Master of Science in Operational Research and Business Statistics

Programme Director: Dr YAU, Chin Ko

The aim of the programme is to provide an opportunity of further education for working professionals in the field of Operational Research and Business Statistics, and to offer well-motivated individuals a path for career conversion into the field of Operational Research and Business Statistics. Students acquire a solid foundation in the principles of Operational Research and Business Statistics, and a wealth of knowledge of software packages and their applications.

The programme teachers are either from the Department of Mathematics, Hong Kong Baptist University or from the Business School, University of Kent. The faculty members in the Department of Mathematics of Hong Kong Baptist University have very strong background in Statistics and Operational Research. The University of Kent has an excellent international reputation. Kent Business School has a very strong faculty in both teaching and research. Their experience and expertise, in particular in the area of business and management would give us the strength in practical, operational, and managerial areas. To strengthen our teaching and broaden the students’ learning, teachers from the University of Kent offer several courses every year.

Students can select full-time or part-time study mode. For both study modes, students will attend classes on weekday daytime/evenings and/or Saturdays/Sundays. For the full-time study mode, the normal period of study is 12 months (3 semesters). For the part-time study mode, the normal period of study is 24 months (6 semesters).

Students will have to complete 12 courses (34 units) and a MSc Dissertation (6 units), and earn a cumulative GPA of at least 2.50 to qualify for the two MSc degrees:

Master of Science in Operational Research and Business Statistics (conferred by Hong Kong Baptist University)
Master of Science in Business Analytics (conferred by University of Kent)^*

The structure of the curriculum is as follows:

I)	Required Courses	25 units
II)	Dissertation	6 units
III)	Elective Courses	9 units
		40 units

Requirements

I.	Required Courses	25 units
	ORBS7010 Prescriptive Analytics for Decision Making	3 units
	ORBS7030 Business Statistics with R	3 units
	ORBS7040 Simulation Modelling	3 units
	ORBS7070 Machine Learning and Forecasting	3 units
	ORBS7080 Advanced Spreadsheets and Decision Support Systems	3 units
	ORBS7090 Managing Organisational Performance	2 units
	ORBS7120 Big Data Analytics and Visualisation	2 units
	ORBS7250 Applied Multivariate Analysis	3 units
	ORBS7260 Applied Time Series	3 units

II.	Dissertation	6 units
	ORBS7231 Dissertation I	3 units
	ORBS7232 Dissertation II	3 units

III.	Elective Courses	9 units
	ORBS7020 Techniques of Production Operations Management	3 units
	ORBS7110 Quantitative Models for Marketing	3 units
	ORBS7130 Survey Sampling and Experimental Design	3 units
	ORBS7140 Actuarial Statistics	3 units
	ORBS7160 Network and Project Management	3 units
	ORBS7200 Derivatives	3 units
	ORBS7210 Work-based Learning	3 units
	ORBS7220 Risk and Portfolio Management	3 units
	ORBS7280 Advanced Operational Research	3 units
		40 units

* This is an exempted course under the NON-LOCAL HIGHER AND PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION (REGULATION) ORDINANCE CAP 493 (Ref. no.: 452850). It is a matter of discretion for individual employers to recognise any qualification to which this course may lead.