Developing Master's Program In Logistics & Transportation

Document Type

Conference Proceeding

Publication Date

6-26-2016

Abstract

Logistics & transportation is one of the fastest growing disciplines in the U.S. and around the world due to the important role of logistics in businesses. Nowadays, companies compete logistically compared to traditional view of providing superior products or services. Companies cannot attain competitive advantage unless their logistics and transportation professionals, irrespective of their functional orientation and current job responsibilities, fundamentally understand the dynamics of how products move from one place to another. A well designed graduate program in this area can produce graduates who can handle the job. The issue is that the number of graduates in this field is not meeting the current industry demand. Many U.S. Universities have recently developed and are planning to develop graduate degree programs in this area. This research (funded by the U.S. Department of Transportation) analyzed the need and identified best practices in logistics and transportation graduate education. In developing a master's program in logistics & transportation, one of the keys was to identify existing programs related to this area and know what makes them successful. Lessons learned from those programs can provide great insights to sustain the program. In the process of developing a master's in logistics, trade and transportation, we conducted a comprehensive analysis in identifying similar programs in the U.S. While compiling a comprehensive list of thirty two Universities, we contacted them either by phone or email in order to provide responses to our survey questions about their graduate level logistics & transportation degree programs. At the time of this writing, twenty of these Universities have provided responses to those survey questions. Of those twenty Universities who responded, 7 of them mentioned online learning and flexible class options as a benefit to working professionals. 6 of them cited location as a benefit to their programs, 9 of them stated that their relationships with government organizations and major corporations as a benefit and 2 of them stated that the reputation and legacies of their Universities as a benefit to students. In general, it seems that the structure of graduate level programs in logistics & transportation are focused on working professionals and built around a focused curriculum. This focused curriculum means that most of these programs can be completed in 2 years or less. Another trend noticed was that most of these programs are non-thesis Masters Programs, with only a few requiring a capstone project. Although not conclusive from this data we can see that in general, the graduate degree programs offered in logistics & transportation have a heavy focus on workplace readiness by encouraging interaction with relevant corporations and by helping working professionals to further advance their careers in the logistics & transportation fields.

Publication Title

ASEE Annual Conference and Exposition, Conference Proceedings

Volume

2016-June

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