First Cohort Graduates, Celebrates ISM Approved Master's

Eleven supply management professionals are the first to complete the ISM Approved Master of Science in Supply Chain Management (MS-SCM), granted by the University of San Diego (USD) School of Business Administration. Graduating students delivered project presentations, showing significant cost savings and process improvements, on March 18-19, followed by a graduation ceremony on March 20. Graduates come from the following companies: Biogen Idec; The Boeing Company; Milestone IT Solutions, Inc.; ModusLink Global Solutions, Inc.; Northrop Grumman Corporation; Salt River Project; United Launch Alliance, LLC.; and WD-40 Company.

The ISM Approved MS-SCM program combines state-of-the-art online learning with face-to-face instruction over 26 months. Students spend 11 days each year on the USD campus working intensively with faculty and their co-learners. The March 2010 graduates embarked on their studies in February 2008, as part of a larger cohort that began a two-phase program.

"These graduates are in a class by themselves, as the first students in the first graduate-level program to receive ISM approval," says ISM CEO Paul Novak, CPSM, C.P.M., A.P.P. "The interdisciplinary nature of the specialized master's degree rewards professionals for their commitment to lifelong learning and allows them to forge strong professional networks — both of which are major components to career success and advancement."

MS-SCM Program Director and Professor Simon Croom, Ph.D., underlies the value of the program to companies. "Throughout the program, our graduates develop the capabilities that help their firms to reduce costs, bring products to market more quickly and develop new systems to compete successfully in today's global economy," Croom says.

Students have the option to complete Phase I of the program, achieving a Graduate Certificate in Supply Chain Management. Most students chose to matriculate into Phase II to complete the ISM Approved MS-SCM. The 17th cohort of the ISM Approved program began on USD's campus earlier this month. The next group will begin September 15, 2010. Enrollment requirements for the MS-SCM can be found on the University of San Diego School of Business Administration Web site at www.sandiego.edu/msscm.

The ISM Approved MS-SCM is the only U.S. degree that is accredited by the Chartered Institute for Purchasing and Supply (CIPS).

About Institute for Supply Management™ (ISM)
As the largest supply management institute in the world, the mission of Institute for Supply Management™ (ISM) is to lead supply management. By executing and extending its mission through education, research, standards of excellence, influence building and information dissemination — including the renowned monthly ISM Report On Business^® — ISM continues to extend the global impact of supply management. ISM is a not-for-profit membership association serving more than 40,000 supply management professionals in 75 countries. ISM offers credentialing to professionals around the world with the Certified Professional in Supply Management^® (CPSM^®) qualification. ISM is a member of the International Federation of Purchasing and Supply Management (IFPSM).

About University of San Diego
The University of San Diego is a Catholic institution of higher learning chartered in 1949; the school enrolls some 7,800 undergraduate and graduate students and is known for its commitment to teaching, the liberal arts, the formation of values and community service. The fall 2007 establishment of the Joan B. Kroc School of Peace Studies brings the University's total number of schools and colleges to six. Other academic divisions include the College of Arts and Sciences and the schools of Business Administration, Leadership and Education Sciences, Law and Nursing and Health Sciences.

About the University of San Diego

The University of San Diego sets the standard for an engaged, contemporary Catholic university where innovative Changemakers confront humanity’s urgent challenges. With more than 9,000 students from 69 countries and 50 states, USD is the youngest independent institution on the U.S. News & World Report list of top 100 universities in the United States. The university's eight academic divisions include the College of Arts and Sciences, the School of Business, the Shiley-Marcos School of Engineering, the School of Law, the School of Leadership and Education Sciences, the Hahn School of Nursing and Health Science, the Joan B. Kroc School of Peace Studies, and the Division of Professional and Continuing Education. USD's Envisioning 2024 strategic plan capitalizes on the university’s recent progress and aligns new strategic goals with current strengths to help shape a vision for the future as the university looks ahead to its 75th anniversary in the year 2024.