The OPSMGMT program is the formal graduate study portion for various Intermediate Developmental Education (IDE) programs in the US Air Force. The goal of the OPSMGMT program is to cultivate a core of officers with an in-depth education in operations management, quantitative decision making, and critical thinking skills to lead the Air Force in the future. The IDE programs consist of the degree granting portion, plus additional professional development courses combined with trips to joint and major commands around the globe. As such, this enhances the AFIT degree portion of the IDE program, providing the military with a professional, degree-granting program, similar to executive management degree programs in civilian institutions.

The curriculum consists of eight core courses in the areas of operations management, process improvement, organizational management, quantitative decision making, and research methods. The remainder of the curriculum is tailored for each of the IDE programs using specialty tracks. Each specialty track has between 18-19 hours of electives available to complete the degree requirements for the program. Courses are taught individually in a compressed schedule. The program also requires a graduate research paper that examines a topic pertaining to the operational Air Force. Each program will be 12 months long (four academic quarters) and will involve a Permanent Change of Station (PCS) to various locations, depending on the particular IDE program. Class size is limited to 16 students. Students typically come from operational and support AFSCs in the Air Force.

All OPSMGMT students are required to complete a graduate research project under the direction of a faculty advisor.