UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The Penn State Smeal College of Business has announced the addition of a new one-year residential master’s program designed for early career individuals looking to pursue leadership roles in the supply chain field.
The college is now accepting applications for fall 2024 enrollment in the new residential Master of Supply Chain Management program.
The newest addition to Smeal’s portfolio of professional graduate programs will equip students with expertise in the supply chain field through a full-time, one-year residential format. Unlike the college’s online Master of Supply Chain Management program, delivered by Penn State World Campus, the curriculum can be completed in nine months at Penn State’s University Park campus.
The 30-credit master’s program has a STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) designation, which is a testament to the quality and rigor of the program. The designation allows international graduates on F-1 visas to work in the United States for an additional 24 months via the extended Operational Practical Training (OPT), totaling 36 months.
Undergraduate seniors with strong quantitative backgrounds would also benefit from the accelerated program — even those without prior experience in the business domain, said David Huff, program faculty director and professor of supply chain and information systems.
“We’re really looking at early career professionals and those who are preparing to or have recently completed an undergraduate degree … perhaps not even in the business field but in a STEM area,” Huff said. “This curriculum will give them a business foundation from a supply chain management perspective to allow them to move into this kind of career.”
The program is intended to give graduates the competitive edge needed to stand out in the job market, opening doors to increased earning potential and higher-level positions rather than entry-level ones. From an optional global immersion experience to a culminating capstone project, the curriculum comprises experiential learning opportunities and access to specialized resources via the college’s world-class faculty and longstanding reputation for supply chain excellence. Smeal’s graduate-level Supply Chain Management education is currently ranked No. 3 by Gartner Inc.
With a face-to-face classroom setting at University Park, students can expect to become proficient in a range of supply chain topics, including procurement and negotiation, demand fulfillment, inventory and operations management, financial analysis, and recognizing emerging supply chain management trends. Coursework will cover the fundamentals of supply chain design while applying risk management and innovative thinking to the current economic landscape.
“We are constantly reevaluating our program and updating it with changes in the business environment — so yes, the pandemic and other things that have occurred have had an important impact on this program. It’s critical to be able to manage things well with so much more uncertainty out there now,” Huff explained.
“There is a strategic element to all of this as well," said Huff, "and I think that sets our program apart from many that are out there."
The resident Master of Supply Chain Management program is the newest offering in Smeal’s suite of one-year master’s degrees, which also includes business analytics, business administration, accounting, finance, real estate analysis and development, and accounting analytics.
Like other Smeal programs, enrolled students will have the unique opportunity to customize their education by stacking their degrees. For example, by waiving overlapping classes, students may combine their supply chain management degree with a secondary master’s, to earn two degrees in two years.
More information about the Smeal Master of Supply Chain Management program can be found on the college’s website.