MS&E 20:
Discrete Probability Concepts And Models
Concepts and tools for the analysis of problems under uncertainty, focusing on structuring, model building, and analysis. Examples from legal, social, medical, and physical problems. Topics include axioms of probability, probability trees, belief networks, random variables, conditioning, and expectation.
Terms: Sum
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: WAY-FR
MS&E 22Q:
The Flaw of Averages
Uncertain assumptions in business and public policy are often replaced with single ¿best guess¿ or average numbers. This leads to a fallacy as fundamental as the belief that the earth is flat, which I call the Flaw of Averages. It states, in effect, that: plans based on average assumptions are wrong on average. This class will discuss mitigations of the flaw of averages using simulation and other methods from probability management.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
MS&E 52:
Introduction to Decision Making
Experienced management consultants share lessons and war stories. Case studies, disguised examples from real engagements, and movie clips illustrate theories and concepts of decision analysis. Student teams critique decisions made in actual organizations. Topics include what makes a good decision, how decisions can be made better, framing and structuring techniques, modeling and analysis tools, biases and probability assessment, evaluation and appraisal methods, decision psychology, creativity and organizational leadership, and effective presentation styles. Not intended for MS&E majors.
Terms: Sum
| Units: 3
MS&E 71SI:
Entrepreneurship through the Lens of Venture Capital
How successful startups navigate funding, managing, and scaling their newnenterprise. Process explored through guest lectures and mentorship from experienced venture capital investors and seasoned entrepreneurs who manage these issues on a daily basis in Silicon Valley. Course themes: customer value equation, board management, market strategy, company culture, and hyper growth. Enrollment is limited to 20 students. Visit http://www.stanford.edu/dept/MSandE/lensofvc for application and more information.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 1-2
MS&E 92Q:
International Environmental Policy
Preference to sophomores. Science, economics, and politics of international environmental policy. Current negotiations on global climate change, including actors and potential solutions. Sources include briefing materials used in international negotiations and the U.S. Congress.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
MS&E 93Q:
Nuclear Weapons, Energy, Proliferation, and Terrorism
Preference to sophomores. At least 20 countries have built or considered building nuclear weapons. However, the paths these countries took in realizing their nuclear ambitions vary immensely. Why is this the case? How do the histories, cultures, national identities, and leadership of these countries affect the trajectory and success of their nuclear programs? This seminar will address these and other questions about nuclear weapons and their proliferation. Students will learn the fundamentals of nuclear technology, including nuclear weapons and nuclear energy, and be expected to use this knowledge in individual research projects on the nuclear weapons programs of individual countries. Case studies will include France, UK, China, India, Israel, Pakistan, North Korea, South Africa, Libya, Iraq, and Iran, among others. Please note any language skills in your application. Recommended: 193 or 193W or 293.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-EngrAppSci
MS&E 101:
Undergraduate Directed Study
Subject of mutual interest to student and faculty member. Prerequisite: faculty sponsor.
Terms: Aut, Win, Spr, Sum
| Units: 1-15
| Repeatable
for credit
Instructors: ;
Bambos, N. (PI);
Barley, S. (PI);
Brandeau, M. (PI);
Byers, T. (PI);
Chiu, S. (PI);
Dunn, D. (PI);
Eesley, C. (PI);
Eisenhardt, K. (PI);
Giesecke, K. (PI);
Glynn, P. (PI);
Goel, A. (PI);
Hausman, W. (PI);
Hecker, S. (PI);
Hinds, P. (PI);
Holtzman, S. (PI);
Howard, R. (PI);
Infanger, G. (PI);
Johari, R. (PI);
Johnson, B. (PI);
Katila, R. (PI);
Kosnik, T. (PI);
Luenberger, D. (PI);
May, M. (PI);
McGinn, R. (PI);
Murray, W. (PI);
Pate-Cornell, E. (PI);
Perry, W. (PI);
Pietzsch, J. (PI);
Robinson, B. (PI);
Roizen, J. (PI);
Saberi, A. (PI);
Saunders, M. (PI);
Savage, S. (PI);
Seelig, T. (PI);
Shachter, R. (PI);
Sutton, R. (PI);
Sweeney, J. (PI);
Tabrizi, B. (PI);
Tse, E. (PI);
Valentine, M. (PI);
Van Roy, B. (PI);
Weyant, J. (PI);
Ye, Y. (PI)
MS&E 107:
Interactive Management Science (MS&E 207)
Analytical techniques such as linear and integer programming, Monte Carlo simulation, forecasting, decision analysis, and Markov chains in the environment of the spreadsheet. Probability management. Materials include spreadsheet add-ins for implementing these and other techniques. Emphasis is on building intuition through interactive modeling, and extending the applicability of this type of analysis through integration with existing business data structures.
Terms: Aut, Sum
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-EngrAppSci, WAY-AQR
MS&E 108:
Senior Project
Restricted to MS&E majors in their senior year. Students carry out a major project in groups of four, applying techniques and concepts learned in the major. Project work includes problem identification and definition, data collection and synthesis, modeling, development of feasible solutions, and presentation of results. Service Learning Course (certified by Haas Center).
Terms: Win
| Units: 5
MS&E 111:
Introduction to Optimization (ENGR 62)
Formulation and analysis of linear optimization problems. Solution using Excel solver. Polyhedral geometry and duality theory. Applications to contingent claims analysis, production scheduling, pattern recognition, two-player zero-sum games, and network flows. Prerequisite: MATH 51.
Terms: Aut, Spr
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-EngrAppSci
MS&E 120:
Probabilistic Analysis
Concepts and tools for the analysis of problems under uncertainty, focusing on focusing on structuring, model building, and analysis. Examples from legal, social, medical, and physical problems. Topics include axioms of probability, probability trees, random variables, distributions, conditioning, expectation, change of variables, and limit theorems. Prerequisite: MATH 51.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-EngrAppSci, WAY-AQR, WAY-FR
MS&E 121:
Introduction to Stochastic Modeling
Stochastic processes and models in operations research. Discrete and continuous time parameter Markov chains. Queuing theory, inventory theory, simulation. Prerequisite: 120 or Statistics 116.
Terms: Win
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-EngrAppSci
MS&E 130:
Information Networks and Services
Architecture of the Internet and performance engineering of computer systems and networks. Switching, routing and shortest path algorithms. Congestion management and queueing networks. Peer-to-peer networking. Wireless and mobile networking. Information service engineering and management. Search engines and recommendation systems. Reputation systems and social networking technologies. Security and trust. Information markets. Select special topics and case studies. Prerequisites: 111, 120, and CS 106A.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-EngrAppSci
MS&E 140:
Accounting for Managers and Entrepreneurs (MS&E 240)
Non-majors and minors who have taken or are taking elementary accounting should not enroll. Introduction to accounting concepts and the operating characteristics of accounting systems. The principles of financial and cost accounting, design of accounting systems, techniques of analysis, and cost control. Interpretation and use of accounting information for decision making. Designed for the user of accounting information and not as an introduction to a professional accounting career. Enrollment limited. Admission by order of enrollment.
Terms: Aut, Win, Spr
| Units: 3-4
MS&E 142:
Introductory Financial Analysis
Evaluation and management of money, complicated by temporary distributions and uncertainty. The ¿time-value of money" and its impact on economic decisions (both personal and corporate) with the introduction of interest rate (constant or varying over time); several approaches critically examined and made consistent as suitable metrics of comparison. The concept of investment diversification in the presence of uncertainty; portfolio selection and efficient frontier analysis leading to the formulation of the Capital Asset Pricing Model; practical implementation of the concepts, including comparison of loan (e.g., house and auto) terms, credit card financial terms, interest rate term structure and its relationship to rate-of-return analysis, and graphical presentation of uncertain investment alternatives; and current economic news of interest. Critical thinking, discussion, and interaction, using group and computer labs assignments. Prerequisites: differential calculus and probability. Recommended: optimization.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
MS&E 146:
Corporate Financial Management
Key functions of finance in both large and small companies, and the core concepts and key analytic tools that provide their foundation. Making financing decisions, evaluating investments, and managing cashflow, profitability and risk. Designing performance metrics to effectively measure and align the activities of functional groups and individuals within the firm. Structuring relationships with key customers, partners and suppliers. Prerequisite: 142 or 245G or equivalent.
