A total of 48 credits are required, beyond the prerequisite requirements. You may transfer in at most two prior graduate-level courses taken as a graduate student at another university, up to a total maximum of eight UC credits, with the Program Director's approval; a minimum of 45 credits in residence at UC are required so additional elective credits may be required if you can transfer in any prior coursework from outside UC. You may use an unlimited number of relevant and appropriate prior graduate-level courses taken while a graduate student in other programs at UC (excluding the Research-Project credits), toward the Program Requirements, with the Program Director's approval; students already holding or completing another master's degree at UC need to be aware that a minimum of 90 credits across the two master's-degree programs are required.
As the courses are completed, the student must fill out the appropriate cells in the MSQA Program Form and obtain the Program Director's initials.
During the first two quarters of enrollment, all students are required to attend two special non-credit orientation sessions. The first is before classes start in September and is a general orientation to the program, including placement and the Research Project. The second is on a Friday afternoon or Saturday in Autumn quarter and introduces students to the QAOM faculty and their research to help students start thinking about the Research Project. There is also an optional session for international students on visa issues, announced by e-mail.
In addition to the formal coursework, all students are invited (and expected) to attend all talks in the QAOM Department Seminar Series, as well as the annual Arnoff Lecture.
Required QA Courses (28 credits)
All seven of the following courses (number in parentheses are the credit hours); see QAOM Course Descriptions for more information on these courses:
Focus Area Elective Courses (16 credits)
Each student must pick a Focus Area consisting of a minimum of 16 graduate-level credits of coursework, leading to the topic of the Research Project. The Focus Area and these courses may be taken entirely or partially from other QA courses, other courses within the College of Business, or courses elsewhere in the University; however, the intended 'package' must be relevant to the degree and the Research Project, coherent, and in any case approved in advance by the Program Director.
Though not intended to be exhaustive, here are some suggested areas/departments and courses:
Further graduate-level QA courses (excluding QA 701, 702, 703, 711, and 712); see QAOM Course Descriptions for more information on these courses:
Graduate-level Operations Management courses (except OM 711); see QAOM Course Descriptions for more information on these courses:
Information Systems; see the CoB Course Catalog for more information on these courses:
Marketing; see the CoB Course Catalog for more information on these courses:
Finance; see the CoB Course Catalog for information on courses
Mathematics (from the Department of Mathematical Sciences)
Computer Science (from the Department of Computer Science)
Biostatistics and Epidemiology (from the Department of Environmental Health, Division of Epidemiology and Biostatistics)
Research Project (4 credits)
Each student must register for a total of at least four credits of 22-QA-981, MS Thesis Research, in or before the final quarter of the program. Normally, these credits are taken in the quarter in which the work on the Research Project is taking place, but some of them may be taken earlier, with the approval of the Program Director.
For more information about the content and requirements, please see Research Project.
