UT’s Haslam College of Business has the third most prestigious undergraduate supply program in the nation, according to Gartner, a leading industry research company.
UT held the same position in Gartner’s last ranking, released in 2014. Pennsylvania State University ranked first while Michigan State University second.
“We are honored by this recognition and proud of the impact our faculty and students are having on the industry,” said Steve Mangum, dean and Stokely Foundation Leadership Chair. “Through the leadership of our faculty and the capabilities of our students, we are helping companies across the nation design their supply chains for the future.”
Gartner ranked fifty-nine universities nationwide on program scope, industry value, and program size, gathering data through surveys and interviews of industry professionals and academics. The company highlighted program size as being particularly important because of continued demand for talent within the field.
“We’re struck by the growth of the major, the caliber of students we meet and the sobering realization that even though we are seeing much larger volumes of supply chain graduates, demand still far outstrips supply,” Gartner’s representatives stated in the report.
On average, undergraduate enrollment in supply chain programs has increased 43 percent since 2008, and 93 percent of students have jobs within three months of graduation, according to Gartner.
UT tied with several schools for the second highest score for program size and was also second place on Gartner’s industry value metric, which is measured by student internships and average starting salaries. It held the sole top score for program scope.
“Our main focus as a department for the past several years has been to develop a broad, integrated supply chain curriculum that truly gives students a widened perspective on the field,” said Chad Autry, head of the marketing and supply chain management department. “This ranking demonstrates that we are achieving that goal.”
Gartner reports that supply chain programs are much more prevalent than in the past, but notes that the nomenclature alone does not denote progress to a full-scope perspective of the industry.
“Even though the name of the program has changed to ‘supply chain,’ the curriculum may still reflect a more narrow view,” according to industry analysis offered in the report.
UT also was well above the national average for gender diversity among professors. More than a third of UT’s supply chain faculty is female, compared to Gartner’s national average of 22 percent.
The supply chain programs in UT’s Haslam College of Business are consistently ranked in the top 10 nationally by Gartner, U.S. News and World Report, SCM World, and Supply Chain Management Review.
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CONTACT:
Katie Bahr (865-974-3589, katiebahr@utk.edu)
Tyra Haag (865-974-5460, tyra.haag@tennessee.edu)