Erik Jonsson School of Engineering & Computer Science
Naveen Jindal School of Management
Master of Science in Systems Engineering and Management
36 semester credit hours
The Systems Engineering and Management MS is a 36 semester credit hours STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) degree program jointly offered by the Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science (ECS) and the Naveen Jindal School of Management (JSOM). It is a unique program that offers a flexible choice of core courses in both engineering and management disciplines, with elective courses for concentrations in various industry sectors.
ECS Faculty
Professors: Stephanie Adams, S.O. Reza Moheimani, Mark W. Spong, Steve Yurkovich
Associate Professor: Justin Ruths
Assistant Professor: Waseem Abbas
Chair Emeritus: Mathukumalli Vidyasagar
Professor of Instruction: Nhut Nguyen
JSOM Faculty
Professors: Alain Bensoussan, Gregory G. Dess, Mike W. Peng
Associate Professors: Surya N. Janakiraman, Robert L. Kieschnick Jr.
Associate Professor Emeritus: David J. Springate
Clinical Professors: Abhijit Biswas, Peter Lewin, Prakash Shrivastava, Laurie L. Ziegler
Clinical Associate Professor: Shawn Alborz, Carolyn Reichert, Avanti P. Sethi
Clinical Assistant Professors: Jeffery (Jeff) Hicks, Ravi Narayan
Professor of Practice: Rajiv Shah
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 in the graduate catalog, whereas specific admission requirements for the Systems Engineering and Management MS follow.
A student entering the MS program (Traditional Master's) 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 Systems Engineering and Management MS degree.
- Must also submit an essay outlining his/her background, education, and professional goals.
Degree Requirements
The Systems Engineering and Management MS 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 Systems Engineering and Management MS 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. 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 that they are also working full-time.
The Systems Engineering and Management MS degree requires a total of 36 semester credit hours consisting of 12 courses in the nonthesis option or 10 courses plus six semester credit 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 credit hour requirement. Successful completion of the approved course of studies leads to the Systems Engineering and Management MS degree. Please note that the University's general degree requirements are discussed elsewhere in the graduate catalog.
Non-Thesis Option
This degree requires the completion of a minimum of 36 semester credit hours of graduate level lecture courses. For the four core courses, students must have a GPA of at least 3.0 and receive a grade of B- or better in each. Students must maintain a 3.0 GPA overall to graduate with the Systems Engineering and Management MS degree. With advisor approval, one 5000 level course may be used in the concentration (See Course Requirements).
Thesis Option
An alternative to 36 semester credit hours required for the Systems Engineering and Management MS degree, would be the completion of a minimum of 30 semester credit hours of graduate level lecture courses, with a grade of B- or better in each of the required core courses (see Course Requirements), six semester credit 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.
Research and thesis semester credit hours cannot be counted in an Systems Engineering and Management MS 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.
Students
The program is designed to be a master's-level cross-disciplinary program to teach engineering and management of all aspects of large and complex systems. The typical Systems Engineering and Management MS student is a high performer with at least a BS degree in engineering, math, physics, chemistry, economics, or finance (in order to ensure adequate math skills).
Rationale
Our industry partners tell us there is a large and growing unmet need for formalized engineering and management education in increasingly complex macro systems that have a large number of interdependent parts and a significant organizational and/or societal impact. This need exists at the intersection of engineering and management.
Business now requires that engineers be trained to be good managers and leaders, and to be good stewards of corporate or government resources. Conversely, business majors need a better appreciation and understanding of technology and how to manage large and complex engineering projects. They are all expected to be cognizant of the broader impact of their management and engineering activities on their future employers and on society at large.
The objective of the UT Dallas MS in Systems Engineering and Management program is to produce graduates capable of undertaking challenging projects encompassing wide-ranging scientific, engineering and management disciplines. In other words, the objective of the program is to develop an "integrated systems engineering and systems management" skill set among the students who go through this program.
The curriculum will provide students with the knowledge and skills to engineer and manage complex projects that encompass wide-ranging scientific and management disciplines.
