by our College Data Analytics Team
Students have lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. College Factual has developed its “Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Operations Research Major” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.
In 2020-2021, 1,698 people earned their degree in operations research, making the major the 203rd most popular in the United States. In 2019-2020, operations research graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $84,787 and had an average of $14,538 in loans still to pay off.
At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 492 operations research graduates with average earnings and debt of $39,682 and $26,217 respectively.
This year’s “Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Operations Research Major” ranking looked at 14 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in operations research. This a ranking of the schools where the largest percentage of students has enrolled in operations research.
For more information, check out our ranking methodology.
Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Operations Research Major” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.
In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don’t forget it.
The colleges and universities below are the best for bachelor’s degree operations research students.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend United States Coast Guard Academy. It ranked #1 on our 2023 Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Operations Research Major list. USCGA is located in New London, Connecticut and, has a small student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 43 bachelors’s operations research degrees to qualified students.
Out of the 14 schools in the Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Operations Research Major that were part of this year’s ranking, United States Naval Academy landed the #2 spot on the list. This small school is located in Annapolis, Maryland, and it awarded 70 bachelors’s operations research degrees in 2020-2021.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend United States Air Force Academy. The school came in at #3 for the Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Operations Research Major. Located in USAF Academy, Colorado, this small public school handed out 39 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s operations research students in 2020-2021.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend United States Military Academy. The school came in at #4 for the Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Operations Research Major. Located in West Point, New York, this small public school handed out 32 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s operations research students in 2020-2021.
Read more about Operations Research at United States Military Academy
Out of the 14 schools in the Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Operations Research Major that were part of this year’s ranking, Princeton University landed the #5 spot on the list. Princeton is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school situated in Princeton, New Jersey. It awarded 54 bachelors’s operations research degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 4 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed.
With a ranking of #6, Cornell University did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Operations Research Major list. Cornell University is a large private not-for-profit school situated in Ithaca, New York. It awarded 84 bachelors’s operations research degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.9%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 96%.
Southern Methodist University ranked #7 on this year’s Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Operations Research Major list. Southern Methodist University is a fairly large school located in Dallas, Texas that handed out 37 bachelors’s operations research degrees in 2020-2021.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 90%. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.1% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.
Read more about Operations Research at Southern Methodist University
With a ranking of #8, University of California - Berkeley did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Operations Research Major list. Located in Berkeley, California, this large public school handed out 76 degrees to qualified bachelors’s operations research students in 2020-2021.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 96%. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.8% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.
Columbia University in the City of New York ranked #9 on this year’s Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Operations Research Major list. Located in New York, New York, this large private not-for-profit school handed out 57 degrees to qualified bachelors’s operations research students in 2020-2021.
With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 95%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Operations Research at Columbia University in the City of New York
Rice University ranked #10 on this year’s Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Operations Research Major list. Rice is a medium-sized school located in Houston, Texas that handed out 12 bachelors’s operations research degrees in 2020-2021.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 97%. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.2%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one.
Carnegie Mellon University ranked #10 on this year’s Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Operations Research Major list. Carnegie Mellon University is a fairly large private not-for-profit school situated in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It awarded 8 bachelors’s operations research degrees in 2020-2021.
The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 5 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.7% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 96%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Bob Jones University ranked #10 on this year’s Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Operations Research Major list. Bob Jones University is a private not-for-profit institution located in Greenville, South Carolina. The school has a small population, and it awarded 0 bachelors’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.6% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 86%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
LIU Post landed the #10 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Operations Research Major ranking. LIU Post is a fairly large private not-for-profit school situated in Brookville, New York. It awarded 0 bachelors’s operations research degrees in 2020-2021.
Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors.
University of Washington - Seattle Campus came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Operations Research Major ranking. This large school is located in Seattle, Washington, and it awarded 0 bachelors’s operations research degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 93%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.1%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Full University of Washington - Seattle Campus Operations Research Report
Read more about our data sources and methodologies