Terms: Win
| Units: 4
MS&E 152:
Introduction to Decision Analysis (MS&E 152W)
How to make good decisions in a complex, dynamic, and uncertain world. People often make decisions that on close examination they regard as wrong. Decision analysis uses a structured conversation based on actional thought to obtain clarity of action in a wide variety of domains. Topics: distinctions, possibilities and probabilities, relevance, value of information and experimentation, relevance and decision diagrams, risk attitude. Students seeking to fulfill the Writing in the Major requirement should register for MS&E 152W.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3-4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-EngrAppSci, WAY-AQR, WAY-FR
MS&E 152W:
Introduction to Decision Analysis (MS&E 152)
How to make good decisions in a complex, dynamic, and uncertain world. People often make decisions that on close examination they regard as wrong. Decision analysis uses a structured conversation based on actional thought to obtain clarity of action in a wide variety of domains. Topics: distinctions, possibilities and probabilities, relevance, value of information and experimentation, relevance and decision diagrams, risk attitude. Students seeking to fulfill the Writing in the Major requirement should register for MS&E 152W.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3-4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-EngrAppSci, WAY-AQR, WAY-FR
MS&E 175:
Innovation, Creativity, and Change
Problem solving in organizations; creativity and innovation skills; thinking tools; creative organizations, teams, individuals, and communities. Limited enrollment. (Katila)
Terms: Win
| Units: 3-4
MS&E 178:
The Spirit of Entrepreneurship
Is there more to entrepreneurship than inventing the better mouse trap? This course uses the speakers from the Entrepreneurial Thought Leader seminar (MS&E472) to drive research and discussion about what makes an entrepreneur successful. Topics include venture financing, business models, and interpersonal dynamics in the startup environment. Students meet before and after MS&E 472 to prepare for and debrief after the sessions. Enrollment limited to 50 students. Admission by application.
Terms: Aut, Win, Spr
| Units: 3
| Repeatable
for credit
MS&E 180:
Organizations: Theory and Management
For undergraduates only; preference to MS&E majors. Classical and contemporary organization theory; the behavior of individuals, groups, and organizations. Limited enrollment. Admission by application. Students must attend first session.
Terms: Aut, Spr
| Units: 4
MS&E 181:
Issues in Technology and Work for a Postindustrial Economy
How changes in technology and organization are altering work and lives. Approaches to studying and designing work. How understanding work and work practices can assist engineers in designing better technologies and organizations. Topics include job design, distributed and virtual organizations, the blurring of boundaries between work and family life, computer supported cooperative work, trends in skill requirements and occupational structures, monitoring and surveillance in the workplace, downsizing and its effects on work systems, project work and project-based lifestyles, the growth of contingent employment, telecommuting, electronic commerce, and the changing nature of labor relations. Enrollment limited to 50 students. Preference to MS&E, STS, and CEE seniors, followed by MS&E, STS, and CEE juniors.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-SI
MS&E 185:
Global Work
Issues, challenges, and opportunities facing workers, teams, and organizations working across national boundaries. Topics include geographic distance, time zones, language and cultural differences, technologies to support distant collaboration, team dynamics, and corporate strategy. Limited enrollment. Admission by application.
Terms: Win, Spr
| Units: 4
MS&E 187:
FEED the Change: Redesigning Food Systems (EARTHSYS 187)
Introductory course to design and systems thinking, with an emphasis on food systems. Series of diverse experiences (lectures, workshops, teaching, field trips, storytelling, and more) teaching how to use human-centered design to approach problem solving, how to begin analyzing complex systems, and how to work effectively in teams. Explore passions and interests, as well as different elements of the design process. Work in teams on real projects, and teach other students about food and design thinking. Admission is by application: http://feedcollaborative.org/classes/.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 2-3
| UG Reqs: WAY-CE
MS&E 190:
Methods and Models for Policy and Strategy Analysis
Guest lectures by departmental practitioners. Emphasis is on links among theory, application, and observation. Environmental, national security, and health policy; marketing, new technology, and new business strategy analyses. Comparisons between domains and methods.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
MS&E 193:
Technology and National Security (MS&E 193W, MS&E 293)
The interaction of technology and national security policy from the perspective of history to implications for the new security imperative, homeland defense. Key technologies in nuclear and biological weapons, military platforms, and intelligence gathering. Policy issues from the point of view of U.S. and other nations. The impact of terrorist threat. Guest lecturers include key participants in the development of technology and/or policy. Students seeking to fulfill the WIM requirement should register for 193W.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-SI
MS&E 193W:
Technology and National Security (MS&E 193, MS&E 293)
The interaction of technology and national security policy from the perspective of history to implications for the new security imperative, homeland defense. Key technologies in nuclear and biological weapons, military platforms, and intelligence gathering. Policy issues from the point of view of U.S. and other nations. The impact of terrorist threat. Guest lecturers include key participants in the development of technology and/or policy. Students seeking to fulfill the WIM requirement should register for 193W.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-SI
MS&E 197:
Ethics and Public Policy
Ethical issues in science- and technology-related public policy conflicts. Focus is on complex, value-laden policy disputes. Topics: the nature of ethics and morality; rationales for liberty, justice, and human rights; and the use and abuse of these concepts in policy disputes. Case studies from biomedicine, environmental affairs, technical professions, communications, and international relations.
Terms: Win
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-EthicReas, WAY-ER
MS&E 201:
Dynamic Systems
Goal is to think dynamically in decision making, and recognize and analyze dynamic phenomena in diverse situations. Concepts: formulation and analysis; state-space formulation; solutions of linear dynamic systems, equilibria, dynamic diagrams; eigenvalues and eigenvectors of linear systems, the concept of feedback; nonlinear dynamics, phase plane analysis, linearized analysis, Liapunov functions, catastrophe theory. Examples: grabber-holder dynamics, technology innovation dynamics, creation of new game dynamics in business competition, ecosystem dynamics, social dynamics, and stochastic exchange dynamics. Prerequisite: MATH 51 or equivalent.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3-4
MS&E 206:
Art of Mathematical Modeling
Practicum. Students build mathematical models of real-life, ill-framed problems. Emphasis is on framing the issues, articulating modeling components logically (drawing from student's mathematical background), and analyzing the resulting model. Hands-on modeling. Project work in small groups. Prerequisites: basic analysis, calculus and algebra, and probability theory. Recommended: decision analysis, optimization and dynamic systems.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
MS&E 207:
Interactive Management Science (MS&E 107)
Analytical techniques such as linear and integer programming, Monte Carlo simulation, forecasting, decision analysis, and Markov chains in the environment of the spreadsheet. Probability management. Materials include spreadsheet add-ins for implementing these and other techniques. Emphasis is on building intuition through interactive modeling, and extending the applicability of this type of analysis through integration with existing business data structures.
Terms: Aut, Sum
| Units: 3
MS&E 208A:
Practical Training
MS&E students obtain employment in a relevant industrial or research activity to enhance professional experience, consistent with the degree program they are pursuing. Students submit a one-page statement showing relevance to degree program along with offer letter before the start of the quarter, and a 2-3 page final report documenting the work done and relevance to degree program at the conclusion of the quarter. Students may take each of A, B, and C once.
Terms: Aut, Win, Spr, Sum
| Units: 1
MS&E 208B:
Practical Training
MS&E students obtain employment in a relevant industrial or research activity to enhance professional experience, consistent with the degree program they are pursuing. Students submit a one-page statement showing relevance to degree program along with offer letter before the start of the quarter, and a 2-3 page final report documenting the work done and relevance to degree program at the conclusion of the quarter. Students may take each of A, B, and C once.
Terms: Aut, Win, Spr, Sum
| Units: 1
MS&E 208C:
Practical Training
MS&E students obtain employment in a relevant industrial or research activity to enhance professional experience, consistent with the degree program they are pursuing. Students submit a one-page statement showing relevance to degree program along with offer letter before the start of the quarter, and a 2-3 page final report documenting the work done and relevance to degree program at the conclusion of the quarter. Students may take each of A, B, and C once.
