Compiling list of top IE/OR programs

[Desi_Enigma]

I am planning on applying to a few OR PhD programs this Fall and though about compiling a list of top IE/OR programs by major research fields. I figured the best way will be to post it here so that others can share their thoughts, and it will also be useful for students applying in the future.

 

A quick background, I am going to start my 2nd year in a Southern Cal. EE PhD program. My interests have more or less shifted towards optimization, stochastic processes, and simulation. Also, given my performance over the last year, I think I can move to a better university. So figured I might as well apply, and if I catch a big fish, can switch next year picking up an MS en route.

 

Research Field: Optimization, Stochastic Processes

• Tier 1: MIT, Stanford
• Tier 2: Columbia, Princeton, Cornell
• Tier 3: UC Berkeley, Georgia Tech, U Michigan, Northwestern, UIUC
• Tier 4: USC, Purdue, Wisconsin, Penn State
•  ...

Some stray observations - UC Berkeley seems to have a very small department with only 15 odd faculty. Most of them seem to be old and close to retirement, and hence there are only 6-7 "active faculty" each working on almost orthogonal topics. Not sure why it is ranked so high, am I missing something?

 

Also, GATech seems to have the same problem too. Most of their star optimization guys are 65+ and might retire anytime. Taking those 2-3 stars away, GATech's optimization and stochastics groups don't seem that impressive (compared to what they claim, #1 program). Cornell and Princeton seem to be surprise packages - I didn't expect them to be this strong.

 

It would be great if other students can share their thoughts, and rank-tier the programs based on their research field (financial engineering, production, logistics, healthcare etc.) It would be great if some Fall 2015 applicant can also share their thoughts based on visit weekend, interviews etc.