Develop a Strategic Approach to Managing Supply Chains
Prepare to meet the challenges of today’s supply chains with the Master of Science in Supply Chain Management (MSSCM) degree program at Boston University’s Metropolitan College (MET).
Over the past half century, the area of supply chain management has evolved from improving labor-intensive processes to developing, mobilizing, and managing complex global networks—driving growth and putting a premium on professionals with expertise in management of suppliers, acquisition of raw materials, transportation of goods, financial management, inventory planning, warehouse management, and managing flow of information.
At the same time, modern disruptions to global commerce and the supply chains that support it have underscored the need for robust, data analytics-driven supply chains that are agile, resilient, and sustainable.
According to the Association for Supply Chain Management (ASCM), supply chain jobs—including high-tech roles in data analysis, cloud solutions, supply chain planning, and risk management—are projected to grow in line with the national average of 9 percent over the course of the next decade. In their 2021 career and salary survey, the ASCM found that the annual median salary for supply chain professionals with a master’s degree is $99,900, and that 95 percent kept their jobs during the pandemic. In addition, one third of respondents reported finding a job in less than a month.
Students in the Supply Chain Management master’s program have the option to select one of the following concentrations:
- Analytics
- Logistics Management
- Risk Management
- Global Business (Not Currently Accepting Applications)
Program at a Glance
- Top 10 Online Program
- Online, On Campus, and Blended
- Part-Time or Full-Time Study
- 40 Credits
- 12–20 Months to Completion
- 12 Core Faculty
- No GRE/GMAT
- Tuition & Fees Range—Part-Time Study*: $35,900–$39,300
*Based on 2024–2025 Boston University tuition and fees. Merit scholarship may reduce cost.
Advance Your Career in Supply Chain Management
Offered online and on campus, the Supply Chain Management master’s degree program 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 decision-making 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. Meanwhile, capstone projects provide an opportunity to work on real-world business problems for prominent client firms while resources such as the Decision Sciences Research Laboratory connect you to the supply chain industry through collaborative applied research. As a graduate of the MSSCM program, you will be able to analyze and improve business process flows and become a confident decision-maker who will lead change and offer creative solutions that ensure prompt delivery of goods and services in an ever-changing global environment.
Corporations such as McDonalds, Starbucks, Cisco, Coca Cola, Intel, Walmart, Nestle, BMW, Nike, Unilever, and Johnson & Johnson rely on sophisticated, expertly managed supply chains, as do startups and smaller firms. Whether you specialize in procurement, analytics, logistics, import/export operations, risk management and business continuity, or demand planning, BU MET’s Supply Chain Management master’s prepares you for a wealth of different roles, job opportunities, and career paths. Boston-area companies hiring supply chain managers include P&G, Boston Dynamics, Amazon, Wayfair, Converse, Takeda, Biogen, McKinsey & Company, IBM, RSM, Gooch & Housego, UPS, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Bayer, 3M, American Tower, and DHL.
#4, America’s Top Online Colleges
Newsweek magazine ranked Boston University’s online programs #4 in the nation in its 2023 survey.
Learn More#6, Best Online Master's in Business Programs (Excluding MBA)
MET’s online master’s degrees in management are ranked #6 in the nation by U.S. News & World Report for 2024.
Learn MoreAccredited member of AACSB International
The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (through BU's Questrom School of Business)
Learn MoreSupply Chain Management program courses Operations Management: Business Process Fundamentals (MET AD 605) and Quality Management (MET AD 734) may qualify you for Green Belt Training accredited by the Council for Six Sigma Certification—an Official Industry Standard of Six Sigma Accreditation for Six Sigma training providers worldwide.
What Is My Career Outlook as a Graduate of This Program?
370,675
Total number of US Jobs
46,502
Annual job openings
+4.0%
Annual job openings
18%
Projected ten-year growth in jobs
(faster than average)
$99.1K
Median annual salary
Common job titles include:
- Supply Chain Manager
- Procurement Manager
- Demand Planner
- Inventory Planner
- Operations Manager
Employers seek expertise in:
- Lean Six Sigma Green Belt
- Inventory management
- Risk management
- Process improvement
- Project management
“Armed with this knowledge, I am eager to tackle new challenges, drive innovation, and contribute to the success of Signify and the field of mechanical engineering as a whole.” Read more.
Adrian Perez (MET’23)
Mechanical Engineer, Signify
MS, Supply Chain Management
Why BU’s Supply Chain Management Degree is Ranked in the Top 10
- Capstone Project: Student teams tackle a real-world project from a company and benefit from practical experience and opportunities to network, with the potential for internships and jobs. Each project is executed by a diverse team of students under the guidance of a BU professor in liaison with the client firm. Clients that have partnered with us as part of capstone projects include the City of Boston, Construction Specialties, Henkel Corporation, LEGO, Loctite, Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, Raytheon Technologies, Sanofi Pharmaceuticals, SharkNinja, and Waters Corporation, among others. View completed projects as well as capstone projects in progress.
