Los Angeles MBA Programs that Specialize in Supply Chain Management
As businesses grow and develop, it’s up to supply chain managers, or SCMs, to effectively ensure that all goods and services are delivered in a quick, optimized manner.
SCMs are the logistical overlords of any major operation—they oversee how all the parts of their product, including raw materials, information, and finance, move from supplier, to manufacturer, to wholesaler, to retailer, and finally to the consumer.
As more and more MBA students and graduates find employment as SCMs, more business school have added courses and concentrations in supply chain management, including some top business schools in the Los Angeles metro.
If you’re a prospective MBA in the City of Angeles, take this deeper dive into these LA metro MBA programs.
The Best Los Angeles Supply Chain Management MBA Programs
Anderson School of Management – UCLA
While the UCLA Anderson School of Management doesn’t offer a concentration or major in supply chain management, related coursework is recommended for MBAs on the consulting specialization, including 240F – Supply Chain Management. The course is taught by Chris Tang, UCLA Distinguished Professor and Edward W. Carter Chair in Business Administration. Tang is a foremost scholar on supply chain management, having published more than 100 articles and five books.
The course explains how supply chains work and how to deal with many of their strategic and tactical challenges. Topics covered in the class include:
- Issues and opportunities brought by the Internet and the rise of e-business
- Instabilities caused by inadequate information-sharing
- Outsourcing
- Strategic alliances
Graziadio School of Business and Management – Pepperdine University
The Graziadio School of Business and Management offers not only one, but two specialized MBA programs that offer supply chain coursework: the Digital Innovation & Information Systems MBA and the Full-Time Applied Analytics MBA.
The Digital Innovation & Information Systems MBA is available to 15 and 20-Month MBA students and focuses on bridging the gap between business and technology. All electives in this program are offered in a blended learning format with one elective course scheduled per 7-week period and requires two Saturdays of on-campus class sessions at the West Los Angeles Graduate Campus, with the remaining coursework offered online. Related coursework includes DESC 634 – Supply Chain Management.
The Full-Time Applied Analytics MBA is an immersive program that prepares students through a core curriculum is built around Decision Sciences and Information Systems and Technology Management, with Global Business and elective course requirements to round out your education, such as DESC 627 – Supply Chain Management Analytics. The class places a strong emphasis on the development and use of analytics-based models to illustrate the underlying concepts involved in both intra-and inter-firm logistics operations.
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Loyola Marymount University – College of Business Administration
The Loyola Marymount University College of Business Administration offers a Purchasing and Supply Chain Management Online Training Program. While not an MBA program or part of a graduate degree program, this online certificate program teaches fundamental aspects of the supply chain environment, including enterprise resource planning systems, requirement systems, interrelationships between purchasing, vendor selection, sources of supply, and more. This program is a good choice for those looking for project management experience.
Marshall School of Business – USC
Similarly to Marymount, the USC Marshall School of Business offers a graduate certificate program in Optimization and Supply Chain Management. Offered in partnership with the Viterbi School of Engineering, the program focuses on areas such as product introduction, strategic procurement, outsourcing, logistics and distribution, information technology and its role in managing global supply chains, and supply chain optimization. Units earned in the process of completing the certificate can usually be applied to an MBA degree and successful completion of the graduate certificate is documented on the graduate’s USC transcript and acknowledged with a certificate (diploma) issued by the University of Southern California.
Peter F. Drucker and Masatoshi Ito Graduate School of Management – Claremont Graduate University
The Peter F. Drucker and Masatoshi Ito Graduate School of Management offers supply chain management as an area of concentration for their MBA program. Students on this track explore concepts of supply chain management while learning to leverage technologies like big data, analytics, optimization, and geospatial systems.
Drucker is also home to the Center for Supply Chain & Logistics. After launching in 2015, the Center has partnered with business, government, trade, and policy leaders to enhance the performance of supply chains globally and the economic performance of the region. Partnership with companies like Toyota have created wonderful opportunities for students, such as the Toyota Women of Achievement Scholars program, which aims to create the future of supply chain by empowering women to take the lead in this vital field. The fellowship provides female scholars with a top notch education and formal mentor programs with other women leaders and career guidance to make the most of their degrees.
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Part-Time MBA Battle: Los Angeles vs. San Diego
When someone decides to pursue an MBA, there are a lot of decisions to make. From choosing between full-time and part-time programs and deciding on the perfect city in which to launch your business career, there are a lot of factors to take into consideration.