Terms: Aut, Win, Spr, Sum
| Units: 1
MS&E 211:
Linear and Nonlinear Optimization
Optimization theory and modeling. The role of prices, duality, optimality conditions, and algorithms in finding and recognizing solutions. Perspectives: problem formulation, analytical theory, computational methods, and recent applications in engineering, finance, and economics. Theories: finite dimensional derivatives, convexity, optimality, duality, and sensitivity. Methods: simplex and interior-point, gradient, Newton, and barrier. Prerequisite: MATH 51.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3-4
MS&E 220:
Probabilistic Analysis
Concepts and tools for the analysis of problems under uncertainty, focusing on model building and communication: the structuring, processing, and presentation of probabilistic information. Examples from legal, social, medical, and physical problems. Spreadsheets illustrate and solve problems as a complement to analytical closed-form solutions. Topics: axioms of probability, probability trees, random variables, distributions, conditioning, expectation, change of variables, and limit theorems. Prerequisite: MATH 51. Recommended: knowledge of spreadsheets.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3-4
MS&E 221:
Stochastic Modeling
Focus is on time-dependent random phenomena. Topics: discrete and continuous time Markov chains, renewal processes, queueing theory, and applications. Emphasis is on building a framework to formulate and analyze probabilistic systems. Prerequisite: 220 or consent of instructor.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
MS&E 223:
Simulation
Discrete-event systems, generation of uniform and non-uniform random numbers, Monte Carlo methods, programming techniques for simulation, statistical analysis of simulation output, efficiency-improvement techniques, decision making using simulation, applications to systems in computer science, engineering, finance, and operations research. Prerequisites: working knowledge of a programming language such as C, C++, Java, Python, or FORTRAN; calculus-base probability; and basic statistical methods.
| Units: 3
MS&E 233:
Networked Markets
An introduction to economic analysis for modern online services and systems. Topics include: Examples of networked markets. Online advertising. Recommendation and reputation systems. Pricing digital media. Network effects and network externalities. Social learning and herd behavior. Markets and information. Prerequisites: Math 51and probability at the level of MS&E 220 or equivalent. No prior economics background will be assumed; requisite concepts will be introduced as needed.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
MS&E 238:
Leading Trends in Information Technology
Focuses on new trends and disruptive technologies in IT. Emphasis on the way technologies create a competitive edge and generate business value. Broad range of views presented by guest speakers, including top level executives of technology companies, and IT executives (e.g. CIOs) of Fortune 1000 companies. Special emphasis in technologies such as Virtualization, Cloud Computing, Security, Mobility and Unified Communications.
Terms: Sum
| Units: 3
MS&E 238A:
Leading Trends in Information Technology
Focuses on new trends and disruptive technologies in IT. Emphasis on the way technologies create a competitive edge and generate business value. Broad range of views presented by guest speakers, including top level executives of technology companies, and IT executives (e.g. CIOs) of Fortune 1000 companies. Special emphasis in technologies such as Virtualization, Cloud Computing, Security, Mobility and Unified Communications.
Terms: Sum
| Units: 1
MS&E 240:
Accounting for Managers and Entrepreneurs (MS&E 140)
Non-majors and minors who have taken or are taking elementary accounting should not enroll. Introduction to accounting concepts and the operating characteristics of accounting systems. The principles of financial and cost accounting, design of accounting systems, techniques of analysis, and cost control. Interpretation and use of accounting information for decision making. Designed for the user of accounting information and not as an introduction to a professional accounting career. Enrollment limited. Admission by order of enrollment.
Terms: Aut, Win, Spr
| Units: 3-4
MS&E 241:
Economic Analysis
Principal methods of economic analysis of the production activities of firms, including production technologies, cost and profit, and perfect and imperfect competition; individual choice, including preferences and demand; and the market-based system, including price formation, efficiency, and welfare. Practical applications of the methods presented. See 341 for continuation of 241. Recommended: 211, ECON 50.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3-4
MS&E 242:
Investment Science
Introduction to the basic concepts of modern quantitative finance and investments. Focus is on basic principles and how they are applied in practice. Topics: basic interest rates; evaluating investments: present value and internal rate of return; fixed-income markets: bonds, yield, duration, portfolio immunization; term structure of interest rates; measuring risk: volatility and value at risk; designing optimal security portfolios; the capital asset pricing model. Group projects involving financial market data. No prior knowledge of finance required. Appropriate for engineering or science students wishing to apply their quantitative skills to develop a basic understanding of financial modeling and markets. Prerequisite: basic preparation in probability, statistics, and optimization.
Terms: Aut, Sum
| Units: 3
MS&E 242S:
Investment Science
Emphasis is on a cash flow approach. Topics include deterministic cash flow analysis (time value of money, present value, internal rate of return, taxes, inflation), fixed income securities, duration and bond portfolio immunization, term structure of interest rates (spot rates, discount factors, forward rates), Fisher-Weill duration and immunization, capital budgeting, dynamic optimization problems, investments under uncertainty, mean-variance portfolio theory, capital asset pricing, and basic options theory. Goal is to create a link between engineering analysis and business decision making.
Last offered: Summer 2012
| Units: 3
MS&E 243:
Energy and Environmental Policy Analysis
Concepts, methods, and applications. Energy/environmental policy issues such as automobile fuel economy regulation, global climate change, research and development policy, and environmental benefit assessment. Group project. Prerequisite: MS&E 241 or ECON 50, 51.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
MS&E 245G:
Finance for Non-MBAs (ECON 135)
For graduate students and advanced undergraduates. The foundations of finance; applications in corporate finance and investment management. Financial decisions made by corporate managers and investors with focus on process valuation. Topics include criteria for investment decisions, valuation of financial assets and liabilities, relationships between risk and return, market efficiency, and the valuation of derivative securities. Corporate financial instruments including debt, equity, and convertible securities. Equivalent to core MBA finance course, FINANCE 220. Prerequisites: ECON 51, or ENGR 60, or equivalent; ability to use spreadsheets, and basic probability and statistics concepts including random variables, expected value, variance, covariance, and simple estimation and regression.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
MS&E 247S:
International Investments
International financial markets, their comparative behavior and interrelations. Focus is on assets traded in liquid markets: currencies, equities, bonds, swaps, and derivatives. Topics: institutional arrangements, taxation and regulation, international arbitrage and parity conditions, valuation of target firms for cross-border acquisitions, direct foreign investment, international diversification and portfolio management, derivative instruments and dynamic investment strategies, international performance analysis, international capital flows and financial crises, and topics of current relevance and importance.
Last offered: Summer 2012
| Units: 3
MS&E 249:
Economic Growth and Development
What generates economic growth. Emphasis is on theory accompanied by intuition, illustrated with country cases. Topics: the equation of motion of an economy; optimal growth theory; calculus of variations and optimal control approaches; deriving the Euler and Pontriaguine equations from economic reasoning. Applications: former planned economies in Russia and E. Europe; the present global crisis: causes and consequences; a comparative study of India and China. The links between economic growth and civilization; the causes of the rise and decline of civilizations; lessons for the future. Intended for graduate students. Prerequisite: multivariate calculus and permission of instructor. To receive permission, submit an application at http://www.stanford.edu/~lcottle/forms/249app.fb.
Terms: Sum
| Units: 3
MS&E 250A:
Engineering Risk Analysis
The techniques of analysis of engineering systems for risk management decisions involving trade-offs (technical, human, environmental aspects). Elements of decision analysis; probabilistic risk analysis (fault trees, event trees, systems dynamics); economic analysis of failure consequences (human safety and long-term economic discounting); and case studies such as space systems, nuclear power plants, and medical systems. Public and private sectors. Prerequisites: probability, decision analysis, stochastic processes, and convex optimization.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
MS&E 250B:
Project Course in Engineering Risk Analysis
Students, individually or in groups, choose, define, formulate, and resolve a real risk management problem, preferably from a local firm or institution. Oral presentation and report required. Scope of the project is adapted to the number of students involved. Three phases: risk assessment, communication, and management. Emphasis is on the use of probability for the treatment of uncertainties and sensitivity to problem boundaries. Limited enrollment. Prerequisites: MS&E 250A and consent of instructor.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
MS&E 251:
Stochastic Control
Efficient formulation and computational solution of sequential decision problems under uncertainty. Markov decision chains and stochastic programming. Maximum expected present value and rate of return. Optimality of simple policies: myopic, linear, index, acceptance limit, and (s,S). Optimal stationary and periodic infinite-horizon policies. Applications to investment, options, overbooking, inventory, production, purchasing, selling, quality, repair, sequencing, queues, capacity, transportation. MATLAB is used. Prerequisites: probability, linear programming.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
MS&E 252:
Decision Analysis I: Foundations of Decision Analysis
Coherent approach to decision making, using the metaphor of developing a structured conversation having desirable properties, and producing actional thought that leads to clarity of action. Socratic instruction; computational problem sessions. Emphasis is on creation of distinctions, representation of uncertainty by probability, development of alternatives, specification of preference, and the role of these elements in creating a normative approach to decisions. Information gathering opportunities in terms of a value measure. Relevance and decision diagrams to represent inference and decision. Principles are applied to decisions in business, technology, law, and medicine. See 352 for continuation.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3-4
MS&E 254:
The Ethical Analyst
The ethical responsibility for consequences of professional analysts who use technical knowledge in support of any individual, organization, or government. The means to form ethical judgments; questioning the desirability of physical coercion and deception as a means to reach any end. Human action and relations in society in the light of previous thought, and research on the desired form of social interactions. Attitudes toward ethical dilemmas through an explicit personal code.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 1-3
MS&E 256:
Technology Assessment and Regulation of Medical Devices
(Formerly 475.) Regulatory approval and reimbursement for new medical technologies as a key component of product commercialization. The regulatory and payer environment in the U.S. and abroad, and common methods of health technology assessment. Framework to identify factors relevant to adoption of new medical devices, and the management of those factors in the design and development phases. Case studies; guest speakers from government (FDA) and industry.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
MS&E 256A:
Technology Assessment and Regulation of Medical Devices
Regulatory approval and reimbursement for new medical technologies as a key component of product commercialization. The regulatory and payer environment in the U.S. and abroad, and common methods of health technology assessment. Framework to identify factors relevant to adoption of new medical devices, and the management of those factors in the design and development phases. Case studies; guest speakers from government (FDA) and industry.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 1
MS&E 260:
Introduction to Operations Management
Operations management focuses on the effective planning, scheduling, and control of manufacturing and service entities. This course introduces students to a broad range of key issues in operations management. Topics include determination of optimal facility location, production planning, optimal timing and sizing of capacity expansion, and inventory control. Prerequisites: basic knowledge of Excel spreadsheets, probability, and optimization.
