Supply Chain Management

Program Overview

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Supply Chain Management Bachelor of Science Degree

Overview

The supply chain management degree is an RIT New Economy Major. These degree programs are forward-thinking and future-forming, and help prepare you to excel in the multidisciplinary nature of our modern, dynamic economy.

• Earn Lean Six Sigma Yellow Belt certification through process improvement and project management.
• Latest industry trends and software taught by top faculty and industry practitioners with leadership from the Management Advisory Board.
• Network with industry experts as part of the Association for Supply Chain Management (ASCM) club, a nationally affiliated ASCM chapter.
• Advanced supply chain courses and electives, many from RIT’s Kate Gleason College of Engineering, enhance your knowledge of the integration of engineering and technology with problem solving and organizational efficiency.

What Can You Do with a Supply Chain Management Degree?

Many companies and organizations are involved in making supplies and products readily available so producers, manufacturers, and consumers, can have them when and where they want them, and at a competitive price. Coordinating and managing all of the organizations and suppliers involved in the activities that move products to the right places and the right times is the goal of supply chain management. More than ever, technology is driving supply chain processes and strategies to help give companies a competitive edge.

What is Supply Chain Management?

It’s not often a supply chain gets interrupted to the point where consumers cannot find the products they need. But when it does, people notice. And the disruption can cause chaos.

When the Covid-19 virus created panicked buying at grocery stores around the country, suddenly consumers couldn’t find toilet paper, paper towels, canned soup, tuna, rice, or cleaning products. As a result of those empty grocery store shelves, the public came to understand the importance of supply chain management in our every day lives.

What is a Supply Chain?

A supply chain is a complex and interconnected system that begins with business strategists forecasting or predicting consumer demand for goods and ends with products available for consumers to purchase. In between is a complex web of purchasers and negotiators managing raw materials and suppliers, information systems that manage inventory and data, transportation systems that move and distribute materials and goods between warehouses and retail operations, and retail stores stacking shelves and selling products to you, the consumer.

Supply chain optimization occurs when you manage this intricate, expansive network of suppliers, producers, vendors, warehouses, transportation networks, logistical partners, and retailers. This is the focus of the supply chain manager, the supply chain analyst, and other professionals in the field that deal with the wide range of responsibilities that keep the global supply chain humming along. Gaining the expertise you need to build a career in this dynamic field comes from a degree in supply chain management.

RIT’s Supply Chain Management Degree

RIT’s bachelor’s degree in supply chain management provides you with the knowledge needed to effectively develop, implement, and manage efficient global supplier systems in order to maximize customer value. Supply chain management coordinates a wide range of supply chain processes required of both businesses and business partners, including suppliers, to deliver products and services. You will gain a solid understanding of the areas needed to support supply chain management, such as supply chain strategies, logistics, information systems, lean/quality management, customer service, purchasing, negotiations, contracts, forecasting, inventory management, and project management. In addition to business operations, supply chain management plays a critical role in medical missions, disaster relief operations, and other types of service industries.

Supply Chain Courses

The degree in supply chain management includes foundational business courses in financial and management accounting, economics, marketing, business planning, and operations management. Supply chain management courses–in topics that include database management systems, enterprise systems, managing supplier relations, logistics in supply chain management, and Lean Six Sigma fundamentals–prepare you for a range of dynamic careers in the field. You’re free to select elective courses that round out your degree and add in-depth study within supply chain management. Elective courses include cross-cultural management, exporting and global sourcing, business intelligence, and negotiations and decision making, to name a few.

Furthering Your Education In Supply Chain Management

Today’s careers require advanced degrees grounded in real-world experience. RIT’s Combined Accelerated Bachelor’s/Master’s Degrees enable you to earn both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in as little as five years of study, all while gaining the valuable hands-on experience that comes from co-ops, internships, research, study abroad, and more.

• +1 MBA Early Acceptance Pathway: Successful RIT applicants who are offered admission into the BS degree in supply chain management as an incoming first-year student may also be offered conditional early acceptance into the +1 MBA Early Acceptance Pathway. This option enables you to earn both your BS degree and an MBA in as little as five years of study. Learn how the +1 MBA Early Acceptance Pathway can help you add a competitive advantage to your studies.
• +1 MBA: Students who enroll in a qualifying undergraduate degree have the opportunity to add an MBA to their bachelor’s degree after their first year of study, depending on their program. Learn how the +1 MBA can accelerate your learning and position you for success.

