UT Dallas 2013 Graduate Catalog

Naveen Jindal School of Management

Master of Science in Systems Engineering and Management (MS-SEM)

36 hours minimum

Admission Requirements

A student lacking undergraduate prerequisites for graduate courses must complete prerequisites or receive approval from the graduate advisor and the course instructor. A diagnostic examination may be required. Please consult with the University's general admission requirements, discussed elsewhere in the graduate catalog, whereas specific admission requirements for the MS-SEM follow.

A student entering the MS-SEM program should meet the following guidelines:

A minimum of a BS in engineering, mathematics, physics, chemistry, economics or finance from an accredited program (specifically, programs that provide adequate fundamental skills in mathematics).
Must submit GRE and/or GMAT scores, as appropriate.
Must submit three letters of recommendation from individuals who are able to judge the candidate's probability of success in pursuing a program of study leading to the MS-SEM degree.
Must also submit an essay outlining the candidate's background, education and professional goals.

Degree Requirements

The MS-SEM program is designed to be flexible to accommodate different student backgrounds, allowing students to pick up areas in which they are deficient, while still guaranteeing core competency in systems engineering and systems management. This program has both a thesis and a non-thesis option. All part-time MS-SEM students will be assigned initially to the non-thesis option. Those wishing to elect the thesis option may do so by obtaining the approval of a faculty thesis supervisor.

The MS-SEM degree requires a total of 36 credit hours consisting of 12 courses in the non-thesis option or 10 courses plus six hours of thesis credit for the thesis option. All students must have an academic advisor and an approved degree plan. Courses taken without advisor approval will not count toward the 36 semester-hour requirement. Successful completion of the approved course of studies leads to the MS-SEM degree. Please also note that the University's general degree requirements are discussed elsewhere in the graduate catalog.

Non-thesis Option

Completion of a minimum of 36 semester hours of graduate level lecture courses including the required core courses. With advisor approval, these may include some 5000 level courses. Students must earn a grade of "B" or better in each of four core courses (see below).

Thesis Option

An alternative to 36 credit hours required for the MS-SEM degree, would be the completion of a minimum of 30 semester hours of graduate level lecture courses, with a grade of "B" or better in each of the required core courses (see below), six semester hours of a combination of Master's research (SYSM 6V70) and thesis (SYSM 6V90), submitted to the graduate school, and a formal public defense of the thesis.

Students enrolled in the thesis option should meet with individual faculty members to discuss research opportunities and to choose a research advisor during the first or second semester that the student is enrolled. After the second semester of study, course selection should be made in consultation with the research advisor. Part-time students are encouraged to enroll in only one course during their first semester and in no more than two courses during any semester they are also working full-time.

Research and thesis hours cannot be counted in an MS-SEM degree plan unless a thesis is written and successfully defended. A supervising committee, which must be chosen in consultation with the student's thesis advisor prior to enrolling for thesis credit, administers the defense. With advisor approval, the lecture courses may include some 5000 level courses. Full-time students at UT Dallas who receive financial assistance are required to enroll in nine semester credit hours each semester.

Course Requirements

Core Courses: 12 hours

Students are required to take four courses (a total of 12 credit hours) from a set of eight courses in the lists below. Two of the courses must be from the Engineering Core section and two from the Management Core section. The four required courses contribute a total of 12 credit hours toward the MS degree.

Engineering Core Courses

SYSM 6301 Systems Engineering, Architecture and Design

SYSM 6302 Dynamics of Complex Networks and Systems

SYSM 6303 Quantitative Introduction to Risk and Uncertainty in Business

SYSM 6305 Optimization Theory and Practice

Management Core Courses

SYSM 6311 Systems Project Management in Engineering and Operations

SYSM 6312 Systems Financial Management

SYSM 6318 Marketing Management

SYSM 6333 Systems Organizational Behavior

Prescribed Elective Courses: 12 hours

Students are required to take an additional four courses (a total of 12 credit hours) from the set of eight core courses listed above and/or the set of courses listed below. Two of these courses must be chosen from the two Engineering sections (core and elective), and two from the two Management sections (core and elective). Because a program objective is to maintain a high degree of flexibility, students are encouraged to work with an MS-SEM program advisor to discuss possible (limited) exceptions and substitutions for the prescribed elective courses.

Engineering Elective Courses

SYSM 6304 Risk and Decision Analysis

SYSM 6306 Engineering Systems: Modeling & Simulation

SYSM 6307 (ENGR 6331, MECH 6300) Linear Systems

SYSM 6308 Software Maintenance, Evolution and Re-Engineering

SYSM 6309 Advanced Requirements Engineering

SYSM 6310 Software Testing, Validation and Verification

SYSM 6321 Financial Engineering I

SYSM 7321 Financial Engineering II

Management Elective Courses

SYSM 6313 Systems Negotiation and Dispute Resolution

SYSM 6314 Manufacturing & Service Systems Planning & Analysis

SYSM 6315 The Entrepreneurial Experience

SYSM 6316 Managing Innovation Within the Corporation

SYSM 6317 The Management of High Tech Products

SYSM 6319 Business Economics

SYSM 6320 Strategic Leadership

SYSM 6332 Technology and New Product Development

Free Elective Courses: 12 hours

Working with an MS-SEM program advisor, students are required to take four additional and distinct courses either from the remaining SYSM courses listed above or from other courses offered in management or engineering that form a "concentration" or "specialization" in systems-related, possibly industry-specific sectors.

The concentration area consists of four courses (12 semester hours) in the degree program; examples include: Mechatronic and Control Systems, Financial Engineering Systems, Energy Systems, Healthcare Systems, Telecom and IT Networks, Information Assurance and Cyber-security, Global Supply Chain Management, Entrepreneurship and Innovation, and Enterprise Systems. Finally, because of the flexible nature of the MS-SEM degree program, students may submit for approval a "personalized" concentration area that focuses on aspects of systems engineering, and may combine elements of other concentration areas on a focused theme.

SEM Certificate Programs

Curriculum Requirements

Students have a choice of two different SEM certificates: a Certificate in Systems Engineering, or, a Certificate in Systems Management. Each certificate requires 12 credit hours. The courses are offered in an Executive Education, 4-hour module format.

(1) The Certificate in Systems Engineering requires students to complete over the period of one academic year two courses from the set of engineering courses listed below, and any two additional courses from the remainder of the 20 SYSM-prefix courses listed below in either group, engineering or management.

Systems Engineering Courses