GRADUATE STUDY WITH AN MDS DEGREE Many students who have achieved a B+ or higher GPA in the MDS program have elected to continue their studies in a graduate program. Typically, holders of advanced degrees are able to choose from a wider range of job opportunities, with more responsibilities and higher salaries, than are those with a BS degree. Among the areas of advanced study that have been undertaken by our students are Operations Research, Industrial Engineering, Statistics, Biostatistics, Economics, and Psychology. Another popular choice is to enter an MBA program, usually after a few years of experience in the work force. The MDS degree provides an excellent preparation for study in these areas as well as other areas in which a strong quantitative background is required. Resource information for some of these fields can be found below. Students who are considering graduate work should discuss their plans with their advisers at the beginning of their junior year since the choice of MDS electives will to some extent depend upon the graduate field they plan to enter. Advisers will also be able to provide guidance in choosing appropriate programs for the individual students and to help in the application process. Almost all graduate programs require the applicants to take GRE (or similar) exams as part of the application procedure. Graduate Study in Operations Research Operation Research and its related areas of Management Science and Industrial Engineering play ever more important roles in our society given the increasing complexity and quantification of the decision-making that arises in engineering, business, and the planning sciences. Operations researchers analyze the factors that influence decisions and the effects of particular decisions and then attempt to identify those decisions that are "best". Examples of typical decision problems might include finding an efficient assignment of aircrews to flights for a large airline or determining the areas of responsibility for the fire stations in a large city so as to maximize the overall fire protection. In the latter case, the lives and property of the city's residents are at stake; in the former, an efficient assignment might save the company millions of dollars per year. More details and examples of operations research in action can be found at the resources web page of INFORMS, the professional society associated with Operations Research. There are a number of excellent graduate programs in Operations Research around the country. A fairly comprehensive list of these and related graduate programs is given at the INFORMS education web page. One of the best of these graduate programs is in the UNC Operations Research Department , where both the MS and PhD degrees are offered. For qualified students wishing to obtain an MS degree in one additional year of study beyond the undergraduate MDS program, the 5 year program offered by the UNC Operations Research Department is an attractive possibility. Graduate Study in Statistics Statistics is a vigorous and exciting field with continually expanding areas of application. Statistical methods apply in virtually every area of scientific inquiry from the hard sciences, such as physics, chemistry and biology, to the social sciences and humanities. The American Statistical Association ASA is the leading professional society for statisticians and its web pages contain a wealth of information on this profession. For a detailed description of the role of Statistics in our society go here. Information on careers in Statistics can be found here. Currently, there are excellent employment opportunities in these careers in academia, business, industry, and government. Virtually every major university has a graduate program in Statistics. For a comprehensive list of these programs and contact information go here. The Department of Statistics at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill was established in 1946 and is one of the oldest in the world. It has a long tradition as a leader in theoretical statistics and probability. Three of the past members of the faculty have been in the National Academy of Sciences. The strength of the graduate program has been a balanced development of statistical inference based on modern probability while also addressing important problems in applied areas. The Triangle area is one of the premier areas of statistical education and research in United States.