Terms: Aut, Sum
| Units: 3
MS&E 261:
Inventory Control and Production Systems
Topics in the planning and control of manufacturing systems. The functions of inventory, determination of order quantities and safety stocks, alternative inventory replenishment systems, item forecasting, production-inventory systems, materials requirements planning (MRP), just-in-time systems, master and operations scheduling, supply chain management, and service operations. Limited enrollment. Prerequisite: 120, or STATS 116, or equivalent.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
MS&E 262:
Supply Chain Management
Definition of a supply chain; coordination difficulties; pitfalls and opportunities in supply chain management; inventory/service tradeoffs; performance measurement and incentives. Global supply chain management; mass customization; supplier management. Design and redesign of products and processes for supply chain management; tools for analysis; industrial applications; current industry initiatives. Enrollment limited to 50. Admission determined in the first class meeting. Prerequisite: 260 or 261.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
MS&E 263:
Healthcare Operations Management
With healthcare spending in the US exceeding 17% of GDP and growing, improvements in the quality and efficiency of healthcare services are urgently needed. This class focuses on the use of analytical tools to support efficient and effective delivery of health care. Topics include quality control and management, capacity planning, resource allocation, management of patient flows, and scheduling. Prerequisites: basic knowledge of Excel spreadsheets, probability, and optimization.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
MS&E 264:
Sustainable Product Development and Manufacturing
Strategies and techniques for development of sustainable products and manufacturing processes. Topics: strategic decisions in new product development when environmental and resource externalities are accounted for; effect of regulatory requirements on ability of a firm to achieve its business objectives; contributions of sustainable products/processes to the firm's competitive advantage and operational efficiency and to enabling entrepreneurial opportunities; industrial ecology and life cycle analysis techniques in integrating traditional product development requirements with those of the environment and society. Maybe repeatable for credit once.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3-4
MS&E 268:
Operations Strategy
The development and implementation of the operations functional strategy. The integration of operations strategy with business and corporate strategies of a manufacturing-based firm. Topics: types and characteristics of manufacturing technologies, quality management, capacity planning and facilities choice, organization and control of operations, and operations' role in corporate strategy. Prerequisites: 260 or 261, or equivalent experience.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
MS&E 270:
Strategy in Technology-Based Companies
For graduate students only. Introduction to the basic concepts of strategy, with emphasis on high technology firms. Topics: competitive positioning, resource-based perspectives, co-opetition and standards setting, and complexity/evolutionary perspectives. Limited enrollment.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3-4
MS&E 271:
Global Entrepreneurial Marketing
Skills needed to market new technology-based products to customers around the world. Case method discussions. Cases include startups and global high tech firms. Course themes: marketing toolkit, targeting markets and customers, product marketing and management, partners and distribution, sales and negotiation, and outbound marketing. Team-based take-home final exam. Limited enrollment. Admission by application.
Terms: Win, Spr
| Units: 3-4
MS&E 273:
Technology Venture Formation
Open to graduate students interested in technology driven start-ups. Provides the experience of an early-stage entrepreneur seeking initial investment, including: team building, opportunity assessment, customer development, go-to-market strategy, and IP. Teaching team includes serial entrepreneurs and venture capitalists. Student teams validate the business model using R&D plans and financial projections, and define milestones for raising and using venture capital. Final exam is an investment pitch delivered to a panel of top tier VC partners. In addition to lectures, teams interact with mentors and teaching team weekly. Enrollment by application: http://www.stanford.edu/class/msande273. Recommended: 270, 271, or equivalent.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3-4
MS&E 274:
Dynamic Entrepreneurial Strategy
Primarily for graduate students. How entrepreneurial strategy focuses on creating structural change or responding to change induced externally. Grabber-holder dynamics as an analytical framework for developing entrepreneurial strategy to increase success in creating and shaping the diffusion of new technology or product innovation dynamics. Topics: First mover versus follower advantage in an emerging market; latecomer advantage and strategy in a mature market; strategy to break through stagnation; and strategy to turn danger into opportunity. Modeling, case studies, and term project.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
MS&E 276:
Entrepreneurial Management and Finance
For graduate students only with a preference for engineering and science majors. Emphasis on managing the challenges high-growth ventures experience, especially those based on technology products and services. Students develop a set of skills and approaches to becoming effective entrepreneurial managers. Topics include business model management, deal structure and negotiation, raising capital and financial management, venture operations and organizational administration, managing the interplay between ownership and growth, and handling adversity as well as failure. Limited enrollment. Admission by application. Prerequisite: 140/240, or equivalent.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
MS&E 277:
Creativity and Innovation
Experiential course explores factors that promote and inhibit creativity and innovation in individuals, teams, and organizations. Teaches creativity tools using workshops, case studies, field trips, expert guests, and team design challenges. Enrollment limited to 40. Admission by application. See http://dschool.stanford.edu/classes.
Terms: Win, Spr
| Units: 3-4
MS&E 278:
Patent Law and Strategy for Innovators and Entrepreneurs (ME 208)
Inventors and entrepreneurs have four concerns related to patent law: protecting their inventions in the very early stages of product development, determining the patentability of their invention, avoiding infringement of a competitor's patent, and leveraging their patent as a business asset. This course will address each of these concerns through the application of law cases and business cases to an invention of the Studentâ¿¿s choice. Although listed as a ME/MSE course, the course is not specific to any discipline or technology.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 2-3
MS&E 279:
The Founder's Dilemmas
Within high-potential ventures, the biggest source of failure is 'people problems': The tensions among the founders, or between the founders and the non-founders (e.g., hires and investors) who join them. Topics include choice of cofounders, splitting the roles and equity within the team, whether and how to involve investors, why and how founders are replaced, and exit dilemmas. We will examine the potential pitfalls introduced by the decisions to involve cofounders, hires, and investors. We will delve into the ways to anticipate and avoid those pitfalls, and use experiential exercises and role plays to develop your skills at dealing with those challenges. To understand the common founding decisions that heighten the chances of failure, we will also tap a large-scale dataset collected on 15,000 founders over the last 14 years. Participation in case discussions required. Limited enrollment. Admission by application.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
MS&E 280:
Organizational Behavior: Evidence in Action
Organization theory; concepts and functions of management; behavior of the individual, work group, and organization. Emphasis is on cases and related discussion. Enrollment limited; priority to MS&E students.
Terms: Aut, Win
| Units: 3-4
MS&E 282:
Transformational Leadership
The personal, team-based and organizational skills needed to become a transformative leader. Case method discussions and lectures. Themes include: personal transformation; the inside-out effect, group transformation; cross-functional teams; re-engineering; rapid - non-profit and for profit - organizational transformation; and social transformation. Course includes a group project that is defined and approved during the first two weeks of class. Limited enrollment. Graduate students only. Admission by application. Prerequisite: 180 or 280.