For prospective MBA students who want to maintain the momentum of their career—rather than take a break for the degree—and earn all the benefits and job growth of an MBA while preserving flexibility, a part-time MBA program may be perfect. But even when you’ve settled on the type of degree you’d like to receive, choosing where to pursue that degree can be a challenge.
It’s well-known that the Golden State has a number of business centers—even outside of the famous Silicon Valley and San Francisco—and can be the perfect place for someone to earn a degree or start their business career. With excellent part-time MBA programs in business hubs like San Diego and Los Angeles, it can be difficult for students to figure out the city and program that is perfect for them.
San Diego
Although San Francisco is well known around the world as a hub for startups, it was ultimately San Diego that took the top spot on Forbes‘ list of the “Best Cities to Start a Business.” Rated the fifth-best business community in the country, San Diego’s community of entrepreneurs has been growing exponentially in recent years.
Some businesses may be concerned about San Diego’s high real estate prices or high taxes for businesses. Yet, with a comparatively low cost of living—in contrast to New York or San Francisco—the benefits for a business (especially a new one) in San Diego may far outweigh any concerns.
There are three main part-time MBA programs in San Diego: the Rady School of Management at UC San Diego; the California School of Management & Leadership at Alliant University; and the Fowler College of Business Administration at SDSU.
Rady’s part-time MBA, better known as the Flex MBA, is the top-rated part-time program in the metro area. Students can complete the program on two distinct paths: the FlexWeekend track or the FlexEvening track. FlexEvening students attend classes on two nights per week over the course of 30 months, while FlexWeekend students attend classes on Fridays and Saturdays on alternative weekends. Unlike the FlexEvening option, however, this FlexWeekend path can be completed in 24 months, while still offering flexibility around professional work schedules.
At the California School of Management & Leadership, the MBA program requires students to take a full course load but offers the schedule and flexibility of a part-time program. Providing a strong foundation in business, leadership, and analytical skills, Alliant’s program can be taken either on campus in San Diego or completely online. The courses are entirely offered in the evening and all scheduling is done in consideration of working professionals. Even with the incredibly flexible schedule, however, students will take a full course load of two courses per eight-week term and therefore can still complete their degree in just two years. The program also allows students a number of concentrations to further focus their education.
At the Fowler College of Business, the part-time MBA requires students to complete 15 classes (or 45 units) total, but allows students three-to-four years to complete their degree, rather than just one or two. Classes are typically offered during evening hours and allow students to continue in full-time jobs. The program requires 15-21 units of core courses as part of the degree, but also permits students to use their additional elective credits to focus in a concentration such as international business, accounting and more.
Los Angeles
While it might seem like the film industry dominates the LA metro, it is also a vibrant and growing city for business, tech, and entrepreneurship. Between the diversity of the city, which brings together people from around the world, and a population bursting with creativity, it can be a perfect place for people to show off their talents, and that just might be in marketing, sales, or getting a new company off the ground. Many of the most successful companies in the country have had their start in Los Angeles, such as CitySearch (sold to Ticketmaster for $260 million) or LowerMyBills (sold to Experian for $330).
Several part-time MBA programs in Los Angeles include:
- Peter F. Drucker and Masatoshi Ito Graduate School of Management – Claremont Graduate University
- Graziadio School of Business and Management – Pepperdine University
- Marshall School of Business – USC
The Drucker and Masatoshi Ito Graduate School of Management offers a part-time MBA program for working professionals which takes roughly two and a half years to complete and includes two sessions over the summer. The part-time program is similar to full-time, offering classes that provide a strong business foundation such as Quantitative Methods and Marketing Management or Managerial Accounting. Students can still be active in the workforce while earning their degree, but if they have time away from their jobs they can also pursue study abroad in countries like China, New Zealand, or the Czech Republic.
The Graziado School at Pepperdine’s part-time MBA is available to students either on-campus, online, or a combination of the two. The program can also be pursued at any of Pepperdine’s four campus locations in the Los Angeles metro area. The program consists of 52 semester units with the opportunity to specialize electives in areas such as Dispute Resolution or Organizational Change.
The part-time MBA at USC’s Marshall School of Business allows students to take classes only in the evenings and weekends, and can be completed in 33 months. The credits are evenly split between elective and core courses with the option of almost 100 elective courses offered ever year. After 12-months of core courses, all part-time students will also take PM.GLOBE, a semester-long macroeconomics class which also includes a 10-day international trip.
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