Please note: The application portal for the master’s degree in mathematics in operations research has closed. Entry into this degree program was possible for the last time in the summer semester of 2023.
Are you passionate for logistics, production, and resource planning? Or are you more interested in network and process optimization or personnel planning? Even if you are more the type of person for management accounting, portfolio management or actuarial mathematics: Mathematical optimization processes play an important role when decisions have to be made about investments, product selection, employment of staff, location, order processing or layout of machinery. The master’s program Mathematics in Operations Research addresses what the models and methods to support decision-making look like and how they work.
Type of Study: Full-time
Standard Duration of Studies: 4 semesters
Credits: 120 ECTS
Main Location: Garching
Start of Degree Program: Entry into this degree program was possible for the last time in the summer semester of 2023.
Language of Instruction: German, English (can be studied entirely in English)
Costs: Semester fees, no tuition
Professional Profile: Mathematics
Theories and applications of nonlinear, combinatorial, and discrete optimization as well as numerics and stochastics are the focus areas of the master’s program Mathematics in Operation Research. These are supplemented by minors from the fields of economics, informatics or information systems as well as seminars on rhetoric and presentation skills.
The flexible structure of the program facilitates studying at one of TUM’s partner universities abroad for one or two semesters. The program concludes with a master’s thesis in the fourth semester.
Graduates will have learned how to translate practical problems into mathematical models and to solve them using algorithms. They will also be able to communicate the results of their work to non-specialists. This can be a challenge, since in practice colleagues from different disciplines often work together in one team.
The modules you select for your minor will help you gain practical knowledge and interdisciplinary, technical skills. In addition to discipline-specific skills, you will also acquire interdisciplinary soft skills, such as rhetorical and presentation skills.
Graduates of the master’s program Mathematics in Operations Research are well prepared for careers in companies, organizations, or industry. They have career prospects in logistics, network planning, production and resource planning, network and process optimization, management accounting and portfolio management, or in actuarial mathematics. Other options include the engineering and transport fields.
An application for this degree program was possible for the last time in the summer semester of 2023.
During the degree program
The qualification profile for the master’s degree in Mathematics in Operations Research consists of several individual modules, which can be freely combined with each other for the most part. During the degree program, you must earn a total of 120 credits from the following areas:
- Mathematics modules
- Minor
- Advanced Seminar
- Internship with internship seminar
- Support electives
- Thesis
You can find a list of all modules that are relevant for the program with information about course times and rooms in the degree chart on TUMonline. You can also create your own individual schedule and save it here digitally.
You are free to choose modules from these disciplines for your minor:
- Economics (management science / logistics),
- Information Systems (business analytics), or
- Informatics (efficient algorithms / machine learning).
You can find more information in the respective Academic and Examination Regulations for the program.
The Advanced Seminar is one of the required modules. When selecting your seminar, keep in mind that some academic chairs require students to take and pass their advanced seminar before being assigned their thesis topic. For this reason, students usually take a suitable advanced seminar in the third semester.
A four week professional internship is integrated into your studies. In the internship seminar, you will have the opportunity to become acquainted with suitable work activities and to share your experiences during your professional internship.
Detailed information can be found under Examinations. The General Academic and Examination Regulations (APSO) of TUM and the respective program-specific Academic and Examination Regulations (FPSO) apply to all students:
Current regulations (valid for students beginning the program as of the winter semester 2021/22)
Expiring regulations (valid for students who began the program before or in the summer semester 2021)
- Engrossed version, as of July 9, 2018 (not legally binding)
- Program-specific Academic and Examination Regulations (FPSO) from May 26, 2010
- 1st Amendment to statute from March 27, 2012
- 2nd Amendment to statute from April 29, 2013 (with Annex 2 as amended)
- 3rd Amendment to statute from September 16, 2013 (with Annex 1 as amended)
- 4th Amendment to statute from April 11, 2014 (with Annex 3 as amended)
- Collective Amending Statutes from May 3, 2016 (new application deadlines)
- 6th Amendment to statute from April 27, 2018 (with the current version of Section 36 and regulations for the double degree)
- 7th Amendment to statute from December 17, 2018 (updated Annex 1-4)
Degree
After you have completed the required coursework and have submitted your thesis, you will graduate with a Master of Science (M.Sc.). This will enable you to start your professional career or pursue a doctorate, like every third master's graduate. Tips and advice on graduation and your next steps can be found under Graduation.