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Gartner ranks NC State Jenkins MBA program number 15 in Supply Chain

The graduate supply chain program at NC State University has been ranked number 15 by Gartner in its recently released “Top U.S. Supply Chain Graduate University Programs for 2014.”

Gartner's rankings, prepared to provide information for practitioners in the supply chain industry, are based mainly on two factors: Gartner's own evaluation of the curriculum and the success of graduates in the job market, measured by employer surveys and salaries. 

The NC State program, one of the concentrations in the Jenkins MBA program in the NC State Poole College of Management, was among the biggest forward movers, advancing seven places since the ranking was last published. It also was among those scoring highest for internships and work experience exposure. (Read Gartner's full graduate supply chain rankings report.)

Leading the 2014 graduate supply chain program rankings was Penn State, followed by Michigan State and the University of Tennessee. NC State was the only North Carolina-based program listed in the top 25. 

“This is great news, considering that NC State’s business college is (just over) 20 years old – Poole College was established in 1992 – and its supply chain program even younger,” wrote Robert Handfield, Bank of America University Distinguished Professor of Supply Chain Management, in his blog, “Supply Chain View from the Field.”

The blog is posted on the Poole College-based Supply Chain Resource Cooperative (SCRC) website. Handfield is executive director of the SCRC, which is comprised of supply chain and operations faculty in the college’s Department of Business Administration and nearly two dozen industry partners who provide applied learning, practicum and internship experiences for Poole College graduate and undergraduate supply chain management students. The SCRC also hosts biannual meetings with its industry partners, students and faculty for industry updates, student projects reports and networking. The SCRC also manages annual scholarships for qualifying graduate students in supply chain management.

“I am very proud of our faculty and course instructors for the incredible job they have done,” Handfield said. The headline on his blog post about the rankings captures his excitement: “#15 in 15 years … not bad!”

Handfield also noted several key trends among top-ranked programs in the Gartner report:

  • Universities are broadening their supply chain curricula to reflect the reality of today’s supply chain organizations. NC State engages top corporate partners to develop projects across a wide variety of different areas, including market intelligence, logistics, inventory, value stream mapping, cost management, supply management, transportation, performance metrics, and others.
  • Students are increasingly participating in applied project work—through internships and co-ops—often for sponsoring companies, on-site and in the classroom.  During the 2013-2014 academic year, the NC State SCRC deployed 56 graduate and undergraduate practicum teams working with business and industry partners.
  • Supply chain management programs are growing in number and enrollment. NC State has realized an increasing number of top-quality students enrolling in MBA and undergraduate management programs.
  • Supply chain management graduates from high-quality programs are landing job offers with higher salaries than many of their peers focused on other management functions. Forty percent of the May 2014 graduates of the NC State Jenkins Full-time MBA program had completed supply chain management concentrations, and supply chain full-time salaries were among the highest.

Poole College undergraduate supply chain in top 25

Gartner previously announced its 2014 ranking of top U.S. undergraduate supply chain management programs; Poole College undergraduate program was ranked number 24. (Read Gartner's full undergraduate supply chainrankings report.

About the NC State Supply Chain Resource Cooperative (SCRC)

The Supply Chain Resource Cooperative (SCRC) is a unique, industry-university partnership dedicated to advancing the supply chain industry and the professionalism of its practitioners. Based in the Poole College of Management at NC State University in North Carolina’s dynamic Research Triangle area, the SCRC provides support, services and programs to benefit three overlapping constituent groups: supply chain management students, Poole College of Management SCM faculty, and corporate partners from diverse businesses and industries.