MS in Supply Chain Management

Over the past half century, the area of supply chain management has grown from improving labor-intensive processes to managing complex global networks. Today, overseeing a modern, global supply chain means developing and mobilizing complex international networks—putting a premium on professionals who have expertise in supply chain theory, logistics, and international trade knowledge, along with the capability to navigate these geographically and culturally dispersed entities efficiently.

The Master of Science (MS) in Supply Chain Management program at Boston University’s Metropolitan College examines the design, optimization, and operation of a global supply chain. The curriculum covers the essentials of lean production, global supply chain coordination, risk mitigation, strategic logistics management, and import-export operations. Graduates of the program will be able to analyze and improve business process flows and become confident decisionmakers who will lead change and offer creative solutions that ensure prompt delivery of goods and services in an ever-changing global environment.

Learning Outcomes

• An understanding of the importance of supply chain management decisions in developing a business strategy for a firm.
• An understanding of how supply chain management strategies contribute to the overall competitive strategies of a firm.
• Foundational knowledge in supply chain management and its core pillars, including logistics management, operations management, and international trade and logistics.
• Knowledge of key supply chain management issues and tools vital in analyzing supply chain decision problems.

Students in the Master of Science in Supply Chain Management must select a concentration in Global Business, Logistics Management, or Quantitative Approaches.

Admissions Information

For current admissions information, please visit the Metropolitan College website.

Degree Requirements

A total of 10 courses (40 credits) is required. Students must complete the Degree Core Courses and the requirements of their chosen concentration, as well as an elective and a capstone project.

Degree Core Courses (four courses/16 credits)

• MET AD 605 Operations Management: Business Process Fundamentals
• MET AD 632 Financial Concepts
• MET AD 680 Global Supply Chains
• MET AD 715 Quantitative and Qualitative Decisionmaking

Concentrations

In addition to the Degree Core Courses (16 credits) students must choose one concentration from the following:

Global Business

Students completing the Global Business concentration develop an understanding of the issues that arise when managing global business structures, and have an opportunity to obtain fundamental knowledge in the areas of international trade and logistics and multinational finance and trade.

Learning Outcomes

• Articulate the major international trade mechanisms and purposes of key international institutions.
• Assess the major political economies and the requirements for doing business internationally, including in developed and developing countries.
• Understand the cultural differences in doing business in international settings, including the most critical laws, directives, and regulations.
• Direct the preparation of a strategic plan to make a foreign direct investment or some alternative form for doing business in an international market.
• Develop a framework for incorporating stakeholder engagement, including a code of conduct and ethical standards for the company.
• Conduct a due diligence audit of a potential acquisition of a supply chain partner.

Logistics Management

Students completing the concentration in Logistics Management will gain a solid understanding of the logistics-related issues in the management of complex global supply chains.

Learning Outcomes

• Design and coordinate transportation systems, including in-house capabilities and outsourced partners.
• Coordinate movement of goods in multiple directions across closed-loop global supply networks.
• Reduce shipping costs and storage costs in global supply chains.
• Manage logistic supplier relationships, including supply chain consortiums and joint ventures.
• Understand the foundations of international trade and how to create strategies and understand the complexities within international logistics activities when extending trade operations globally.
• Prepare a plan for import/export transactions and associated documents required for the international movement of goods and services.
• Apply the process-oriented tools and techniques of contemporary quality management to control quality and performance across a global supply chain that is geographically dispersed.
• Coordinate projects situated in a global supply chain context.

Quantitative Approaches

The goal of the Quantitative Approaches concentration is to equip students with advanced quantitative skills needed to analyze and manage complex supply chains.

Learning Outcomes

• Knowledge and skills necessary to better utilize available information in operational, tactical, and strategic decisionmaking in supply chains.
• An understanding of how organizations are using interlinked data-inputs, analytics models, and decision-support tools to better understand their operations, customers, and markets.
• An ability to describe a manufacturing, service, or business process using appropriate statistical calculations and displays.
• How to make quality-related decisions based on information (e.g., performance metrics, survey results, or inspections) while appreciating the existence of random variation and its effect on the statistical behavior of the data.
• An ability to implement a quality system that uses a process-oriented approach to controlling and improving processes.
• Accuracy in the application of analytical methods in their own analysis, and the ability to recognize misapplications in the works of others, by presenting performance results in ways that inform, rather than confuse or mislead, a management audience.

Elective Courses (two courses/8 credits)

Select two graduate-level courses. These courses can be selected from other Administrative Sciences department offerings or Metropolitan College departments as well as from other schools and colleges within Boston University, with an advisor’s approval.

Capstone Project (one course/4 credits)

MET AD 804 Capstone Project for Supply Chain Management

Good Standing

No grade lower than B– may be applied toward degree, certificate, or diploma requirements. Students earning below a 3.0 cumulative grade point average (GPA) will be placed on academic probation status. Students on academic probation must make satisfactory progress toward achieving a minimum of 3.0 by the following semester, and must be in a position to graduate with a 3.0 or better within the remaining program courses. While grades of B or B– are considered passing, these grades will not assist in raising an unsatisfactory GPA to a satisfactory level. Therefore, students must obtain a minimum grade of B+ during a probation period.

Students who, in the determination of the department and based on past student performance, are not in a position to raise their GPA to the necessary level to graduate within the remaining courses will be dismissed from the program. Students who have not removed themselves from academic probation status after one semester for full-time status or three courses for part-time status will be dismissed from the program.