| Units: 3
MS&E 284:
Work Design in Modern Organizations
Experiential lab course teaches concepts and tools for analyzing work activities and designing contemporary organizations. Topics include team vs. individual work; information flows; networks; knowledge workers in hi-tech, service, creative, or entrepreneurial fields; production systems; flex-time; millenials. Uses case studies, expert guests from industry, and a field-based final project to analyze and (re)design a real-world work system. Limited to 25. Admission by application.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
MS&E 289:
Designing for Sustainable Abundance
Hands-on, team-based, multidisciplinary class, uses radically human-centered approach to tackle sustainability challenges in areas like food and transportation. Teams develop solutions that improve environmental and economic sustainability as well as physical and emotional well-being. Students benefit from close interaction with the teaching team, support from project sponsors, and the varied perspectives of numerous guest speakers. Application required. Limited enrollment. Design Institute class; see http://dschool.stanford.edu.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3-4
MS&E 292:
Health Policy Modeling
Primarily for master's students; also open to undergraduates and doctoral students. The application of mathematical, statistical, economic, and systems models to problems in health policy. Areas include: disease screening, prevention, and treatment; assessment of new technologies; bioterrorism response; and drug control policies.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
MS&E 293:
Technology and National Security (MS&E 193, MS&E 193W)
The interaction of technology and national security policy from the perspective of history to implications for the new security imperative, homeland defense. Key technologies in nuclear and biological weapons, military platforms, and intelligence gathering. Policy issues from the point of view of U.S. and other nations. The impact of terrorist threat. Guest lecturers include key participants in the development of technology and/or policy. Students seeking to fulfill the WIM requirement should register for 193W.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
MS&E 294:
Climate Policy Analysis
Design and application of formal analytical methods in climate policy development. Issues include instrument design, technology development, resource management, multiparty negotiation, and dealing with complexity and uncertainty. Links among art, theory, and practice. Emphasis is on integrated use of modeling tools from diverse methodologies and requirements for policy making application. Prerequisites: ECON 50, MS&E 211, MS&E 252, or equivalents, or permission of instructor.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
MS&E 299:
Voluntary Social Systems
Ethical theory, feasibility, and desirability of a social order in which coercion by individuals and government is minimized and people pursue ends on a voluntary basis. Topics: efficacy and ethics; use rights for property; contracts and torts; spontaneous order and free markets; crime and punishment based on restitution; guardian-ward theory for dealing with incompetents; the effects of state action-hypothesis of reverse results; applications to help the needy, armed intervention, victimless crimes, and environmental protection; transition strategies to a voluntary society.
Terms: Win
| Units: 1-3
MS&E 300:
Ph.D. Qualifying Tutorial or Paper
Restricted to Ph.D. students assigned tutorials as part of the MS&E Ph.D. qualifying process. Enrollment optional.
Terms: Aut, Win, Spr, Sum
| Units: 1-3
| Repeatable
for credit
Instructors: ;
Bambos, N. (PI);
Barley, S. (PI);
Brandeau, M. (PI);
Chiu, S. (PI);
Eesley, C. (PI);
Eisenhardt, K. (PI);
Giesecke, K. (PI);
Glynn, P. (PI);
Goel, A. (PI);
Hausman, W. (PI);
Hinds, P. (PI);
Howard, R. (PI);
Johari, R. (PI);
Katila, R. (PI);
Luenberger, D. (PI);
May, M. (PI);
Murray, W. (PI);
Pate-Cornell, E. (PI);
Perry, W. (PI);
Saberi, A. (PI);
Saunders, M. (PI);
Shachter, R. (PI);
Sutton, R. (PI);
Sweeney, J. (PI);
Tse, E. (PI);
Valentine, M. (PI);
Van Roy, B. (PI);
Weyant, J. (PI);
Ye, Y. (PI)
MS&E 301:
Dissertation Research
Prerequisite: doctoral candidacy.
Terms: Aut, Win, Spr, Sum
| Units: 1-15
| Repeatable
for credit
Instructors: ;
Bambos, N. (PI);
Barley, S. (PI);
Brandeau, M. (PI);
Chiu, S. (PI);
Eesley, C. (PI);
Eisenhardt, K. (PI);
Erhun, F. (PI);
Giesecke, K. (PI);
Glynn, P. (PI);
Goel, A. (PI);
Hausman, W. (PI);
Hinds, P. (PI);
Howard, R. (PI);
Johari, R. (PI);
Johnson, B. (PI);
Katila, R. (PI);
Luenberger, D. (PI);
May, M. (PI);
Murray, W. (PI);
Pate-Cornell, E. (PI);
Perry, W. (PI);
Saberi, A. (PI);
Saunders, M. (PI);
Shachter, R. (PI);
Sutton, R. (PI);
Sweeney, J. (PI);
Tse, E. (PI);
Valentine, M. (PI);
Van Roy, B. (PI);
Weyant, J. (PI);
Ye, Y. (PI)
MS&E 310:
Linear Programming
Formulation of standard linear programming models. Theory of polyhedral convex sets, linear inequalities, alternative theorems, and duality. Variants of the simplex method and the state of art interior-point algorithms. Sensitivity analyses, economic interpretations, and primal-dual methods. Relaxations of harder optimization problems and recent convex conic linear programs. Applications include game equilibrium facility location. Prerequisite: MATH 113 or consent of instructor.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
MS&E 311:
Optimization
Applications, theories, and algorithms for finite-dimensional linear and nonlinear optimization problems with continuous variables. Elements of convex analysis, first- and second-order optimality conditions, sensitivity and duality. Algorithms for unconstrained optimization, and linearly and nonlinearly constrained problems. Modern applications in communication, game theory, auction, and economics. Prerequisites: MATH 113, 115, or equivalent.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
MS&E 312:
Advanced Methods in Numerical Optimization (CME 334)
Topics include interior-point methods, relaxation methods for nonlinear discrete optimization, sequential quadratic programming methods, optimal control and decomposition methods. Topic chosen in first class; different topics for individuals or groups possible. Individual or team projects. May be repeated for credit.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
| Repeatable
for credit
MS&E 315:
Numerical Optimization (CME 304)
Solution of nonlinear equations; unconstrained optimization; linear programming; quadratic programming; global optimization; general linearly and nonlinearly constrained optimization. Theory and algorithms to solve these problems. Prerequisite: background in analysis and numerical linear algebra.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
MS&E 316:
Discrete Mathematics and Algorithms (CME 305)
Topics: Basic Algebraic Graph Theory, Matroids and Minimum Spanning Trees, Submodularity and Maximum Flow, NP-Hardness, Approximation Algorithms, Randomized Algorithms, The Probabilistic Method, and Spectral Sparsification using Effective Resistances. Topics will be illustrated with applications from Distributed Computing, Machine Learning, and large-scale Optimization. Prerequisites: CS 261 is highly recommended, although not required.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
MS&E 317:
Algorithms for Modern Data Models (CS 263)
We traditionally think of algorithms as running on data available in a single location, typically main memory. In many modern applications including web analytics, search and data mining, computational biology, finance, and scientific computing, the data is often too large to reside in a single location, is arriving incrementally over time, is noisy/uncertain, or all of the above. Paradigms such as map-reduce, streaming, sketching, Distributed Hash Tables, Bulk Synchronous Processing, and random walks have proved useful for these applications. This course will provide an introduction to the design and analysis of algorithms for these modern data models. Prerequisite: Algorithms at the level of CS 261.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
MS&E 318:
Large-Scale Numerical Optimization (CME 338)
The main algorithms and software for constrained optimization emphasizing the sparse-matrix methods needed for their implementation. Iterative methods for linear equations and least squares. The simplex method. Basis factorization and updates. Interior methods. The reduced-gradient method, augmented Lagrangian methods, and SQP methods. Prerequisites: Basic numerical linear algebra, including LU, QR, and SVD factorizations, and an interest in MATLAB, sparse-matrix methods, and gradient-based algorithms for constrained optimization. Recommended: MS&E 310, 311, 312, 314, or 315; CME 108, 200, 302, 304, 334, or 335.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
MS&E 321:
Stochastic Systems
Topics in stochastic processes, emphasizing applications. Markov chains in discrete and continuous time; Markov processes in general state space; Lyapunov functions; regenerative process theory; renewal theory; martingales, Brownian motion, and diffusion processes. Application to queueing theory, storage theory, reliability, and finance. Prerequisites: 221 or STATS 217; MATH 113, 115. (Glynn)
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
MS&E 322:
Stochastic Calculus and Control
Ito integral, existence and uniqueness of solutions of stochastic differential equations (SDEs), diffusion approximations, numerical solutions of SDEs, controlled diffusions and the Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman equation, and statistical inference of SDEs. Applications to finance and queueing theory. Prerequisites: 221 or STATS 217: MATH 113, 115.