Course Requirements
Core Courses: 12 semester credit hours
Students are required to take four courses (a total of 12 semester credit hours) from a set of eight courses from 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 semester credit hours toward the MS degree. All courses must follow the degree plan that was established for each student at enrollment.
Engineering Core Courses (two required)
Choose two courses from the following:
SYSM 6301 Systems Engineering, Architecture and Design
SYSM 6302 Dynamics of Complex Networks and Systems
SYSM 6303 Statistics and Data Analysis
SYSM 6305 Optimization Theory and Practice
Management Core Courses (two required)
Choose two courses from the following:
SYSM 6311 Systems Project Management in Engineering and Operations
SYSM 6318 Marketing Management
SYSM 6333 Systems Organizational Behavior
SYSM 6337 Accounting for Managers
Prescribed Electives: 12 semester credit hours
Students are required to take an additional four courses (a total of 12 semester 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 Systems Engineering and Management MS 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 and Simulation
SYSM 6307 Linear Systems
SYSM 6308 Software Maintenance, Evolution, and Re-Engineering
SYSM 6310 Software Testing, Validation, and Verification
SYSM 6321 Financial Engineering
SYSM 6323 Functional Safety Systems
SYSM 6325 Requirements Design, Development, and Integration for Complex Systems
SYSM 6326 Systems Lifecycle Cost Analysis
SYSM 6327 Systems Reliability
SYSM 6328 Computer and Networks Systems Security
SYSM 6329 Quality Engineering
Management Elective Courses
SYSM 6312 Systems Financial Management
SYSM 6313 Systems Negotiation and Dispute Resolution
SYSM 6315 The Corporate Entrepreneurial Experience
SYSM 6316 Corporate Innovation and Entrepreneurship
SYSM 6319 Business Economics
SYSM 6320 Strategic Leadership
SYSM 6331 Digital Sales Strategy
SYSM 6332 Technology and New Product Development
SYSM 6334 Systems Operations Management
SYSM 6335 Organizing for Business Analytics Platforms
SYSM 6338 Database Foundations for Analytics
SYSM 6339 Robotic Process Automation
Free Electives: 12 semester credit hours
Working with an Systems Engineering and Management MS 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 credit hours) in the degree program; examples include: Aerospace and Defense Systems, Business and Data Analytics, Control and Mechatronic Systems, Cybersecurity and Information Assurance, Energy and Infrastructure Systems, Enterprise and Data Management Systems, Entrepreneurship and Innovation Management, Global Supply Chain Management, Healthcare Systems, Optimization and Operations Research, Telecom, IT and Multimedia Networks, and Transportation Systems.
Finally, because of the flexible nature of the Systems Engineering and Management MS 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.
Double Systems Engineering and Management MS/MBA Degree
63-65 semester credit hours
Overview
The Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science (ECS) and the Naveen Jindal School of Management (JSOM) offer a joint Systems Engineering and Management MS and MBA degree program. This is a 63-65 semester credit hours degree program (excluding pre-requisites) that provides students with opportunities to learn from excellent faculty and places them at the forefront in the fields of systems engineering management and business leadership. This program allows students to earn a combination of a master's level specialist degree in systems engineering and management and an MBA together. Both degrees separately would require significantly more semester credit hours, but in the joint program students can earn both degrees with a smaller total of semester credit hours. Pursuing these degrees together offers students a special opportunity to earn a distinctive set of credentials from UT Dallas.
Faculty
Faculty and lecturers for the courses in this program are drawn from the Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science, and from the Naveen Jindal School of Management (see individual faculty listings in the Systems Engineering and Management MS program and the MBA programs).
Double-Degree Admission Requirements
Students pursuing the double Systems Engineering and Management MS and MBA degree program must meet the admission requirements for both programs and submit all required documents for admission to both programs. Students joining the Traditional Master's in Systems Engineering and Management MS degree program must first complete their 36 semester credit hours of the Systems Engineering and Management MS program. Students have up to six years to accumulate remaining required core hours for the MBA Degree (details with respect to program-specific requirements can be obtained from the advisors for the two programs).
