Operations Analysis Sub-Specialty Code

The Navy now has a subspecialty coding system for officers based on their undergraduate education. The program was initiated by N81, and the first code is the 3211E code to support the Navy's need for officer analysts. The code identifies junior officers who have analytical skills and training that qualify them to fill designated shore billets that involve analytical studies important to the future of the U.S. Navy. Officers with a 3211E code will be given special consideration for assignment to Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) in Monterey to earn a masters degree.

The Navy uses subspecialty codes to identify officers with requisite knowledge not specifically related to their warfare designator to fill critical billets both at sea and ashore. Until recently subspecialty codes only were awarded to officers who earned masters degrees in critical areas. The highest level codes are P codes, which require a master’s degree program covering critical skills designated by the Navy.

NPS strongly supports the 3211E program. To quote the Chairman of the OR Department, "The idea of the 3211E code is great! I believe that USNA graduates with a technical BS, which includes the E code coursework listed below, will be very well positioned to excel in the NPS OA curriculum. In fact, if the coursework is sufficiently recent to allow similar coursework at NPS to be validated, then these students should be able to finish our program with a MSOR and the 3211P code in 6 quarters or fewer."

James N. Eagle, Professor and Chairman, Operations Research Department, Naval Postgraduate School

The Marine Corps grants a secondary Military Occupational Specialty (MOS) code to officers meeting the OA program requirements delineated below. Similar to the 3211E code in the Navy, MOS 8051, "Operations Research Specialist," designates officers qualified for particular duties in support of research and development activities, major headquarters staffs in the supporting establishment and operating forces, and the Joint Staff/Command.

In the past four graduating classes 56 midshipmen have either earned the 3211E code or the 8051 MOS. One of these midshipmen, Cole Muller, entered the NPS’s master’s degree program in OR right after his 2002 graduation from USNA as a result of the Naval Academy's Immediate Graduated School Program. He completed his program at NPS in four quarters and converted his E code into a P code. He is the first officer to earn a 3211P code in four quarters.

Requirements:
Midshipmen with Mathematics (SMA) or Quantative Economics (SQE) majors can readily satisfy the requirements for this code. The requirements are as follows. To qualify for the 3211E code or 8051 MOS an officer must have taken the following college courses:

Linear Algebra or Matrix Algebra - sophomore/junior level (1 semester or 1 quarter). SM261
A multivariate calculus course (more than 2 variables and with a linear algebra/matrix theory prerequisite or co requisite) or an advanced calculus course (a theory course). SM279 or SM331/SM331H
Probability Theory - sophomore/junior level (1 semester or 1 quarter). SM239
Statistics - junior/senior level (1 semester or 2 quarters). SM339
Simulation: Modeling and Theory - junior/senior level (1 semester or 1 quarter). SA421
Either Linear Programming or Search and Detection Theory - junior/senior level (1 semester or 1 quarter). SA401 or SA410
A course with a major programming requirement using Java, C++, Visual Basic or Matlab. The course taken must be at a level acceptable at the school taken to count as either a required or an elective course in the school's computer science major, mathematics major, operations research major, or statistics major. SI204, SI283, SI481L, SM233, or SM365
The student must have an overall quality point ratio (QPR) upon receiving the bachelor's degree of at least 2.7 and a QPR in the above courses of at least 3.0, where an A=4, B=3, C=2, etc.

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Date page last revised: 01/11/2007