Last offered: Spring 2012
| Units: 3
MS&E 335:
Queueing and Scheduling in Processing Networks
Advanced stochastic modeling and control of systems involving queueing and scheduling operations. Stability analysis of queueing systems. Key results on single queues and queueing networks. Controlled queueing systems. Dynamic routing and scheduling in processing networks. Applications to modeling, analysis and performance engineering of computing systems, communication networks, flexible manufacturing, and service systems. Prerequisite: 221 or equivalent.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
MS&E 342:
Advanced Investment Science
Topics: forwards and futures contracts, continuous and discrete time models of stock price behavior, geometric Brownian motion, Ito's lemma, basic options theory, Black-Scholes equation, advanced options techniques, models and applications of stochastic interest rate processes, and optimal portfolio growth. Computational issues and general theory. Teams work on independent projects. Prerequisite: 242.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
MS&E 347:
Credit Risk: Modeling and Management
Credit risk modeling, valuation, and hedging emphasizing underlying economic, probabilistic, and statistical concepts. Point processes and their compensators. Structural, incomplete information and reduced form approaches. Single name products: corporate bonds, equity, equity options, credit and equity default swaps, forwards and swaptions. Multiname modeling: index and tranche swaps and options, collateralized debt obligations. Implementation, calibration and testing of models. Industry and market practice. Data and implementation driven group projects that focus on problems in the financial industry.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
MS&E 350:
Doctoral Seminar in Risk Analysis
Limited to doctoral students. Literature in the fields of engineering risk assessment and management. New methods and topics, emphasizing probabilistic methods and decision analysis. Applications to risk management problems involving the technical, economic, and organizational aspects of engineering system safety. Possible topics: treatment of uncertainties, learning from near misses, and use of expert opinions.
| Units: 3
| Repeatable
for credit
MS&E 351:
Dynamic Programming and Stochastic Control
Markov population decision chains in discrete and continuous time. Risk posture. Present value and Cesaro overtaking optimality. Optimal stopping. Successive approximation, policy improvement, and linear programming methods. Team decisions and stochastic programs; quadratic costs and certainty equivalents. Maximum principle. Controlled diffusions. Examples from inventory, overbooking, options, investment, queues, reliability, quality, capacity, transportation. MATLAB. Prerequisites: MATH 113, 115; Markov chains; linear programming.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
MS&E 352:
Decision Analysis II: Professional Decision Analysis
How to organize the decision conversation, the role of the decision analysis cycle and the model sequence, assessing the quality of decisions, framing decisions, the decision hierarchy, strategy tables for alternative development, creating spare and effective decision diagrams, biases in assessment, knowledge maps, uncertainty about probability. Sensitivity analysis, approximations, value of revelation, joint information, options, flexibility, bidding, assessing and using corporate risk attitude, risk sharing and scaling, and decisions involving health and safety. See 353 for continuation. Prerequisite: 252.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3-4
MS&E 355:
Influence Diagrams and Probabilistics Networks
Network representations for reasoning under uncertainty: influence diagrams, belief networks, and Markov networks. Structuring and assessment of decision problems under uncertainty. Learning from evidence. Conditional independence and requisite information. Node reductions. Belief propagation and revision. Simulation. Linear-quadratic-Gaussian decision models and Kalman filters. Dynamic processes. Bayesian meta-analysis. Prerequisites: 220, 252, or equivalents, or consent of instructor.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
MS&E 371:
Innovation and Strategic Change
Doctoral research seminar, limited to Ph.D. students. Current research on innovation strategy. Topics: scientific discovery, innovation search, organizational learning, evolutionary approaches, and incremental and radical change. Topics change yearly. Recommended: course in statistics or research methods.
Terms: Win
| Units: 2-3
| Repeatable
for credit
MS&E 375:
Research on Entrepreneurship
Restricted to Ph.D. students. Organization theory, economics, and strategy perspectives. Limited enrollment. Prerequisites: SOC 360 or equivalent, and consent of instructor.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
MS&E 380:
Doctoral Research Seminar in Organizations
Limited to Ph.D. students. Topics from current published literature and working papers. Content varies. Prerequisite: consent of instructor.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
| Repeatable
for credit
MS&E 381:
Doctoral Research Seminar in Work, Technology, and Organization
Enrollment limited to Ph.D. students. Topics from current published literature and working papers. Content varies. Prerequisite: consent of instructor.
Terms: Win
| Units: 2-3
| Repeatable
for credit
MS&E 390:
Doctoral Research Seminar in Health Systems Modeling
Restricted to PhD students, or by consent of instructor. Doctoral research seminar covering current topics in health policy, health systems modeling, and health innovation. May be repeated for credit.
Terms: Aut, Win, Spr
| Units: 1-3
| Repeatable
for credit
MS&E 391:
Doctoral Research Seminar in Energy-Environmental Systems Modeling and Analysis
Restricted to PhD students, or by consent of instructor. Doctoral research seminar covering current topics in energy and environmental modeling and analysis. Current emphasis on approaches to incorporation of uncertainty and technology dynamics into complex systems models. May be repeated for credit.
Terms: Aut, Spr
| Units: 1-3
| Repeatable
for credit
(up to 3 units total)
MS&E 403:
Integrative Modeling
Modeling approaches for examining real life problems: how to get started. Critical thinking in framing and problem formulation leading to actionable solutions and communication of results to decision makers. Models to identify and evaluate multiple objectives/metrics. Models examined include both deterministic and probabilistic components. Overview of optimization and probability, decomposition principles to model large scale problems, appropriate integration of uncertainties into model formulations. Primarily team-project based assignments, with three to four group projects. Project topics drawn from applications with real data. Sample project topics include: optimizing group phone plans for large corporations, life insurance business models, making sense of the health care debate, logistic decision problems. Project teams will critically grade other teams¿ project reports using provided guidelines. Project presentations throughout the quarter. Prerequisites: 211, 220.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
MS&E 408:
Directed Reading and Research
Directed study and research on a subject of mutual interest to student and faculty member. Prerequisite: faculty sponsor.nn (Staff)
Terms: Aut, Win, Spr, Sum
| Units: 1-15
| Repeatable
for credit
Instructors: ;
Bambos, N. (PI);
Barley, S. (PI);
Blank, S. (PI);
Brandeau, M. (PI);
Byers, T. (PI);
Chiu, S. (PI);
Dunn, D. (PI);
Eesley, C. (PI);
Eisenhardt, K. (PI);
Giesecke, K. (PI);
Glynn, P. (PI);
Goel, A. (PI);
Hausman, W. (PI);
Hecker, S. (PI);
Hinds, P. (PI);
Holtzman, S. (PI);
Howard, R. (PI);
Infanger, G. (PI);
Johari, R. (PI);
Johnson, B. (PI);
Katila, R. (PI);
Kosnik, T. (PI);
Luenberger, D. (PI);
Lyons, M. (PI);
May, M. (PI);
McGinn, R. (PI);
Murray, W. (PI);
Pate-Cornell, E. (PI);
Perry, W. (PI);
Pietzsch, J. (PI);
Rafinejad, D. (PI);
Robinson, B. (PI);
Roizen, J. (PI);
Roughgarden, T. (PI);
Saberi, A. (PI);
Saunders, M. (PI);
Savage, S. (PI);
Seelig, T. (PI);
Shachter, R. (PI);
Sutton, R. (PI);
Sweeney, J. (PI);
Tabrizi, B. (PI);
Tse, E. (PI);
Valentine, M. (PI);
Van Roy, B. (PI);
Weyant, J. (PI);
Woehrmann, P. (PI);
Ye, Y. (PI);
Mohan, S. (GP)
MS&E 41:
Financial Literacy
Practical knowledge about personal finance and money management including budgeting, pay checks, credit cards, banking, insurance, taxes, and saving. Class especially appropriate for those soon to be self-supporting. Limited enrollment. Admission by order of enrollment in Axess.
| Units: 1
MS&E 444:
Investment Practice
Theory of real options, soft derivatives, and related ideas. Problems from financial engineering and risk management. Examples from industry. Small group projects formulate and design solutions to actual industry problems. Enrollment limited to 30. Admission by application.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3-4
MS&E 445:
Projects in Wealth Management
Recent theory and standard practice in portfolio design for institutions, individuals, and funds. Student projects and case studies derived from the financial industry.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3-4
MS&E 446:
Policy and Economics Research Roundtable (PERR)
Research in progress or contemplated in policy and economics areas. Emphasis depends on research interests of participants, but is likely to include energy, environment, transportation, or technology policy and analysis. May be repeated for credit.