Certificate Programs
The Systems Engineering and Management MS program offers two certificates: a Certificate in Systems Engineering and a Certificate in Systems Management, primarily intended for students who do not wish to pursue the complete MS degree. Each certificate requires 12 semester credit hours. See Course Descriptions for information on course content. These certificates allow students to fit their education into their busy schedules and pursue the track that best fits their career path. These flexible education programs provide students with outstanding opportunities to access UT Dallas world-class faculty and hands-on learning experiences.
Faculty
Please see the Systems Engineering and Management MS listing for faculty and lecturers in this program.
Certificate in Systems Engineering
12 semester credit hours
Academic Certificate Application and Completion Requirements
Students interested in pursuing an academic certificate must formally apply and be admitted to the certificate program at least one semester prior to completing all coursework in the certificate program. Currently enrolled students apply via the Student Center in Orion under "Apply to a Certificate Program." Prospective students who have not yet matriculated must submit an application as a non-degree seeking student using the UT Dallas Graduate Application Portal prior to enrolling in certificate coursework.
Furthermore, all students pursuing a certificate must submit an application to graduate from the certificate program in the semester in which they complete their certificate coursework. Contact JSOM Graduate Advising for instructions on how to submit an application to graduate from a certificate program. Failing to apply to graduate from a certificate program in the semester in which all certificate coursework is completed may result in the assessment of additional fees.
Course Requirements
Students are required to complete SYSM 6301 and SYSM 6311 and any two courses from the set of engineering courses listed below.
SYSM 6301 Systems Engineering, Architecture and Design
SYSM 6311 Systems Project Management in Engineering and Operations
Systems Engineering Courses
SYSM 6302 Dynamics of Complex Networks and Systems
SYSM 6303 Statistics and Data Analysis
SYSM 6304 Risk and Decision Analysis
SYSM 6305 Optimization Theory and Practice
SYSM 6306 Engineering Systems: Modeling and Simulation
SYSM 6307 Linear Systems
SYSM 6308 Software Maintenance, Evolution, and Re-Engineering
SYSM 6310 Software Testing, Validation and Verification
SYSM 6323 Functional Safety Systems
SYSM 6325 Requirements Design, Development, and Integration for Complex Systems
SYSM 6326 Systems Lifecycle Cost Analysis
SYSM 6327 Systems Reliability
SYSM 6328 Computer and Networks Systems Security
SYSM 6329 Quality Engineering
Certificate in Systems Management
12 semester credit hours
Academic Certificate Application and Completion Requirements
Students interested in pursuing an academic certificate must formally apply and be admitted to the certificate program at least one semester prior to completing all coursework in the certificate program. Currently enrolled students apply via the Student Center in Orion under "Apply to a Certificate Program." Prospective students who have not yet matriculated must submit an application as a non-degree seeking student using the UT Dallas Graduate Application Portal prior to enrolling in certificate coursework.
Furthermore, all students pursuing a certificate must submit an application to graduate from the certificate program in the semester in which they complete their certificate coursework. Contact JSOM Graduate Advising for instructions on how to submit an application to graduate from a certificate program. Failing to apply to graduate from a certificate program in the semester in which all certificate coursework is completed may result in the assessment of additional fees.
Course Requirements
Students are required to complete SYSM 6301 and SYSM 6311 and any two courses from the set of management courses listed below.
SYSM 6301 Systems Engineering, Architecture and Design
SYSM 6311 Systems Project Management in Engineering and Operations
Systems Management Courses
SYSM 6312 Systems Financial Management
SYSM 6313 Systems Negotiation and Dispute Resolution
SYSM 6315 The Corporate Entrepreneurial Experience
SYSM 6316 Corporate Innovation and Entrepreneurship
SYSM 6318 Marketing Management
SYSM 6319 Business Economics
SYSM 6320 Strategic Leadership
SYSM 6331 Digital Sales Strategy
SYSM 6332 Technology and New Product Development
SYSM 6333 Systems Organizational Behavior
SYSM 6334 Systems Operations Management
SYSM 6335 Organizing for Business Analytics Platforms
SYSM 6337 Accounting for Managers
SYSM 6339 Robotic Process Automation
SYSM 6338 Database Foundations for Analytics