MSc Supply Chain Management

Course details

Delivery: online, part-time

Duration: two years

Start dates: Future start dates are to be confirmed.

Fees: £8,549 (flexible payment plans available)

Course overview

Fast-paced, competitive, dynamic. Logistics and supply chain management isn’t for the faint-hearted. But with accreditation from the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT), this online MSc sets you up for success.

At postgraduate level, gaining an intricate understanding of modern logistics and supply chains – from sourcing to delivery – is a given. To succeed in an increasingly disruptive commercial landscape, you need to go further. You need research-backed strategies, specialist practical skills, and an entrepreneurial mindset to develop effective and resilient supply chains. You need to be ready for whatever comes next.

But if the world is changing and supply chains are evolving, surely how we study them should too? That’s why here, we don’t just follow the supply chain from A to B.

By seamlessly integrating aspects of finance, global business and human resource management throughout this two-year course, you’ll view the supply chain as it is in the real world: one of many interrelated components within a huge, complex, and dynamic network. It’s this kind of big picture insight that will set you apart.

And we don’t stop there. Using UCLan’s position as a Preston Model anchor institution, we’ll examine the socio-economic impact supply chains can have on their local community. Covering some of today’s and tomorrow’s most pressing global issues, such as sustainability and digitalisation, you’ll hone a critical eye and a practical mindset.

Case studies from both manufacturing and service sectors root your theory firmly in the real world, and you’ll be encouraged to put your new skills and strategies into practice as you learn. The result? Become an ethical, agile, and creative solutions-focused supply chain manager, with a well-rounded understanding of your place within your organisation and the wider world, and the power to change it.

Accreditation

Our course is accredited by the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT) – a professional body for logistics, transport, and supply chain professionals, with more than 33,000 members worldwide. CILT accreditation signifies that we achieve the globally acknowledged benchmark for logistics and transport training to ensure our students excel. Graduating from our MSc means you’ll automatically meet the education requirements needed for CILT Chartered Membership (fees will be payable).

Flexible study

Learn from an engaging range of online resources, including live webinars and discussion forums, all available on demand, ready at the times that suit you.

Industry impact

Gain insights from academics and industry experts and apply your knowledge to your workplace in real time.

Cutting-edge content

Benefit from research by the Research Centre for Business, Management and Enterprise, Centre for SME and Enterprise Development, iROWE and professional bodies such as CILT.

Professional growth

Make the most of resources designed to strengthen your independent learning capabilities, so you can continue to develop your expertise, even after graduation.

Learning outcomes

Your employability is the driving force behind this postgraduate course. Throughout it, you’ll learn how to apply a wide range of internationally relevant skills and processes to establish yourself as an accomplished supply chain professional.

Complete the MSc in Supply Chain Management, and you’ll be able to:

Leverage your understanding of the interrelationships between the supply chain and other integral business functions to inform and enrich your own management practice, ultimately enhancing business operations as a whole.
Identify and evaluate areas for improvement within supply chains and implement the appropriate evidence-based strategies to provide ethical and responsible solutions within your current and future organisations.
Utilise a variety of research techniques to source and analyse data, trends, and theories more efficiently, synthesising your findings to creatively solve supply chain and wider business problems.
Gain diverse, international perspectives on everything from management best practice to the supply chain’s social, environmental and economic implications, giving you the global awareness to successfully create and maintain sustainable supply chains in organisations around the world.
See your education as a lifelong learning journey, building a clear plan to continue your professional development and meet your career goals.

Master the fundamental concepts of Supply Chain Management and discover its impact on the global economy. Focusing on digitalisation techniques and their application in a world where supply and demand is continually changing, gain strategic supply chain skills, and learn how to make effective, data-driven decisions in key areas, such as procurement and logistics.

People are at the heart of the supply chain. Yet despite their inextricable link, rarely are the two studied together. This module examines people management from a supply chain perspective, exploring the integral role the workforce plays within the chain and vice versa. You’ll uncover best practices, and critically explore the impact of societal factors including modern slavery, fair trade, and outsourcing.

What does international business mean today and what will it look like in the future? What role does money play in the success of the supply chain? And how can effective supply chain management impact finance? These are just some of the questions we’ll tackle in this module, whilst critically evaluating the frameworks and challenges faced by both international business and the financial system.

From ensuring safe working conditions to eradicating slave labour. From providing fair pay to responsible sourcing and procurement. Learn how to drive positive change within your organisation through ethical supply chain management. You’ll develop the theoretical, conceptual, and empirical skills to evaluate and then apply ethical, socially responsible, and environmentally conscious business practice, and discover the benefits this has on the organisation and beyond.

Now’s your chance to home in your interests whilst putting everything you’ve learnt to the test. Choose a real organisation to study – it could be your current workplace – with a supply chain you can really dive into. What issues does it face? What can it do better? How can you implement your newly acquired theories and strategies to provide that essential competitive edge?

Guided by your research supervisor, you’ll address a supply chain management-related question. Using appropriate research methods to gather data, you’ll analyse your findings, drawing conclusions, which you can ultimately apply to your own practice. This might be the final module of the programme, but it isn’t the end of your learning journey. You’ll leave with the skills and knowledge to last throughout your career, and a solid framework for continued lifelong learning and development.

Entry requirements

Applicants would normally hold at least a 2:2 degree or its equivalent in a related discipline.
Candidates with professional qualifications and/or work experience are considered on a case-by-case basis.
You can also explore using our accreditation of prior learning (APL) to claim credits that you can put towards your degree, based on the experience you currently hold.
If you don’t speak English as a first language you will need to hold a minimum IELTS score of 6.5 or an accepted equivalent.

Unsure if you have the right qualifications or experience? Don’t worry – we know it’s impossible to measure everyone’s capabilities in the same way.

If you’d like some advice regarding your eligibility, our Course Adviser team is here to help. You can reach them by phoning +44(0)1524 938 558 or emailing onlinestudy@uclan.ac.uk

How we teach

We offer an interactive mix of weekly webinars, forums, and learning activities to keep you engaged and challenged during your studies with us. However, you’ll also be given the freedom and flexibility to access these resources at your own time, to best fit your schedule.

To assist you with your studies, we have carefully curated an eBook with the most relevant essential reading for each core topic and module. In addition, we’ll provide guidance on how to identify, locate, and use the online material available in the library.

Guidelines for when you’ll be expected to produce essays, projects, and your Research Project will also be provided.

As this is a postgraduate course, you’ll be expected to demonstrate evidence of independently acquired knowledge. We’ll help you familiarise yourself with literature searching techniques to help you in this process.

How you're assessed

Throughout the programme there will be a combination of formative and summative assessments. There are no exams.

Formative assessments will typically involve tutor feedback on your presentations and other projects. Summative assessments will typically take place through essays and assessed coursework – your dissertation being one example.

Increased digitalisation and automation have triggered a rise in demand for qualified, future-focused supply chain professionals. This MSc provides you with a robust understanding of supply chains and their place in the wider environment, plus the hands-on strategies to put your knowledge into action. Our CILT accreditation will set you in great stead for success in the field.

Add to this an impressive toolkit of transferrable skills – communication, creative problem solving, critical thinking, time management, research and planning to name just a few.

The fully online, part-time nature of this programme allows you to prepare for your future success without sacrificing your current professional and personal commitments.

You’ll graduate with the power to create immediate and lasting impact within current and future roles, no matter your industry or area of interest.

Opportunities within the field are diverse, and vary depending on whether you choose to enter the industrial sector (where physical products and logistics play a key part in the chain) or the service sector (where you’ll mainly deal with software, online tools, and the flow of digital information).

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