you are looking for a professional engineering degree apply for the MS or MEng. The M.S. covers more technical courses while the MEng has a business and leadership component. Note: The MEng and the MS Programs are considered terminal degree programs and you will not be allowed to continue on for the PhD. The PhD is a research-oriented academic program for those who have a clear research goal in mind. If you apply for the PhD without an MS degree, you will earn an MS degree while progressing to the doctorate degree.

---

Is the GRE required for my application?

Important Websites for FAQs

What is the transfer credit policy?

Can I pursue a second MEng degree?

Where do I send my IELTS score?

What is the TOEFL institution code for UC Berkeley?

Are interviews required to be admitted?

Current Students

May I waive the required technical coursework?

Students who believe that completion of INDENG 240 and INDENG 241 would be a repetition of previously completed coursework may request to waiver.

To do so, students must complete the following:

Receive written approval from the current instructor of INDENG 240 or 241. Written approval must include what other Berkeley INDENG 200-level course may be approved to complete in place of INDENG 240 or 241.
Forward written approval to jdieker@berkeley.edu.
Waiver requests will then be reviewed by the MEng faculty chair for approval.
Students approved to waive 240 or 241 will still be responsible to successfully taking and completing the MEng IEOR technical comprehensive exam which is based on INDENG 240 and 241.

May I waive the required FinTech technical coursework?

Students who believe that completion of required FinTech technical coursework would be a repetition of previously completed coursework may request to waiver.

To do so, students must complete the following:

Receive written approval from Dr. Xin Guo. Written approval must include what other Berkeley INDENG 200-level course may be approved to complete in place of the required FinTech technical coursework.
Forward written approval to jdieker@berkeley.edu.
Please note that students may be asked to complete an assessment evaluation to prove proficiency.

May I complete independent studies courses?

As an international student, may I participate in CPT during my program?

Please consult the Berkeley International Office regarding CPT eligibility.

Because one of the eligibility requirements is that students must be in valid F-1 immigration status for at least two semesters, many students will not be eligible for CPT while pursuing our full-time one-year program.

However, students eligible for CPT may pursue the course credit track given they have an IEOR faculty member willing to supervise the work and the head MEng IEOR faculty advisor approves.

May I extend the program to 3 semesters?

May I take more than the required technical courses?

May I take EECS courses?

Can I drop a class after the add/drop deadline?

The Academic Calendar outlines the deadlines by which students must finalize their registration.

While not recommended, graduate students may be eligible to drop classes late into the term. If a class is dropped late, a 'W' will not appear on their transcript. However, we recommend that students discuss their specific situation including the date in which they intend to drop, the course they intend to drop, and their student status with the Registrar's Office directly before making a decision.

In addition, dropping courses should always be discussed with the MEng advisor prior to taking action to ensure that the student remains on track for graduation.

International students must also consider visa requirements related to full-time enrollment. In their final term, students may petition for a reduced course load with the Berkeley International Office. Petitions must be approved before classes that would drop a student below full-time enrollment are processed.

Degree Requirements

University Requirements

Registration

Students must register in a minimum of 12 units each term. Students must register in each term (fall and spring) until they graduate unless granted an approved leave.

GPA

In order for students to be in good standing, they must maintain an overall grade-point average of at least 3.0 on the basis of all upper division and graduate courses (100- and 200-level) taken in graduate standing.

Units

A minimum of 24 semester units of upper division and graduate courses, followed by a comprehensive final examination. Please note that the INDENG department has a higher unit requirement for the MEng degree.

Department Requirements

Units

Minimum of 25 units of approved upper division and graduate courses consisting of 8 breadth (leadership) units, 5 capstone units, and 12 technical specialization units.

Residence

Completed at least 2 semesters of graduate study in residence at UC.

Grading

Technical and breadth (leadership) courses must be completed for letter grade.

Students are expected to maintain an average grade of at least B in all coursework undertaken as a graduate student at UC.

Students must repeat courses for which they received a grade of C- or lower if a passing grade in the course is required as part of the degree program.

Coursework

12 units of technical coursework must be at the 200-level completed within Industrial Engineering and Operations Research department for letter grade.

Technical coursework may not be taken as individual, group study or research units.

Coursework

Technical Depth

All students will complete INDENG 240 and 241. Students will select 2 additional 200-level technical electives within INDENG from an approved list. Students may choose to specialize the area of study by pursuing one of the approved tracks.

Students pursuing the FinTech concentration must also complete INDENG 242. The 2 additional 200-level technical electives must be from INDENG 221, 222, 224.

Leadership Development

All students will complete 8 units of breadth (leadership) coursework.

Fall: ENGIN 270A, 270B, 270C, 295

Spring: ENGIN 270K, 295 and 2 from ENGIN 270D, 270I, 270J, 270G, 270H

Please note students will complete 2 units of their semester leadership coursework during the pre-semester leadership intensive week held the week before instruction begins each term.

Capstone Experience

All students are required to complete 5 capstone units.

Fall: ENGIN 296MA (1-2 units)

Spring: ENGIN 296 MB (3-4 units)

Milestones

In addition to coursework, students are required to complete and successfully pass a comprehensive exam.

The comprehensive exam will be split into two parts: Leadership and Technical

During December each year, students will complete a leadership comprehensive exam administered by the Fung Institute and a separate technical exam based on INDENG 240 and 241 administered by the INDENG department.

The exams may be written or oral.

Results of the exams will be reported to the Graduate Division.

Students are recommended to review their Academic Progress Report through CalCentral to ensure that the results of the exams have been properly reported to the university.

Successful completion of the comprehensive exam (both components) is required for the degree.

Important Policy Websites

Resources

Graduate Student Handbook

Classes and Registration

Important Dates

More campus resources

Contact

Heather Iwata (MS, MEng, & PhD)
510.642.7983
ieoradmissions@berkeley.edu

Master of Engineering Program

Apply to the IEOR MEng Program

Contact Us

Program Overview

Become an Engineering Leader

Develop your technical expertise

Hands-on capstone experience

Concentrations

How to Apply

Additional admission information for the FinTech program

Student Profile

Fall 2019

500+ Applicants

104 Full-Time Students

5 Part-Time Students

18 Countries

50+ Institutions

72% Undergrad Engineering Majors

29% Undergrad Industrial Engineering and Operations Research Majors

28% Undergrad Finance, Math, Econ, Stats and Related Majors

44% Identify as Female

Capstone Project Profiles

[Arris Composites] Optimizing the Design and Manufacturing of Aligned Carbon Fiber

Employment Data

Recent News

Day in the Life

What's it like to be a master of engineering student?

Timeline

Full-Time

Frequently Asked Questions

Prospective Students

Current Students

Degree Requirements

Resources

Contact

Sign up for our newsletter

Email Address