Ohio State University offers a Bachelor's of Science in Business Administration with a specialization in Operations Management through its Fisher College of Business, currently ranked as the 17th best undergraduate business program in the United States. Admission to the School of Business is competitive, and students generally must have at least a 3.0 GPA and have passed required classes in English and math to be allowed to enter the major program.
Once students have been admitted to begin their studies in the Operations Management specialization, they have the choice of focusing on the management or purchasing aspects of the discipline. There are also opportunities to enrich the educational experience through internships (85 percent of business students complete an internship), study abroad, and academic and social organizations. For outstanding students, the Honors Program offers special Honors-only course sections and the chance to complete a senior research thesis.
Ohio State University
Fisher College of Business
2100 Neil Ave.
Columbus, OH 43210
614-292-2715
cob.ohio-state.edu/undergraduate
Texas A&M offers a PhD in Operations Management through the Mays School of Business. Admission to this program is highly selective, with only 10 percent of applicants being accepted out of the hundreds that apply from around the world. Applicants must have a masters' degree in business or a related discipline and proficiency in calculus, statistics, and computer programming.
Once admitted, students take required courses in research methods and operations management theory in addition to seminars on different areas of the field. Students also complete a research paper and take two preliminary exams before being allowed to begin the dissertation. Graduates of this program have gone on to positions at major universities in the United States and abroad.
Mays Business School
Texas A&M University
4113 TAMU
College Station, TX 77843
979-845-4711
mays.tamu.edu
The University of Pennsylvania offers degrees in Operations Management at the bachelor's, master's and doctoral levels through the Wharton School of Business. The undergraduate program provides intensive business education along with options for flexibility--a quarter of students study abroad and nearly a third double major in another non-business subject. One unique feature of the program is Management 100, a required class for first semester freshmen in which groups of 10 students collaborate on a project to benefit a Philadelphia nonprofit organization.
In the Wharton MBA program, students with a concentration in Operations Management take core courses such as Ethics and Responsibility, Competitive Strategy and Quality and Productivity in a cohort group of students with diverse concentrations. These cohort groups stay together throughout the program and participate in out-of-class activities such as community service and social gatherings together. MBA students also have opportunities to study, work, or volunteer abroad in locales as diverse as Singapore and Sweden.
The PhD program is designed to be completed in four to five years of full-time study, culminating in a dissertation and oral defense. Recent graduates have gone on to become professors of Operations Management at universities such as Duke, Harvard and Columbia.
The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania
3730 Walnut St.
Philadelphia, PA 19104
215-898-5000
wharton.upenn.edu