The Management Sciences Option (MSCI Option) prepares students for decision-making roles in business and technology management. The Option complements an engineer's technical training with a well-rounded education in management sciences, including studies of economics, organizational behaviour and design, decision analysis and operations research, production and service operations, information systems design, innovation, and technology strategy. Courses develop a conceptual understanding of management and organizational processes, practical skills to analyze and solve decision problems and implement business solutions, and an awareness of the impact of technology and innovation on organizations and society.
Legend
| Code |
Description |
| F |
Fall term |
| W |
Winter term |
| S |
Spring term |
| A,B,C,D |
These courses count toward Complementary Studies Requirements:
A- Impact, B- Engineering Economics, C- Humanities and Social Sciences, D- Other. |
| † |
These courses may count towards technical elective (or technical breadth elective) requirements. Engineering students should consult the undergraduate advisor in their home department for specific rules that apply to their plan. |
The MSCI Option consists of six courses, including three required courses (or their equivalents) and three elective courses (or equivalents). In order to gain a management science perspective during their option, students are required to have at least three of the six courses taught by the Department of Management Sciences. The three required MSCI Option courses and equivalents are:
| Course |
Title and Notes |
| MSCI 211C |
Organizational Behaviour (F,W,S) - may be replaced by PSYCH 238 |
| or MSCI 311C |
Organizational Design and Technology (F,W) |
| MSCI 261B |
Engineering Economics: Financial Management for Engineers (F,W,S) - may be replaced by AE 392, BME 364, CIVE 392, ENVE 392, GEOE 392, or SYDE 262 |
| MSCI 331† |
Introduction to Optimization (F,W,S) - may be replaced by BME 411, CIVE 332, CO 250, ENVE 335, or SYDE 411 |
Plus three of the following elective courses or equivalents:
| Course |
Title and Notes |
| MSCI 211C |
Organizational Behaviour (F,W,S) - may be replaced by PSYCH 238 |
| MSCI 263C |
Managerial Economics (S) - may be replaced by ECON 201 |
| MSCI 311C |
Organizational Design and Technology (F,W) |
| MSCI 332† |
Deterministic Optimization Models and Methods (F) |
| MSCI 411C |
Leadership and Influence (S) - may be replaced by BET 450
|
| MSCI 421D |
Strategic Management of Technology (S) |
| MSCI 422A |
Economic Impact of Technological Change and Entrepreneurship (F) |
| MSCI 423† |
Managing New Product and Process Innovation (W) |
| MSCI 431† |
Stochastic Models and Methods (W) - may be replaced by CS 457 or SYDE 531 |
| MSCI 432† |
Production and Service Operations Management (F,W) |
| MSCI 435† |
Advanced Optimization Techniques (W) |
| MSCI 442A |
Impact of Information Systems on Organizations and Society (W) |
| MSCI 444† |
Information Systems Analysis and Design (W) - may be replaced by CS 430 or CS 490 |
| MSCI 445† |
Telecommunication Systems: from protocols to applications (W beginning 2021) |
| MSCI 446† |
Data Mining (F until 2020, W beginning 2021) [Note: new title effective winter 2021]
|
| MSCI 452† |
Decision Making Under Uncertainty (S) |
| MSCI 454D |
Technical Entrepreneurship (W)
|
| MSCI 531† |
Stochastic Processes and Decision Making (S) |
| MSCI 541† |
Search Engines (W until 2020, F beginning 2021) |
| MSCI 551† |
Quality Management and Control (S until 2021, F beginning 2021) |
| MSCI 555† |
Scheduling: Theory and Practice (W) |
| MSCI 597 |
Complementary Studies Topics in Management Sciences |
| MSCI 598† |
Special Topics in Management Engineering |
| MSCI 599† |
Special Topics in Management Engineering Design |
| CIVE 596 |
Construction Engineering (S) |
| ECON 371 |
Business Finance 1 (F,W,S) |
| HRM 200C |
Basic Human Resources Management (F,W,S) |
| SYDE 533 |
Conflict Resolution (F) |
Requirements
- At least three of the six courses must be MSCI courses from the Department of Management Sciences.
- A maximum of one course from outside the approved list may be counted toward the Option, subject to written approval of the MSCI option co-ordinator and the associate chair of undergraduate studies in the student's home department. The student must complete a Course Substitution Request form to obtain course approval.
- Students may take both MSCI 211 and MSCI 311, in which case, one will count toward the required courses and the other toward the elective courses.
- For the designation of Management Sciences Option to be shown on the transcript, the student must achieve a minimum overall cumulative average of 60% in the six courses.
Students have a wide degree of flexibility in course selection within the MSCI Option. For students who wish to focus on a particular theme within Management Sciences, the Department suggests the following selection of courses beyond the required set:
| Theme |
Courses |
| Operations Research |
Two or more of MSCI 332, MSCI 431, MSCI 432, MSCI 435, MSCI 452, MSCI 531, MSCI 555 |
| Information Systems |
Two or more of MSCI 442, MSCI 444, MSCI 445, MSCI 446, MSCI 541 |
| Management of Technology |
Two or more of MSCI 311, MSCI 411, MSCI 421, MSCI 422, MSCI 423, MSCI 454 |
Note
Refer to the University of Waterloo's official Schedule of Classes for confirmation of actual course offerings each term.
For further information about the MSCI Option, contact the MSCI option co-ordinator in the Management Sciences Department.