MS in Supply Chain Management

The Master of Science in Supply Chain Management program at Boston University’s Metropolitan College provides the analytical basis for the design, optimization, operation, and improvement of a global supply chain. The curriculum provides comprehensive coverage of quantitative tools to support decisionmaking in complex, ever-changing supply chain environments. These tools include time series data analytics, mathematical optimization, simulation, statistical and financial analysis, regression, lean methods, and control charting. The application of these tools supports capacity and inventory buffering, customer flow analysis, demand forecasting, risk assessment, queue modeling, quality assurance, and Six Sigma process improvement. Particular attention is given to recent tendencies in supply chain digitalization and sustainability efforts with the prevalence of global pandemic and climate change impacts. Students have the opportunity to gain hands-on experience through an industrial-based capstone project and earn a Six Sigma Green Belt. All students joining the program are supported by several self-paced laboratories that prepare them for the analytical curriculum, including mathematics and statistics and associated software applications.

Learning Outcomes

Students completing the MS in Supply Chain Management (no concentration) will be able to:

• Demonstrate the ability to use interlinked data inputs, analytics, and systems to support decisionmaking in a supply chain that is geographically dispersed and culturally diverse.
• Utilize financial statements and apply a systematic process-oriented approach to evaluating quality in manufacturing and service supply chains using statistical calculations.
• Apply statistical methods to supply chain problems such as demand forecasting, quality control, risk analysis, safety stock calculations, and inventory aggregation.
• Apply analytical methods to supply chain problems such as inventory optimization, stochastic inventory models, facility location optimization, capacity analysis, queueing theory, and delivery optimization.
• Utilize mathematical modeling and optimization theory by choosing the appropriate quantitative tools to support supply chain operations.

Admissions Information

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

Degree Requirements

A total of 10 courses (40 units) is required. Each student enrolling in the program is required to take Mathematics and Statistics in Management (MET AD 510) in their first term. This foundation course may be counted towards one of the electives. Students who have already taken both a math and a statistics course with a B+ or higher may petition to waive MET AD 510. Additionally, students have access to the following free self-paced laboratories: MwAM: Mathematics with Applications in Management and SwAM: Statistics with Applications in Management.

Degree Core Courses (four courses/16 units)

• 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 Decision-Making

Specialization Courses (three courses/12 units)

Students not choosing a concentration in Analytics, Logistics Management, or Risk Management must select three courses from the following list:

• MET AD 571 Business Analytics Foundations (prereq for AD 616)
• MET AD 610 Enterprise Risk Management
• MET AD 616 Enterprise Risk Analytics
• MET AD 644 Project Risk and Cost Management (prereq: PM 100)
• MET AD 690 Strategic Logistics Management
• MET AD 734 Quality Management*
• MET AD 760 International Trade and Logistics

*Students who take MET AD 734 and meet certain performance standards will earn Six Sigma Green Belt certification. Students who take both MET AD 605 and AD 734 and meet certain performance standards will earn a Lean Six Sigma Green Belt.

Elective Courses (two courses/8 units)

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 units)

• MET AD 804 Capstone Project for Supply Chain Management

Concentrations

Students in the Master of Science in Supply Chain Management may select a concentration in Analytics, Logistics Management, or Risk Management.

Analytics

Students in the Analytics concentration will learn to apply descriptive, predictive, and prescriptive analytical methods to supply networks using R programming language and other specialized programming languages. They will utilize mathematical modeling and optimization theory by choosing the appropriate quantitative tools to support supply chain operations. The program will equip students with systematic process-oriented approaches to evaluate supply chain performance using statistical modeling with Six Sigma principles and techniques.

Learning Outcomes

Students completing the Analytics concentration will be able to:

• Demonstrate the ability to use interlinked data inputs, analytics, and systems to support decisionmaking in a supply chain that is geographically dispersed and culturally diverse.
• Utilize financial statements, create performance metrics, develop inspection systems, and evaluate performance in manufacturing, service, and business processes using statistical calculations and displays.
• Apply descriptive, predictive, and prescriptive analytical methods to supply networks, including optimization, simulation, forecasting, risk analysis, queueing models, using R programming language and other specialized programming languages.
• Utilize mathematical modeling and optimization theory by choosing the appropriate quantitative tools to support supply chain operations.
• Apply a systematic process-oriented approach to evaluating supply chain quality using statistical modeling with Six Sigma principles and techniques.

Logistics Management

Students in the Logistics Management concentration will learn to analyze alternative inventory, storage, and distribution networks using mathematical and statistical tools to forecast demand, calculate safety stock, consider inventory aggregation, compare alternative transportation modes, and evaluate operational risks. They will learn the foundations of international trade, import/export regulations, international tariffs, and other global trade mechanisms. The program will equip students with systematic process-oriented approaches to evaluating supply chain performance using statistical modeling with Six Sigma principles and techniques.

Learning Outcomes

Students completing the Logistics Management concentration will be able to:

• Demonstrate the ability to use interlinked data inputs, analytics, and systems to support decisionmaking in a supply chain that is geographically dispersed and culturally diverse.
• Use optimization theory and mathematical techniques to design and coordinate supply chain transportation systems in multiple directions across closed-loop global supply networks, while reducing shipping and storage costs.
• Utilize financial statements, plan import/export transactions, and create strategies to take advantage of global macroeconomic trends while managing logistic supplier relationships, including supply chain consortiums and joint ventures.
• Analyze alternative inventory, storage, and distribution networks using mathematical and statistical tools to forecast demand, calculate safety stock, consider inventory aggregation, compare alternative transportation modes, and evaluate operational risks.
• Apply a systematic process-oriented approach to evaluating supply chain quality using statistical modeling with Six Sigma principles and techniques.

Risk Management

Students in the Risk Management concentration will learn to evaluate cost and resource requirements associated with major supply chain initiatives that require careful project planning, including statistical analysis of uncertainties that create operational risks. They will quantify supply chain risks in terms of their likelihood and impacts so that appropriate mitigation strategies can be implemented. The program will equip students with systematic process-oriented approaches to evaluate supply chain performance using statistical modeling with Six Sigma principles and techniques.

Learning Outcomes

Students completing the Risk Management concentration will be able to:

• Demonstrate the ability to use interlinked data inputs, analytics, and systems to support decisionmaking in a supply chain that is geographically dispersed and culturally diverse.
• Utilize financial statements and use quantitative analysis tools to create a resilient supply chain by assessing the threats and vulnerabilities faced by a global supply chain decisionmaker, including impacts of climate change, pandemics, cybersecurity, and the global economy.
• Utilize mathematical modeling and optimization theory by choosing the appropriate quantitative tools to support supply chain operations.
• Evaluate cost and resource requirements associated with major supply chain initiatives that require careful project planning, including statistical analysis of uncertainties that create operational risks.
• Apply a systematic process-oriented approach to evaluating supply chain quality using statistical modeling with Six Sigma principles and techniques.

Second Master’s Degree Option

In appreciation of the converging needs of management and technology, the departments of Actuarial Science, Administrative Sciences, and Computer Science collaborate to offer a unique opportunity to students currently enrolled in their degree programs as well as alumni of those programs. Learn more on the MET website.