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Optional Specialization in Management Sciences (OSMS)

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Gain a competitive edge

The Optional Specialization in Management Sciences (OSMS) is a business option that engineering students can add to their degrees. Designed by Toronto Metropolitan University specifically for engineering and science students, you will gain a background in economics, project and operations management, investment analysis, managerial accounting and organization dynamics that will make you more marketable to employers and a very well-rounded professional.

By taking the OSMS, you will gain a competitive edge and be able to:

  • Combine your engineering background with business management skills
  • Broaden your knowledge in business and management, which is necessary in order to pursue an MBA or related graduate studies program
  • Expand your entrepreneurial skills so that you can start a small business after graduation
  • Explore the leadership side of your field
  • Enter your field with a well-rounded technical and managerial background

With the exception of students in industrial engineering and architectural science, all undergraduate students in the Faculty of Engineering and Architectural Science and the Faculty of Science who have clear academic standings are eligible to apply. A special designation will appear on your degree if you successfully complete, before graduation, all six courses within the OSMS with a minimum CGPA of 1.67. In order to complete the courses without delaying your graduation, you are encouraged to apply in first year.

You can apply for the OSMS program beginning in March of each year.

Upon approval into the program, you may begin registering into OSMS courses during the Spring Transition Open Enrollment period in May.

Fees will be assessed depending on the number of courses enrolled in a term.

Students enrolled in the OSMS can apply for the Pierre Lassonde Optional Specialization in Management Sciences Awards, valued at $2,500 each. The application form will be uploaded to the Registrar's website when available.

Courses are offered in the spring term only and run from May until early July each year. Not all elective courses will be offered every spring term. Course offerings will be dependent on course enrollment.

Required:

ECN 801 - Principles of Engineering Economics
EMS 201 - Entrepreneurship and Innovation Management
EMS 202 - Operations Management
EMS 204 - Organization Design and Dynamics
EMS 303 - Managerial Accounting

Elective Courses (Choose One):

EMS 203 - Investment Analysis
EMS 301 - Management Information Systems
EMS 302 - Operations Research
EMS 304 - Project Management

Short Descriptions

ECN 801 - Principles of Engineering Economics: In this course, you will study the principles of economic decision analysis applied to private and public sector capital projects, including cash flow methods, tax impacts of depreciation and interest charges, lease analysis, inflation impacts, public sector project analysis, and more. Lect: 3 hours.

EMS 201 - Entrepreneurship and Innovation Management: In this course you will learn how successful managers implement innovation in their areas of responsibility. You will learn the importance of leadership, entrepreneurial thinking and creativity in dealing with the changing and complex issues facing today's business enterprises. You will also hone your creative instincts and improve your capacity as agents of change within your career as an independent business owner or manager within a startup or a large corporation. Lect: 3 hrs.

EMS 202 - Operations Management: In this course, you will learn about productivity, competitiveness and strategy, quality management, product and service design, process selection, design of work systems, inventory management, and issues in supply chain management. Lect: 3 hours.

EMS 203 - Investment Analysis: This course is designed to give you an overview of both security analysis and portfolio management, including valuation of common stock, treasury bills and bonds, the trade-off between risk and return, the efficient market hypothesis, and more. Lect: 3 hours. Prerequisite: EMS 303.

EMS 204 - Organization Design and Dynamics: In this course, you  will develop a theoretical understanding of organizational behaviour, including employee motivation, job design, perception and diversity, interpersonal and organizational communication, team dynamics, leadership, and more. Lect: 3 hours.

EMS 301 - Management Information Systems: In this course, you will learn about analysis and design of algorithms and information systems, data structures, basic algorithms for searching and sorting, recursion, list processing, and more. Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solutions are also explored. Lect: 3 hours. Prerequisite: EMS 201. Not available to computer science students.

EMS 302 - Operations Research: You will learn about the linear programming model and simplex method of solution, duality, and sensitivity analysis; transportation and assignment problems; shortest path and maximal flow problems; the Markov decision processes, inventory models, and more. Lect: 3 hours. Prerequisite: EMS 202.

EMS 303 - Managerial Accounting: In this course, you will review principles of accounting and reporting to various users that are external to the organization. Management control is studied through the use of budgets, standards, and variance analysis, return on investment and residual income expectations. Lect: 3 hours. Prerequisite: ECN 801 or CHE 411.

EMS 304 - Project Management: The objective of this course is to examine the fundamentals of project management within a life-cycle approach. Topics include project screening and selection, evaluation methods, management and control, project scheduling, resource management, life-cycle costing, and more. Lect: 3 hours. Prerequisite: EMS 204. Antirequisites: IND 713 and CVL 742. Not available to civil engineering students.

Please refer to the Full-Time Undergraduate Calendar for complete course descriptions.

Spring 2023

Course

Component

Section

Time

EMS 201

Lecture

Sect-01

F 9:00 – 12:00

F 13:00 – 16:00

EMS 202

Lecture

Sect-01

M 13:00 – 16:30
W 13:00 – 16:00
 

EMS 204

Lecture

Sect-01

Tu 14:00 – 17:00
Th 14:00 – 17:00

EMS 301

Lecture

Sect-01

Sat 9:00 – 12:00

Sat 13:00 – 16:00

EMS 303 Lecture Sect-01 Tu 18:30 – 21:30
W 18:30 – 21:30
EMS 304 Lecture Sect-01 Tu 14:00 – 17:00
Th 14:00 – 17:00

Note: Courses, dates, hours of instruction, and/or instructors are subject to change without prior notice. If it is necessary to cancel a course, for reasons such as insufficient enrolment, every effort will be made to contact enrolled students.

When are the OSMS program courses usually offered?

OSMS courses are only offered in the spring term (May - July) and can be scheduled any time on Monday through Saturday in the daytime or evening.

Can I take OSMS courses along with other engineering transition program or Chang School courses in the spring?

Yes, you may. However, you may only take up to three courses in total during the spring term.

Can I finish some of the OSMS required courses after I graduate?

No. All OSMS program courses must be completed before you apply to graduate in order to receive the OSMS designation on your degree.

What happens if I do not finish the program before I apply to graduate?

If you do not complete all of the requirements of the OSMS program you will be unable to apply to graduate. In order to apply to graduate, you must withdraw from the program first. To withdraw, you must fill out the  (google doc) OSMS withdrawal form (external link)  and submit it to the First-Year Engineering Office for processing. After your withdrawal form is processed, you will then be able to apply to graduate, assuming you have met all other graduation requirements.

If you have questions about the OSMS, please contact the First-Year Engineering Office at firstyeareng@torontomu.ca or 416-979-5000 ext. 4502 or 4261.