Careers and Cooperative Education

Typical Job Titles

• Supply Chain Analyst
• Purchasing Specialist
• Sourcing Analyst
• Operations Manager
• Procurement Associate
• Logistics Analyst

Industries

• Government (Local, State, Federal)
• Management Consulting
• Oil and Gas
• Transportation and Logistics
• Higher Education

Cooperative Education

What’s different about an RIT education? It’s the career experience you gain by completing cooperative education and internships with top companies in every single industry. You’ll earn more than a degree. You’ll gain real-world career experience that sets you apart. It’s exposure–early and often–to a variety of professional work environments, career paths, and industries.

Co-ops take your knowledge and turn it into know-how. Business co-ops provide hands-on experience that enables you to apply your knowledge of business, management, finance, accounting, and related fields in professional settings. You'll make valuable connections between course work and real-world applications as you build a network of professional contacts.

Students in the supply chain management degree are required to complete at least one block of cooperative education.

Featured Work and Profiles

• Research Insights: Variety’s Not Always the Spice of Life
• Research Insights: Storms on the Horizon
• Research Insights: Follow the Leader—or Not
• Wegmans, Rochester, NY
• BMW, Spartanburg, SC

Curriculum for Supply Chain Management BS

Supply Chain Management, BS degree, typical course sequence

• First Year
  • ACCT-110: Financial Accounting
  • ACCT-210: Management Accounting
  • BANA-255: Data Literacy, Analytics, and Decision Making
  • ECON-101: Principles of Microeconomics
  • ECON-201: Principles of Macroeconomics
  • MATH-161: Applied Calculus
  • MGIS-130: Information Systems & Technology
  • MGMT-101: Business 1: Introduction to Business Communication, Planning, and Analysis
  • MGMT-102: Business 2: Business Planning and Professional Development
  • STAT-145: Introduction to Statistics I
  • YOPS-10: RIT 365: RIT Connections
• Second Year
  • COMM-253: Communication
  • DECS-310: Operations Management
  • DECS-435: Supply Chain Management Fundamentals
  • INTB-225: Global Business Environment
  • MKTG-230: Principles of Marketing
  • MGMT-215: Organizational Behavior
  • SCBI-035: Careers in Business
  • STAT-146: Introduction to Statistics II
• Third Year
  • DECS-499: Decision Science Co-op (Summer)
  • FINC-220: Financial Management
  • INTB-315: Exporting and Global Sourcing
  • MGMT-340: Business Ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility
• Fourth Year
  • DECS-445: Managing Supplier Relations
  • DECS-550: Supply Chain Management Capstone (WI-PR)
  • ISEE-582: Lean Six Sigma Fundamentals
  • MGMT-560: Strategic Management

Supply Chain Management Electives

• DECS-350: Project Management
• INTB-300: Cross-Cultural Management
• INTB-550: Competing Globally
• ISEE-626: Lean System Design
• MGIS-355: Business Intelligence
• MGIS-450: Enterprise Systems
• MGMT-450: Negotiations and Decision-Making

Admissions and Financial Aid

First-Year Admission

First-year applicants are expected to demonstrate a strong academic background that includes:

• 4 years of English
• 3 years of social studies and/or history
• 3 years of math is required and must include algebra, geometry, and algebra 2/trigonometry. Pre-calculus is preferred.
• 2-3 years of science

Transfer Admission

Transfer applicants should meet these minimum degree-specific requirements:

• A minimum of college algebra is required. Pre-calculus or calculus is preferred.

Financial Aid and Scholarships

100% of all incoming first-year and transfer students receive aid.

RIT’s personalized and comprehensive financial aid program includes scholarships, grants, loans, and campus employment programs. When all these are put to work, your actual cost may be much lower than the published estimated cost of attendance.

Accreditation

Saunders College of Business undergraduate and graduate programs are fully accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) International, the premier accrediting organization for business schools. Less than 5 percent of the institutions granting business degrees have received this accreditation.

Program Outline

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