Optimization Methods in Management Science
MIT Sloan's course on the theory, algorithms, and applications of optimization for management decisions. Covers linear programming, network optimization, integer programming, and decision trees, then applies these methods to problems in logistics, manufacturing, transportation, marketing, project management, and finance. Coursework includes problem sets working through the mathematical formulations and solution algorithms, plus a team project in which students choose a real practical problem and build an optimization model to solve it. Materials are published through MIT OpenCourseWare under a Creative Commons license, free to access with no certificate offered. The course suits students who already have some quantitative background and want to see how optimization techniques translate into decisions across different business functions.