New online supply chain master’s program offered at URI

The University of Rhode Island College of Business will debut an online master’s program in supply chain management this fall. The program is designed to teach students the skills to enhance the resiliency of supply chains—an area shown vulnerable during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Professional Master of Science in Supply Chain Management and Applied Analytics—the first online program of its kind in the U.S., according to the university—is a rigorous, one-year program that will train students to analyze and develop innovative solutions to global supply chain problems. Distinguishing the program, students will integrate technology and data analysis for strategic solutions and complete a two-week internship with a global company.

“With the overwhelming disruptions we’ve seen to global supply chains caused by the COVID-19 crisis, this program couldn’t come at a better time,” said Maling Ebrahimpour, dean of the College of Business, in a statement. “This program will give our students the analytic tools and the real-world experience to build resilient supply chains, along with providing them skills that put them in high demand in a growing global industry.”

The master’s program focuses on preparing graduates for such high-level jobs as distribution vice presidents, operations supervisors, import/export specialists, analysts, and product lifecycle managers.

Students in the master’s program complete 30 credits, taking 10 courses in such areas as resiliency, accounting and finance, global supply chains strategy, international transportation management, and analytics and data mining. The courses’ seven-week, asynchronous, online format provides students the flexibility to fit the program into full-time work schedules, while the accelerated structure allows them to complete the program in one year.

Students apply those skills in the program’s closing courses—supply chain network design and Lean Six Sigma Innovation Protocol, in which students take part in a two-week internship where they analyze and improve on a company’s supply chain process. Students may organize their own internship or seek a placement through the College of Business’ Supply Chain Management Advisory Board, which includes about 30-member institutions in New England.

The application deadline for the Professional Master of Science in Supply Chain Management and Applied Analytics is Aug. 4. Classes for the first seven-week session begin Sept. 1. For more information, contact Dara Schniederjans at schniederjans@uri.edu or (401) 874-5280.