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Major · Business, Management & Marketing

A catchall for specialized quantitative business programs.

Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods, Other (CIP 52.1399) is a catchall code institutions use for specialized analytics, decision-science, and operations-research tracks that do not fit a named sub-discipline. Curriculum varies considerably by school, so read the program page before applying.

Schools offering
79
Annual completions
3,245
Typical degree level
Bachelor's
Median earnings (5yr)
$87k

About this major

Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods, Other (CIP 52.1399) is the catchall code the federal classification uses for, in NCES’s words, “any instructional program in business quantitative methods and management science not listed above.” In practice, schools file programs here when their offering does not fit a named sub-discipline such as Management Science (52.1301), Business Statistics (52.1302), or Actuarial Science (52.1304). Real curricula behind this code commonly include business analytics, operations research, decision sciences, supply-chain analytics, or business-intelligence specializations — but the specific content varies considerably by institution.

The major fits students who are comfortable with statistics, basic calculus, and at least some programming, and who want to apply those tools to business problems rather than to pure math or engineering. Coursework typically blends quantitative modeling with management context: optimization, simulation, regression, forecasting, and increasingly Python, R, and SQL alongside Excel and Tableau. Capstone projects often involve real datasets from corporate partners.

The scale here is moderate. Roughly 3,245 bachelor’s degrees were awarded in this CIP across about 79 institutions, with UC Davis (483) and UC San Diego (396) accounting for a meaningful share. That concentration matters: because the code is a catchall, the specific program at the specific school is what determines what you actually learn. A 52.1399 degree from one campus may be a rigorous business-analytics track; from another it may be a lighter quantitative-methods sequence inside a general business school. Reading the curriculum page before applying is not optional.

Section 3 · Careers

Where this major leads

Occupations most often associated with this major, from the federal BLS+O*NET crosswalk. Job-growth projections and median wages are national.

No federal crosswalk data available for this major yet.

Section 4 · Earnings

Earnings at a glance

Median graduate earnings from the federal College Scorecard, 5 and 10 years out.

Median 5-year earnings

$87k

Associate's vs Bachelor's — early-career earnings

Associate's

$54k

Bachelor's

$87k

Who this major is for

Strong fits tend to share a few traits. You enjoy statistics and are willing to push past introductory coursework into regression, forecasting, and optimization. You are comfortable building things in code — even if you start as a beginner, you accept that Python, R, and SQL are part of the job and not optional electives. You like business context, meaning you want to know whose decision your model is informing rather than treating analysis as an end in itself. The roughly $86,700 five-year earnings figure rewards graduates who carry that combination into analyst and consulting roles.

Less promising signals are worth naming honestly. If the appeal of the major is mainly that it sits inside a business school and avoids a named math or computer-science degree, the curriculum may be harder than expected — quantitative methods programs are quantitative. Students who dislike programming or who hope to coast on managerial soft skills will find the workload uncomfortable. The catchall nature of CIP 52.1399 is itself a flag: with 79 schools using the code for materially different programs, choosing on title alone risks landing in a curriculum that does not match what you wanted. Read the course list, talk to current students, and confirm the program’s analytics depth before committing.

Section 6 · Where to study

Top colleges for Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods, Other

Ranked by annual completions at the associate's or bachelor's level — a proxy for program scale.

College Location Assoc. Bach. Total
University of California-Davis Davis, CA 0 483 483
University of California-San Diego La Jolla, CA 0 396 396
University of Virginia-Main Campus Charlottesville, VA 0 389 389
University of California-Merced Merced, CA 0 177 177
University of Rochester Rochester, NY 0 169 169
University of Missouri-Columbia Columbia, MO 0 156 156
Brigham Young University-Idaho Rexburg, ID 0 153 153
University of Washington-Seattle Campus Seattle, WA 0 121 121
Boston College Chestnut Hill, MA 0 112 112
University of Iowa Iowa City, IA 0 112 112
Section 7 · Explore sideways

Related majors to explore

Business Administration and Management, General

193,432 completions/yr

Business/Commerce, General

42,906 completions/yr

Management Science

7,495 completions/yr

Logistics, Materials, and Supply Chain Management

6,935 completions/yr

Office Management and Supervision

1,304 completions/yr

Actuarial Science

1,022 completions/yr

Business Statistics

843 completions/yr

Purchasing, Procurement/Acquisitions and Contracts Management

541 completions/yr

Considering this direction?

We've taken a hard look at the debt, earnings trajectory, and degree-level tradeoffs for the Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods, Other field. Read our verdict before you commit.

Is Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods, Other worth it? Read verdict
Section 9 · Frequently asked

Common questions

What does this major actually cover?
Programs filed under CIP 52.1399 are described by NCES as instructional programs in business quantitative methods and management science not listed under named codes. In practice that often means business analytics, operations research, decision sciences, supply-chain analytics, or business intelligence specializations. Because the code is a catchall, two schools using it can teach materially different things — one might emphasize statistical modeling and Python, another might focus on logistics optimization or managerial decision frameworks.
How does this compare to Management Science (CIP 52.1301)?
Management Science (52.1301) is the larger, named sibling at roughly 7,495 annual completions versus about 3,245 here. Management Science programs tend to follow a more standardized curriculum focused on quantitative decision modeling, optimization, and operations research. The 52.1399 catchall is where institutions place specialized or hybrid tracks — for example, a business-analytics concentration that blends statistics, programming, and a domain such as marketing or supply chain. If a school offers both, the named code is usually the more conventional path.
What kinds of jobs do graduates take?
Common destinations include management analyst, operations research analyst, business intelligence analyst, and data analyst roles. The Bureau of Labor Statistics lists a bachelor’s degree as the typical entry credential for management analysts (median around $101,000) and operations research analysts (median around $86,000), though many senior or technical roles in this space increasingly prefer a master’s. Five-year median earnings for completers of this CIP land near $86,700 — a strong figure that reflects the analytical bent of the curriculum.
Where is this major actually offered?
About 79 institutions report bachelor’s completions under this code. The list skews toward larger research universities — University of California-Davis (483 completions) and UC San Diego (396) lead, with the University of Virginia, UC Merced, Rochester, Missouri, BYU-Idaho, Washington, Boston College, and Iowa filling out the top ten. Each of those uses the code for a different in-house program, so the school name alone tells you very little; check the department page to see what is actually taught.
Bachelor’s or master’s — what is the right stopping point?
A bachelor’s is workable for analyst-level roles, especially if the program includes serious work in SQL, Python or R, and statistics. The roughly $86,700 five-year earnings figure for bachelor’s completers reflects that. Senior analyst, data scientist, and consulting roles, however, often expect a master’s in business analytics, operations research, or a related quantitative field. Many graduates use the bachelor’s as a strong entry point and add a master’s after two to four years of work.
Is the salary realistic?
The roughly $86,700 five-year median earnings figure is well above the typical bachelor’s baseline (the associate-completer figure for this field sits near $54,000) and reflects placement into analyst and consulting roles. Earnings vary by employer type — large consultancies, financial-services firms, and tech companies pay above the median, while non-profit and smaller-employer placements can sit meaningfully lower. Geography matters too; the same job pays very differently in San Francisco versus a smaller metro.