Master of Science in Management (MSM)

Master of Science in Management – Supply Chain (MSM-SC)

Campus Visit Days

Open House February 21, 2008

"Earning an MSM-SC degree was the best decision I have made in my life. Finding a job after graduation was made so much easier by Weatherhead's strong reputation. I landed an excellent job in the frozen foods industry where I regularly use analytical skills that I learned in the classroom, resulting in significant cost reductions across my company while improving customer service levels. I know that my time at Weatherhead will be critical to my career success."

Rosanyeling Rodriguez
MSM-SC, 2005
Hometown: Caracas, Venezuela

Undergraduate Institution and Degree: Catholic University Andres Bello, Industrial Engineering

Current Employer and Position: Yucatan Foods, Operations Manager

Today's global businesses depend on sophisticated supply chains -- suppliers, producers, vendors and consumers of goods and services -- that produce and distribute products and services quickly and economically to global markets. Such firms rely on managers who can develop creative and logical ways to make their supply chains more streamlined and efficient.

The MSM-SC degree is designed for individuals who have an undergraduate degree with quantitative training who aspire to obtain a mangement position in manufacturing, service or consulting firms that are part of sophisticated national or global supply chains.

Graduates of the program wil lunderstand the language of business, have the ability to interact with all parts of an organization, become agents of positive change, and be expected to assume significant management responsibilities within three years.

The ideal candidate

• Good communicators
• Individuals with a quantitative aptitude and an undergraduate degree with analytical training who want to apply their technical skills to solve real business challenges
• Business and economics majors who want to expand their managerial and quantitative skills and obtain a management position involving national or global supply chain operations in manufacturing, service or consulting firms an focus on solving supply chain problems

The Weatherhead advantage

• Completion by full-time students in 12 to 16 months and by part-time students in 24 to 36 months
• Exposure to business and managerial aspects of problem solving
• Small class sizes and personalized attention from faculty
• Networkign and teamwork with students from other programs
• Diverse mix of U.S. and international students
• Located in Cleveland, a manufacturing and service industry center

Employers of our graduates include:

Overview and curriculum

A student wishing to obtain an MSM-SC degree from the Department of Operations at Case Western Reserve University must fulfill the 36 credit hour requirements in Section I.  Section II addresses other administrative issues pertaining to the program. This program is normally completed in 18 months; however, the program can be completed in 12 months with careful planning in advance (which may require starting in the summer term).

• Program Degree Requirements

A.  Prerequisite Knowledge

The courses in this program require a working knowledge of undergraduate calculus that includes single and multivariate differentiation and integration and one semester of undergraduate linear algebra.  Entering students are given an assessment exam just prior to the beginning of their first semester to determine their knowledge of the material in calculus and linear algebra used in our courses.  Students are counseled individually to identify topics in these areas that they need to review.

B.  Business Core (12 credit hours total)

The Business Core provides students with an introduction to major business principles and concepts and provides the necessary prerequisites for the Managerial courses in the Supply Chain Core (see Section C below). Specifically, the student should take the following four introductory MBA courses (offered every Fall and Spring semesters; some are offered in the Summer semester):

C.  Supply Chain Core (24 credit hours total)

The Supply Chain Core provides a solid grounding in the techniques of management science and supply chain management. Requirements include all of the following courses (which must be scheduled carefully due to prerequisites and when the courses are offered):

Administrative Issues

Exceptions to the Requirements

Exceptions to the rules set forth here can be addressed by written petition to the Committee on Graduate Programs.

B.  Course Waivers and Substitutions

A student who, prior to entering the MSM program, has appropriate background covering the material in a course, as determined by the Director of Graduate Programs, need not take that course here. For each such course, the student should:

• Complete a Course Waiver Form available from the Department Administrator.
• Determine, with an instructor of the course, that your knowledge of the material is at the same level and scope as the course taught in this department (usually evidenced with a similar course on their transcript).
• Obtain necessary signature(s).
• Submit the completed form to the Department Administrator.

Each such approved course reduces the 36 credit-hour requirement by 3 credit hours, up to a maximum reduction of 6 credit hours. When a student has prior knowledge of the material in more than 2 courses, each additional course must be replaced with an elective that is approved by the Director of Graduate Programs. Under no circumstances can a student take less than 30 credit hours to obtain the MSM degree.

C.  Residency Requirements

The student must complete a residency requirement consisting of a minimum of 30 credit hours of coursework through the Weatherhead School of Management.

D.  Graduation

A candidate for the MSM-SC degree awarded by the Weatherhead School of Management (WSOM) must apply to the Weatherhead Student Services (WSS) for the degree no later than two months before the commencement at which the degree is expected to be awarded.  Students should contact the WSS if they have any questions regarding the time or the requirements of graduation.