Terms: Aut, Win, Spr
| Units: 1
| Repeatable
for credit
MS&E 448:
Big Financial Data and Algorithmic Trading
Project course emphasizing the connection between data, models, and reality. Vast amounts of high volume, high frequency observations of financial quotes, orders and transactions are now available, and poses a unique set of challenges. This type of data will be used as the empirical basis for modeling and testing various ideas within the umbrella of algorithmic trading and quantitative modeling related to the dynamics and micro-structure of financial markets. Due to the fact that it is near impossible to perform experiments in finance, there is a need for empirical inference and intuition, any model should also be justified in terms of plausibility that goes beyond pure econometric and data mining approaches. Introductory lectures, followed by real-world type projects to get a hands-on experience with realistic challenges and hone skills needed in the work place. Work in groups on selected projects that will entail obtaining and cleaning the raw data and becoming familiar with techniques and challenges in handling big data sets. Develop a framework for modeling and testing (in computer languages such as Python, C++ , Matlab and R) and prepare presentations to present to the class. Example projects include optimal order execution, developing a market making algorithm, design of an intra-day trading strategy, and modeling the dynamics of the bid and ask. Prerequisites: MS&E 211, 242, 342, or equivalents, some exposure to statistics and programming. Enrollment limited. Admission by application; details at first class.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
MS&E 450:
Lessons in Decision Making
Entrepreneurs, senior management consultants, and executives from Fortune 500 companies share real-world stories and insights from their experience in decision making.
| Units: 1
| Repeatable
for credit
MS&E 452:
Decision Analysis Projects: Helping Real Leaders Make Real Decisions
A virtual consulting firm directed by professional decision analysts who offer advice and guidance as student teams help local organizations make a current business strategy or public policy decision. Projects for businesses, governments, or other institutions typically include start-up venture funding, R&D portfolio planning, new product or market entry, acquisition or partnering, cost reduction, program design, or regulatory policy decisions. Emphasis is on developing clarity of action and delivering insights to clients. Satisfies MS&E project course requirement. Prerequiste: 252. Recommended: 352.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
MS&E 453:
Decision Analysis Applications: Business Strategy and Public Policy
What are the most essential, efficient, and effective ways that important decisions are being made in the real world? Experienced practitioners provide insights from technically challenging and organizationally complex decisions that they helped analyze for decision makers in businesses, nonprofits, and governments. Both the process and content of such decisions are discussed. Process includes disciplined qualitative and quantitative approaches for framing, structuring, modeling, assessing, evaluating, appraising, and communicating decisions. Content broadly covers business and corporate strategy, venture capital investing, financial derivatives and hedging, R&D portfolio management, new product design, technology manufacturing alternatives, business renewal, real estate investment and development, intellectual property litigation risk, interplanetary contamination risk, energy economics and policies, electric power production, nuclear waste disposal, environmental cleanup of mines, marine fisheries and resource protection, medical diagnosis and treatment options, health insurance plans, hospital risk management, pharmaceutical drug trials and backups, behavioral economics lessons, effective interaction techniques, and implications of social psychology for improved organizational decision making. Prerequisite: 252
Terms: Win
| Units: 2-3
MS&E 454:
Decision Analysis Seminar
Current research and related topics presented by doctoral students and invited speakers. May be repeated for credit. Prerequisite: 252.
Terms: Aut, Win, Spr
| Units: 1
| Repeatable
for credit
MS&E 464:
Global Project Coordination
Students engage in projects that are global in nature and related to the planning, design, and operations of supply chains, marketing, manufacturing, and product development processes. Stanford students work with students from an overseas university in teams of 6-8, using email, teleconferencing, and videoconferencing to meet on a regular basis. As part of the course, students travel to Hong Kong during Stanford's spring break. Applications due by November 15. Information session on October 29. Please see https://stanford.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_3a8ZBx2NWB8p73T for more information.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3-4
MS&E 472:
Entrepreneurial Thought Leaders' Seminar
Entrepreneurial leaders share lessons from real-world experiences across entrepreneurial settings. ETL speakers include entrepreneurs, leaders from global technology companies, venture capitalists, and best-selling authors. Half-hour talks followed by half hour of class interaction. Required web discussion. May be repeated for credit.
Terms: Aut, Win, Spr
| Units: 1
| Repeatable
for credit
MS&E 474:
Innovation Scholars Seminar
For Ph.D. students selected to the Accel Innovation Scholars (AIS) at Stanford. Content is focused on technology commercialization, opportunity evaluation, and entrepreneurial leadership. The Accel Innovation Scholars meet for a three hour session each week, from July through June. AIS features a rich collection of educational experiences, including case studies, guest speakers, projects, field trips, and workshops. Participating students will have industry mentors related to their field of study.
Terms: Aut, Win, Spr
| Units: 1-2
| Repeatable
15 times
(up to 15 units total)
MS&E 488:
Prototyping and Rapid Experiment Lab
Gain a deeper understanding of the prototyping and user feedback parts of the design thinking process with a focus on rapid experimentation. Explore prototyping and user feedback that happens in later stages of iteration when design ideas are somewhat gelled, but designers are still uncertain about whether the design will meet the need and evoke the response intended. Introduce and generate creative ways to discover what users will do in the real world with the designs we envision. For seasoned students who thoroughly understand the design thinking process or, more broadly, human-centered design and now want to focus on one later stage aspect of it in more depth. An application process will happen in Fall Quarter. Please contact the d.school for more details.
Terms: Win
| Units: 4
MS&E 489:
d.Leadership: Design Leadership in Context (ME 368)
d.Leadership is a course that teaches the coaching and leadership skills needed to drive good design process in groups. d.leaders will work on real projects driving design projects within organizations, and gain real world skills as they experiment with their leadership style while coaching innovation projects. Take this course if you are inspired by past design classes and want skills to lead design projects beyond Stanford. Preference given to students who have taken other Design Group or d.school classes. Admission by application; see dschool.stanford.edu
Terms: Win
| Units: 1-3
MS&E 802:
TGR Dissertation
Terms: Aut, Win, Spr, Sum
| Units: 0
| Repeatable
for credit
Instructors: ;
Bambos, N. (PI);
Barley, S. (PI);
Brandeau, M. (PI);
Chiu, S. (PI);
Eesley, C. (PI);
Eisenhardt, K. (PI);
Giesecke, K. (PI);
Glynn, P. (PI);
Goel, A. (PI);
Hausman, W. (PI);
Hinds, P. (PI);
Howard, R. (PI);
Johari, R. (PI);
Katila, R. (PI);
Luenberger, D. (PI);
May, M. (PI);
Murray, W. (PI);
Pate-Cornell, E. (PI);
Perry, W. (PI);
Saberi, A. (PI);
Saunders, M. (PI);
Shachter, R. (PI);
Sutton, R. (PI);
Sweeney, J. (PI);
Tse, E. (PI);
Valentine, M. (PI);
Van Roy, B. (PI);
Weyant, J. (PI);
Ye, Y. (PI)
MS&E 189:
Social Networks - Theory, Methods, and Applications
Introduces students to the theoretical, substantive, and methodological foundations of social networks. The social network paradigm seeks to explain how social relations facilitate and constrain an actor¿s opportunities, behaviors, and cognitions. Topics include: network concepts and principles; network data collection, measurement, and analysis; and applications in management, engineering, and related disciplines.
| Units: 3
MS&E 237:
The Social Data Revolution: Data Mining and Electronic Business
Hands-on exploration of current and emergent data sources and their impactnnon individuals, business and society: recommendation engines, reputationnnsystems, social network analysis, and engagement metrics. Guest speakers,nnhomework assignments and group projects (e.g., Twitter and Facebook apps)nncombine data strategy, machine learning, modern and traditional marketing,nnbehavioral economics, and incentive design. Cases include Amazon.com,nnBestBuy, MySpace, Lufthansa, and startups. Prerequisites: intellectualnncuriosity, entrepreneurial spirit, some programming experience (details atnnweigend.com/teaching), and willingness to implement in the real world.
| Units: 3
MS&E 239:
Computational Advertising
Computational, economic, and optimization issues in online advertising, in contexts including web search, social networks, web surfing, and online multimedia. Overview of scientific and engineering issues arising in building online advertising platforms for Internet advertising formats, as well as ad pricing, ad auctions, and ad optimization. Research frontiers of this young discipline. Limited enrollment. Prerequisites: elementary probability and linear algebra.
| Units: 3
MS&E 242H:
Investment Science Honors
Concepts of modern quantitative finance and investments. Basic concepts under certainty including arbitrage, term structure of interest rates, and bond portfolio immunization. A situation of uncertainty in one period. Topics: arbitrage; theorems of asset pricing; pricing measures; derivative securities; applications and estimating of financial risk measures; mean-variance portfolio analysis; and equilibrium and the capital asset pricing model. Group projects involving financial market data. Enrollment limited. Prerequisites: basic probability, statistics, and economics such as MS&E 120, 121, MATH 51, or equivalents. No prior knowledge of finance required.
| Units: 3
MS&E 248:
Economics of Natural Resources
Intertemporal economic analysis of natural resource use, particularly energy, and including air, water, and other depletable mineral and biological resources. Emphasis is on an integrating theory for depletable and renewable resources. Stock-flow relationships; optimal choices over time; short- and long-run equilibrium conditions; depletion/extinction conditions; market failure mechanisms (common-property, public goods, discount rate distortions, rule-of-capture); policy options. Prerequisite: 241 or ECON 51.
| Units: 3
MS&E 266:
Management of New Product Development
Techniques of managing or leading the process of new product development that have been found effective. Emphasis is placed on how much control is desirable and how that control can be exercised in a setting where creativity has traditionally played a larger role than discipline. Topics: design for manufacturability, assessing the market, imposing discipline on the new product development process, selecting the appropriate portfolio of new product development projects, disruptive technology, product development at internet speed, uncertainty in product development, role of experimentation in new product development, creating an effective development organization, and developing products to hit cost targets.
