Industrial Engineering (PhD), Operations Research (PhD)

Ph.D. Program

The IEOR Department offers two Ph.D. programs in

  1. Industrial Engineering; and
  2. Operations Research.

The requirements for the Ph.D. in industrial engineering and operations research are identical. Both programs require the student to complete the qualifying procedure, fulfill the coursework requirements, and defend a dissertation based on the candidate's original research. The dissertation work must be conducted under the supervision of an IEOR faculty advisor and may be theoretical or computational or both.

Qualifying Procedure

The qualifying procedure consists of two components:

  1. complete the four Ph.D. core courses during the first year with an average GPA of 3.66 or above; and 
  2. conduct research during the first summer (ideally starting in Spring or earlier), submit a 3-5 page extended abstract, and present the work in a department seminar at the beginning of the second academic year.

Students will be reviewed after each component. Students who fail to complete component (1) may be asked to withdraw form the program at the end of the first year. Students who successfully complete component (1) will typically move on to summer research advised by a faculty member in the IEOR department. 

In the rare instance that the Ph.D. Committee is dissatisfied with a student's performance in component (2), the student may be asked to withdraw from the program during their second year. 

Coursework Requirements

Doctoral students are also required to take four additional Ph.D. level courses during the program. Students can consider courses from other departments including Mathematics, Computer Science, Statistics, Economics, and Decision, Risk and Operations. Ph.D. Research credits (IEOR E9101 RESEARCH) do not count toward this requirement.

Doctoral candidates must obtain a minimum of 60 points of formal course credit beyond the bachelor's degree. A master's degree from an accredited institution may be accepted as equivalent to 30 points. A minimum of 30 points beyond the master's degree must be earned while in residence in the doctoral program. Detailed information regarding the requirements for the doctoral degree may be obtained in the Department office and on the IEOR website at ieor.columbia.edu. 

Thesis Proposal and Dissertation Defense

Each student is expected to submit a research proposal and present it to the committee of three IEOR faculty members before the end of year 4. The committee considers the scope of the proposed research, its suitability for doctoral research and the appropriateness of the research plan. The committee may approve the proposal without reservation or may recommend modifications, 

In accordance with the regulations of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, each student is expected to submit a final thesis and defend it before a committee of five faculty, one of whom holds a primary appointment in another department, school or university. 

MS/Ph.D. Track

Students admitted to the Ph.D. program without a master's degree in a related discipline are expected to fulfill additional requirements to earn a Master of Science after the first year, including:

  • enroll full-time each semester
  • complete a minimum of 30 credits in the first year, including the Ph.D. core courses
  • receive passing letter grades for all classes

Students who successfully complete these requirements will receive the respective MS degree at the end of the first year. Those who also fulfill the qualifying requirements may continue on to the Ph.D. program. Those who do not meet the qualifying requirements will be dismissed from the program.