- DSLab Research Projects: BU MET’s Decision Sciences Research Laboratory (DSLab) offers opportunities to engage in applied collaborative research with professors and industry practitioners, while applying your analytical skills to solve current problems facing organizations. Most projects involve decision-making in the context of manufacturing and service supply chains and healthcare organizations, with the role of risk and uncertainty comprising an important aspect of our work. In all DSLab projects, we seek opportunities to disseminate results through local, regional, and international conference presentations, poster presentations, and academic journal articles.
- Certification: Successfully complete Quality Management (MET AD 734) and you may qualify to earn a Six Sigma Green Belt accredited by the Council for Six Sigma Certification. By also completing Business Process Fundamentals (MET AD 605) you are eligible to earn a Lean Six Sigma Green Belt. A Six Sigma certificate can help you increase productivity and decrease costs, enhancing your ability to deliver top-quality products and services to consumers in a limited amount of time. Eligibility is determined by satisfactory performance on final examinations in each course.
- Active Learning Environment: BU MET’s Supply Chain Management program focuses on practical, hands-on education, ensuring you are immersed in all aspects of the supply chain—education you can apply on the job.
- Career Counseling: MET’s Career Development office and BU’s Center for Career Development offer a variety of job-hunting resources, including one-on-one career counseling by appointment for both online and on-campus students.
- Engaged Faculty: In BU MET’s Supply Chain Management master’s program, you benefit from working closely with highly qualified faculty who draw from active research and substantial professional achievements in areas such as global supply chains, operations management, logistics management, quality and production management, enterprise risk analytics, international business and trade, ecommerce, data mining, and more.
- Extensive Network: Study principles of Supply Chain Management alongside peers with solid business experience, learn from faculty who have valuable business contacts, and benefit from an alumni community with strong professional connections. The Supply Chain Club and other resources provide access to networking events, panels, and facility tours designed to connect you with peers and supply chain experts.
- Complimentary Labs: Students have access to the following free self-paced laboratories: MwAM: Mathematics with Applications in Management and SwAM: Statistics with Applications in Management. Additionally, two levels of preparatory analytics laboratories offer access to advanced tools and provide opportunities to hone analytics skills using cases that are populated with realistic data.
- OPT and CPT Designated: Eligible graduates on student visas have access to an Optional Practical Training (OPT) or Curricular Practical Training (CPT) of 12 months.
- 15:1 Class Ratio: Enjoy an exceptional student-to-instructor ratio, ensuring close interaction with faculty and access to support.
- Valuable Resources: Make use of Boston University’s extensive resources, including the Center for Career Development, Diversity & Inclusion, Educational Resource Center, Fitness & Recreation Center, IT Help Centers, Mugar Memorial Library, Center for Antiracist Research, Howard Thurman Center for Common Ground, George Sherman Union, and many others.
- Flexible Options: Study at the pace that works for you, evenings on campus or fully online. Courses begin fall, spring, and summer; online courses have two starts per term.
- Track Record: Learn from the best—since 2014, BU MET’s part-time master’s programs in business and management have been ranked among the top in the nation by U.S. News & World Report.
- Merit Scholarships: US citizens and permanent residents are automatically considered during the application process and nominated based on eligibility. Learn more.
Master the Principles of Supply Chain Management
Offered through BU MET’s Department of Administrative Sciences, the MS in Supply Chain Management core curriculum provides a solid academic foundation in the design, optimization, and operation of a global supply chain. The BU MET program offers a curriculum that is ideal for professionals who want to advance up the job ladder and mid-career leaders who need better skills in the area of supply chain management to improve their decision-making, as well as applicants with no work experience.
All students in the BU MET Supply Chain Management degree program have an opportunity to engage with an actual supply chain challenge faced by a firm. Many of these capstone projects are proposed by our industrial advisory group, who also provide feedback on curriculum and individual courses. Experiences such as these ensure that graduates of the program are capable, confident, and courageous professionals who lead change and offer creative solutions that ensure prompt delivery of goods and services in an ever-changing global environment.
Graduate with Supply Chain Expertise
Metropolitan College’s Supply Chain Management master’s degree will equip you to:
- Demonstrate the ability to use interlinked data inputs, analytics, and systems to support decision-making 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, queuing theory, and delivery optimization.
- Utilize mathematical modeling and optimization theory by choosing the appropriate quantitative tools to support supply chain operations.