| Units: 3
MS&E 272:
Startup Boards
Accelerate your startup through hands-on guidance from your own "board of directors" comprised of venture capitalists and experienced entrepreneurs. Like real startup boards, your board will help your team identify critical milestones, assist in achieving them, and hold your team accountable through regular board meetings. Learn how to avoid common mistakes that lead to ineffective board meetings, fired CEOs, and startup failures. Experience the other side of the table as a board member for another startup and learn the principles of effective board services. Topics include building boards, managing board meetings, making strategic decisions, executing board responsibilities, and replacing CEOs. Limited enrollment. Admission by application. Preference given to teams with demonstrated commitment to a viable startup business.
| Units: 3
MS&E 283:
Scaling up Excellence in Organizations
A problem for every manager is to make 'good' behaviors spread quickly and to shrink 'undesirable' behaviors quickly. This course provides you practical frameworks to accomplish these managerial goals. We will examine issues such as scaling Idea generation, scaling knowledge sharing, scaling the adoption of ideas across firms, scaling change in global firms. We will be using a newly written series of cases for this course and also draw on guest speakers.
| Units: 4
MS&E 295:
Energy Policy Analysis
Design and application of formal analytical methods for policy and technology assessments of energy efficiency and renewable energy options. Emphasis is on integrated use of modeling tools from diverse methodologies and requirements for policy and corporate strategy development. Prerequisites: ECON 50, MS&E 211, MS&E 252, or equivalents, or permission of instructor.
| Units: 3
MS&E 313:
Vector Space Optimization
Optimization theory from the unified framework of vector space theory: treating together problems of mathematical programming, calculus of variations, optimal control, estimation, and other optimization problems. Emphasis is on geometric interpretation. Duality theory. Topics: vector spaces including function spaces; Hilbert space and the projection theorem; dual spaces and the separating hyperplane theorem; linear operators and adjoints; optimization of functionals, including theory of necessary conditions in general spaces, and convex optimization theory; constrained optimization including Fenchel duality theory. Prerequisite: MATH 115.
| Units: 3
MS&E 314:
Linear and Conic Optimization with Applications (CME 336)
Linear, semidefinite, conic, and convex nonlinear optimization problems as generalizations of classical linear programming. Algorithms include the interior-point, barrier function, and cutting plane methods. Related convex analysis, including the separating hyperplane theorem, Farkas lemma, dual cones, optimality conditions, and conic inequalities. Complexity and/or computation efficiency analysis. Applications to combinatorial optimization, sensor network localization, support vector machine, and graph realization. Prerequisite: MS&E 211 or equivalent.
| Units: 3
MS&E 319:
Approximation Algorithms
Combinatorial and mathematical programming techniques to derive approximation algorithms for NP-hard optimization problems. Prossible topics include: greedy algorithms for vertex/set cover; rounding LP relaxations of integer programs; primal-dual algorithms; semidefinite relaxations. May be repeated for credit. Prerequisites: 112 or CS 161.
| Units: 3
| Repeatable
for credit
MS&E 336:
Topics in Game Theory with Engineering Applications
Seminar. Recent research applying economic methods to engineering problems. Recent topics include: incentives in networked systems; mechanism design in engineered systems; and dynamics and learning in games. Prerequisites: mathematics at the level of MATH 115; game theory at the level of 246 or ECON 203; probability at the level of 220; optimization at the level of 211. May be repeated for credit.
| Units: 3
| Repeatable
for credit
MS&E 337:
Information Networks
Network structure of the Internet and the web. Modeling, scale-free graphs, small-world phenomenon. Algorithmic implications in searching and inter-domain routing; the effect of structure on performance. Game theoretic issues, routing games, and network creation games. Security issues, vulnerability, and robustness. Prerequisite: basic probability and graph theory.
| Units: 3
MS&E 338:
Advanced Topics in Information Science and Technology
Advanced material in this area is sometimes taught for the first time as a topics course. Prerequisite: consent of instructor.
| Units: 3
MS&E 348:
Optimization of Uncertainty and Applications in Finance
How to make optimal decisions in the presence of uncertainty, solution techniques for large-scale systems resulting from decision problems under uncertainty, and applications in finance. Decision trees, utility, two-stage and multi-stage decision problems, approaches to stochastic programming, model formulation; large-scale systems, Benders and Dantzig-Wolfe decomposition, Monte Carlo sampling and variance reduction techniques, risk management, portfolio optimization, asset-liability management, mortgage finance. Projects involving the practical application of optimization under uncertainty to financial planning.
| Units: 3
MS&E 349:
Capital Deployment
Methods for efficiently allocating capital among alternatives, constructing business plans, determining the value of risky projects, and creating alternatives that enhance value. Prerequisites: 242, 342.
| Units: 3
MS&E 353:
Decision Analysis III: Frontiers of Decision Analysis
The concept of decision composite; probabilistic insurance and other challenges to the normative approach; the relationship of decision analysis to classical inference and data analysis procedures; the likelihood and exchangeability principles; inference, decision, and experimentation using conjugate distributions; developing a risk attitude based on general properties; alternative decision aiding practices such as analytic hierarchy and fuzzy approaches. Student presentations on current research. Goal is to prepare doctoral students for research. Prerequisite: 352.
| Units: 3
MS&E 364:
Multi-echelon Inventory Models
Theoretical treatment of control problems arising in inventory management, production, and distribution systems. Inventory control for single and multi-location systems. Emphasis is on operating characteristics, performance measures, and optimal operating and control policies. Dynamic programming and applications in inventory control. Prerequisite: STATS 217 or equivalent, linear programming.
| Units: 3
MS&E 365:
Advanced Models in Operations Management
Primarily for doctoral students. Focus on quantitative models dealing with sustainability and related to operations management. Prerequisite: consent of instructor. May be repeated for credit.
| Units: 3
| Repeatable
for credit
MS&E 372:
Entrepreneurship Doctoral Research Seminar
Classic and current research on entrepreneurship. Limited enrollment, restricted to PhD students. Prerequisites: SOC 363 or equivalent, and permission of instructor.
| Units: 1-3
MS&E 374:
Dynamic Corporate Strategy
Restricted to Ph.D. students. Research on the creation and shaping of disruptive industry dynamics and how companies can formulate and implement strategies to excel in such changing environments. Dynamic system model approach; case studies. Prerequisites: 201 or equivalent, 274.
| Units: 3
MS&E 376:
Strategy Doctoral Research Seminar
Classic and current research on business and corporate strategy. Limited enrollment, restricted to PhD students. Prerequisites: SOC 363 or equivalent, and permission of instructor. Course may be repeated for credit.
| Units: 3
| Repeatable
for credit
MS&E 383:
Doctoral Seminar on Ethnographic Research
For graduate students; upper-level undergraduates with consent of instructor. Ethnosemantic interviewing and participant observation. Techniques for taking, managing, and analyzing field notes and other qualitative data. 15 hours per week outside class collecting and analyzing own data. Methods texts and ethnographies offer examples of how to analyze and communicate ethnographic data. Prerequisite: consent of instructor. (Barley)
| Units: 3
MS&E 384:
Groups and Teams
Research on groups and teams in organizations from the perspective of organizational behavior and social psychology. Topics include group effectiveness, norms, group composition, diversity, conflict, group dynamics, temporal issues in groups, geographically distributed teams, and intergroup relations.
| Units: 3
MS&E 389:
Seminar on Organizational Theory (EDUC 375A, SOC 363A)
The social science literature on organizations assessed through consideration of the major theoretical traditions and lines of research predominant in the field.
| Units: 5
MS&E 447:
Active Portfolio Management
Explores the problem of building a rigorous, disciplined process around multi asset class investment strategies. Particular emphasis on options and derivatives. Focuses on the creation of investment views and the structuring of trades or strategies around those views, and on dynamic portfolio construction and risk management, moving beyond classical portfolio optimization theory to address practical methods in the context of nonlinear and non-normal asset returns and real-world informational and institutional constraints. Emphasis is on the investment and portfolio management process, rather than on specific trades or strategies (which are highly specific to individual investors), but the course follows a set of examples from discretionary and systematic global macro. Prerequisites: MS&E 242, MS&E 342, or similar courses.
| Units: 3-4
MS&E 491:
Clean Energy Developement
Clean energy project class for graduate students committed to clean energy and entrepreneurship, strong analytic and communication skills, and serious individual and group work. Teams will conceive, prepare and present business plan for a clean energy project or company. Class sessions devoted to guidance necessary for team projects and outside guest speakers. Grades based on team performance in development and presentation of a business concept, outline and plan. Enrollment limited to 30. Admission by application.
| Units: 3
