Operational Research (called "Operations Research" in some parts of the world) has been briefly described as the "scientific analysis of decisions". It is concerned with assisting and advising decision-makers in a wide variety of settings - in business and commerce, national and local government, the Health Service, and so on. Correspondingly, it offers a wide range of career prospects. OR staff help to find new approaches to problems faced by managers, and carry out analysis to clarify objectives and priorities, define alternative courses of action, and explore costs and benefits. The OR approach often involves constructing and using mathematical models. Successful practitioners thus need a sound grounding in mathematics and statistics, and must certainly be at home with quantitative thinking. However, OR also offers non-quantitative ways of structuring and modelling issues. Whatever methods are brought to bear, it is essential that the Operational Researcher should be able to take a fresh, creative view of situations, to exercise initiative, and to communicate effectively.

Most large organisations, and many smaller ones, have well-established OR groups.The formal titles of people working in OR vary considerably (including, among others, Management Scientist, Business Analyst, Corporate Planner, and Management Consultant). Depending on their position within the organisational structure, some groups specialise in particular types of work, for example project planning, stock control, market research or information technology. Others are called on by a wide range of different functions.

• The United Kingdom Operational Research Society
• International Federation Of Operational Research Societies
• The Association of European Operational Research Societies

The Department of Management Science at the University of Strathclyde offers the MSc in Operational Research by Distance Learning. It is also available as a full or part-time course on-campus.

The fully tutored and modularised nature of the course allows admissions in January, April and October.

Next start date: October'08

Application Deadline: 8 September '08

In progressing towards completion of the MSc, students will undertake the following:

• Module 1: Statistics. This unit is divided into Statistics 1, teaching the fundamental statistical theory that underlies many course elements, and Statistics 2, putting this into practice solving real problems with a commercial statistics package


• Module 2: Simulation builds mathematical models of real-world systems. There are two common methodologies for this: Discrete event simulation: visual models constructed based on events at discrete points in time, and System Dynamics modelling, continuous models constructed by considering how the system state changes with the rate of input / output of variables.
  
• Module 3: Operations looks at modelling the management decisions concerning the design, planning, control, and improvement of operating systems in both manufacturing and service organisations. This Unit is divided into a basic Operations Management class and specialist elements on the Strategic issues and issues in forecasting business parameters.
  
• Module 4: Mathematical Modelling provides some specific mathematical modelling techniques that prove essential to the practitioner, one set on finding optima in a variety of settings, and one set looking at techniques for analysing the stochastic (probabilistic) behaviour of systems.
  
• Module 5: Working Within Organisations provides some of the knowledge about the organisations within which OR practitioners have to operate, covering accounting, the influence of information systems, the issues around how to measure operational performance, and some issues about managing projects.
  

• Decision Analysis, Problem Structuring Methods


• Methodology & Consultancy Skills


• Visual Basic Programming & Spreadsheet Modelling

• for a Postgraduate Certificate (PGC), 5 units each of 12 credits
• for a Postgraduate Diploma (PGD), in addition to the PGC, a further 2 units each of 12 credits, and a stream of Experiential Learning (which includes the Apprenticeship Period) plus an Unstructured examination between them worth 36 credits
• for an MSc, in addition to the PGD, a three-month project worth 60 credit

• Unit 1: Statistics
• Unit 2: Simulation, consisting of
 * a half-unit in Discrete-Event Simulation
 * a half-unit in System Dynamics

• Unit 3: Operations, consisting of
 * a half-unit in Operations Management
 * a quarter-unit in Operations Strategy
 * a quarter-unit in Forecasting

• Unit 4: Mathematical Modelling, consisting of
 * a half-unit in Optimisation
 * a half-unit in Stochastic Models

• Unit 5: Working within Organisations, consisting of
 * a quarter-unit in Accounting
 * a quarter-unit in Information Systems in Organisations
 * a quarter-unit in Performance Measurement
 * a quarter-unit in Project Risk

• Unit 6: Decision Support, consisting of
 * a half-unit in Decision Analysis
 * a half-unit in Problem Structuring Methods

• Unit 7: Supporting Skills, consisting of
 * a quarter-unit in Spreadsheet Modelling
 * a quarter-unit in Methodology
 * a quarter-unit in Consulting Skills
 * a quarter-unit in Computer Programming

• Anytime, anywhere learning
  At home, at work, on the move, in an internet cafe - all you need is your username and password.

• Access to tutors throughout your course
  Unlike many other online courses, you are not simply given your materials and left to get on with it. You are a full student of the University of Strathclyde. Tutor support is equal to that on our other, face-to-face, courses. Tutors and support staff are not faceless names, but lecturers and academics whose prime concern is your progress through the course.

• Continuously updated, dynamic, interactive online materials
  Operational Research deals with real issues in the real world. As such, we are able to constantly update and revise our material.

• Integral online group discussions
  Group discussion is not an "add-on" to the course, it is in integral part of the learning process on the all of our distance programmes. Some issues are developed best by peer discussion, often with tutor involvment.

• Live question and answer sessions
  Modules often have a "Question and Answer" session, broadcast live by video, audio and text. This is an opportunity for students to ask questions in a group forum. These sessions are archived on the website for those unable to be present at the time.

• £3600 for all of the modules in the Postgraduate Certificate
• £4000 (to be confirmed) for the Postgraduate Diploma part
• £1330 (to be confirmed) for the final project