Academic Experience
The University of Washington online Master of Supply Chain Transportation & Logistics is for working professionals who want to stand out and advance their careers in supply chain transportation and logistics. This program is also a great fit for business systems analysts, process analysts, project managers or anyone interested in transportation or logistics consulting.
Curriculum
The Master of Supply Chain Transportation & Logistics program prepares graduates for leadership roles in the evolving global supply chain field. You’ll gain the strategic insight, technical expertise and hands-on experience you need to drive innovation, lead digital transformation and solve high-impact supply chain problems.
What You’ll Learn
As a student in this degree program, you’ll learn skills you can use to solve real-world supply chain problems with industry-standard tools, AI-driven technologies, analytics, logistics and executive communication:
- Define and scope complex supply chain problems, assess business impact, and drive executive-level decision-making.
- Develop strategies for improving enterprise-wide planning, including assessing planning models like chase vs. level production.
- Align cross-functional teams to meet customer-centric goals and deliver results at scale.
- Lead the communication of value and ROI to senior leaders to secure support for supply chain strategies.
- Explore how AI, autonomous robotics, and predictive analytics are reshaping modern supply chains.
- Learn how to build and deploy AI tools, including LLMs and custom GPTs for financial modeling, optimization and decision support.
- Understand the impacts of digital innovations on supply chain resilience, growth and sustainability.
- Develop expertise in automation and AI applications for forecasting, risk management and operational efficiency.
- Conduct financial analyses, including ROI, resource allocation, and net present value (NPV) calculation to support business cases.
- Assess risk and develop actionable mitigation plans using structured risk matrices.
- Design and implement performance management systems with clearly defined KPIs and targets.
- Model and forecast financial and operational risks to develop resilient supply chain strategies.
- Understand freight strategy and operations across tactical, strategic and real-time planning horizons.
- Analyze and optimize logistics networks, from distribution strategies to performance monitoring and KPIs.
- Evaluate tools and technologies for freight planning and transport management, including automation, routing and 3PL/4PL/5PL operations.
- Model, analyze and recommend sustainable freight transport solutions that balance cost, customer satisfaction and corporate goals.
- Gain hands-on experience with Tableau, Excel, SQL, Python and data warehouse tools for data analysis and visualization.
- Learn to create compelling data visualizations that communicate insights effectively across business teams.
- Apply data analysis and visualization techniques to solve complex supply chain challenges and inform strategic decisions.
- Optimize supply chain planning, demand forecasting and inventory management using leading-edge tools.
- Analyze and visualize operations with Excel, Python, SQL and Tableau to support real-time decision-making.
- Build and apply forecasting models, including Triple Exponential Smoothing, to improve accuracy and efficiency.
- Design and implement performance dashboards to monitor supply chain health and drive data-based decisions.
- Use tools like Excel Solver and Gurobi to model and solve optimization problems across the supply chain.
- Improve inventory flow and fulfillment processes across multi-location systems for cost efficiency and responsiveness.
- Quantify the value of collaborative planning between buyers and suppliers for better inventory management.
- Develop pitches that address business problems, quantify value and secure executive buy-in.
- Use tools like whiteboarding software and video presentations to effectively communicate complex ideas to stakeholders to drive engagement.
- Tailor business narratives to decision-makers, focusing on ROI, impact and strategic alignment.
- Model and evaluate sustainable logistics systems that optimize cost, environmental impact and customer satisfaction.
- Understand the role of sustainability in supply chain strategies and how to balance competing priorities.
- Lead a real-world supply chain problem from vision through execution, including business case development, timeline management and risk assessment.
- Create and present a 10-slide executive pitch summarizing your project, showcasing your ability to communicate complex ideas to senior leadership.
- Demonstrate your leadership, technical expertise and strategic thinking in a project presentation.
Program Format
The UW Master of Supply Chain Transportation & Logistics is a flexible, 43-credit program that can be completed in two years of part-time study, or in one year, if desired.
The program begins with the Residency Weekend in Seattle. Students take the first course SCTL 501: Introduction to Supply Chain Transportation & Logistics and have the opportunity to engage with peers and become familiar with UW resources.
The program continues online with one course per quarter for eight quarters. All students complete the same courses in a defined sequence, moving through the curriculum as a close-knit group known as a cohort. Courses include live online classes supplemented by recorded materials and self-study modules that can be completed at any time. Students have the option to double up and finish the program in one year.
Practicum
You’ll gain hands-on experience by tackling a real logistics or transportation challenge of your choosing. The practicum project gives you the opportunity to apply the knowledge you’ll gain in the program to solve a contemporary supply chain problem.
