Undergraduate Program

Computer-based management systems and analytic approaches to decision making are increasingly vital to effective management in both the public and private sectors, and in both product-oriented and service industries. As organizations continue to develop and implement sophisticated decision support systems in all aspects of their business, they increase the demand for managers who have the expertise to understand, create, and profitably exploit the rapidly developing management technology. There also is a growing demand for skilled professionals who can manage effectively the operations function encompassing the manufacturing and distribution of products and services. Rapidly changing developments in information technology, production automation, robotics, and telecommunications, and intensifying competitive pressures for productivity and quality, present challenging opportunities for managers who have a thorough understanding of information systems, operations planning and control, and management decision models.

The Operations, Information and Decisions curriculum prepares students to meet these challenges by providing rigorous foundations in the complementary disciplines of decision processes, management information systems, management science, and operations management. A concentration in OID consists of 4.0 CUs (not including OIDD 0050* or OIDD 1010). NOTE: All OIDD courses were listed as OPIM until Spring 2016. Students can either take a general program of four OIDD courses or can follow a designated track within the OIDD concentration which provides a more focused program in one of three major disciplines: decision processes, information systems, and operations management/management science. Each track includes at least one foundation course that provides an introduction to the subject area and serves as a prerequisite for higher-level courses within a discipline. These foundation courses are: OIDD 2900 – Decision Processes, OIDD 2100 – Management Information Systems, OIDD 2200– Introduction to Operations Management or OIDD 3210 – Management Science. These courses are then followed by additional electives. It is suggested (but not required) that students who elect to pursue a program outside the designated tracks consult the undergraduate advisor to discuss appropriate course sequences and combinations that will best satisfy a student’s individual objectives. The department welcomes not only students who select one or more of these fields as a primary concentration, but also students who choose to supplement their educational program in other departments with a second concentration.

Recent graduates from the department occupy responsible positions in consulting firms, manufacturing companies, accounting firms, banks, computer services companies, hardware vendors, and software development firms, or operate their own companies. The OIDD concentration is also an excellent foundation for future graduate studies, in part because of the technical and analytical elements of this program.

*OIDD 0050 is currently designed as a Pass/Fail course only. As such, it can be taken as an elective, but may not count towards a concentration.

OID Undergraduate Concentration Advisor:

Maria Rieders — 517 JMHH — 215-898-0535

For more information, please email oid-undergrad@wharton.upenn.edu