Certificate-to-Degree Pathway
BU MET graduate certificate programs can serve as building blocks to a master’s degree. The Graduate Certificate in Supply Chain Management shares specific courses with the master’s in Supply Chain Management program, giving you the option to take the certificate on your path to a master’s degree. Other graduate certificate programs that share courses include Applied Business Analytics, Enterprise Risk Management, and Project Management. Students currently enrolled in a graduate certificate who are interested in transitioning into a master’s degree should contact their academic advisor to declare their interest in this pathway. A new master’s degree application is not required. Connect with a graduate admissions advisor at adsadmissions@bu.edu to learn more about this option.
Advisory Board
Master’s in Supply Chain Management Curriculum
A total of 10 courses (40 credits) is required.
Students who are not choosing a concentration must complete the degree core courses, three specialization courses, a capstone project, and two electives. 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 MET AD 734 and meet certain performance standards will earn a Lean Six Sigma Green Belt.
Each student enrolling in the program is required to take Mathematics and Statistics in Management (MET AD 510) in their first semester. 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 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 Decision-Making
Specialization Courses
(Three courses/12 credits)
Note that MET AD 571 is a prerequisite to MET AD 616.
MET AD 571 Business Analytics Foundations
MET AD 610 Enterprise Risk Management
MET AD 616 Enterprise Risk Analytics
MET AD 644 Project Risk and Cost Management
MET AD 690 Strategic Logistics Management
MET AD 734 Quality Management
MET AD 760 International Trade and Logistics
Capstone Project
(One course/4 credits)
MET AD 804 Capstone Project for Supply Chain Management
Elective Courses
(Two courses/8 credits)
Select two graduate level courses. These courses can be selected from other Administrative Sciences offerings or Metropolitan College departments, as well as from other Boston University schools and colleges, with an advisor’s approval.
The following are some of the elective courses allowed with advisor approval:
MET AD 510 Mathematics & Statistics in Management
MET AD 571 Business Analytics Foundations
MET AD 610 Enterprise Risk Management
MET AD 616 Enterprise Risk Analytics
MET AD 642 Project Management
MET AD 644 Project Risk and Cost Management
MET AD 648 Ecommerce
MET AD 655 International Business, Economics, and Cultures
MET AD 690 Strategic Logistics Management
MET AD 737 Innovative Marketing Techniques
MET AD 741 The Innovation Process: Developing New Products and Services
MET AD 760 International Trade and Logistics
Degree requirements may vary for those students transferring credits from previous coursework at Boston University or receiving course waivers due to professional designations.
Supply Chain Management Faculty
-
Canan Gunes Corlu
Associate Professor, Administrative Sciences Coordinator, Supply Chain Management Codirector, Decision Sciences Research Laboratory
-
John Maleyeff
Associate Professor of the Practice, Administrative Sciences Coordinator, Enterprise Risk Management
-
David Ritt
Lecturer, Administrative Sciences
-
Vladimir Zlatev
Associate Professor of the Practice Director of Digital Learning, Administrative Sciences Coordinator, Applied Business Analytics
View All Faculty
Tuition & Financial Assistance
Competitive Tuition
Our part-time rates are substantially lower than those of the traditional, full-time residential programs yet provide access to the same high-quality BU education.Comprehensive Financial Assistance
Our services include scholarships, graduate loans, and payment plans.How Much Does This Program Cost?
BU MET programs offer the flexibility of part-time or full-time study, either on campus or online. Tuition, fees, and total program cost are determined by enrollment status. If you enroll in 1–2 courses (4–8 credits) in a semester, you are charged the part-time per-credit rate. If you enroll in 3–4 courses (12–16 credits) in a semester, you are charged the full-time semester rate.
MS in Supply Chain Management (Online and On Campus)
Enrollment Status | Part Time | Full Time | |
Courses per Semester | 2 courses (8 credits) |
4 courses (16 credits) |
3 courses (12 credits) |
Time to Degree | 5 semesters (20 months) |
3 semesters (12-16 months)*** |
4 semesters (16-20 months)*** |
Tuition* | $550-$975 per credit** |
$33,335 per semester |
$33,335 per semester |
Fees per Semester* | $60 | $478 | $478 |
Total Degree Cost* | $35,900– $39,300 |
$75,486 | $105,399 |
*Based on 2024–2025 Boston University tuition & fee rates.
**Cost per credit is determined by course number (100–599 = $550/credit, 600–999 = $975/credit).
***Summer semester enrollment is not required for international students to maintain F-1 visa status. Enrollment in summer semester coursework will expedite completion of program and reduce total program cost.
International students seeking an F-1 visa for on-campus study must enroll full time and demonstrate availability of funds to cover the Estimated Cost of Graduate Study; those who wish to study online may enroll part-time but are not eligible for a visa. Learn more about International Student Tuition & Fees.
Questions? Please contact us to hear from an Admissions Advisor who can help you determine the best enrollment pathway. For information regarding financial aid, visit BU MET’s Financial Aid page.
Get Started
Please visit the BU MET admissions page for details on how to apply, financial assistance, tuition and fees, requirements for international students, and more.