Operations & Supply
Chain Management

Career potential

Professionals in operations and supply chain management focus on the activities directly related to the creation of goods and services - the output of an organization. Operations and supply chain management is required in manufacturing and service industries, in government, and in nonprofit organizations to plan and schedule the effective use of organizational resources.

By choosing to study operations and supply chain management, you may become a purchasing manager, managing the effective and efficient supply of resources needed for your company to function. You may become a quality control manager, ensuring that the product your company manufactures is acceptable before it becomes available to the general public. Quality control managers may be employed by companies that provide services rather than goods, such as overnight mail and package delivery companies, airlines, cruise ship lines and other tourism businesses, and hospitals.

You may work for a manufacturing company as a director of manufacturing or a materials manager. As a director of inventory control or a special projects manager, you could work for manufacturing and service businesses. It's also possible for you to be the manager of a plant or other facility.

UNT's Career Center can help you prepare to pursue your career. The center has information about jobs and employers, and the staff can help you with resume and letter writing, job search strategies and interview preparation.

Majoring in Operations and Supply Chain Management

The operations and supply chain management discipline consists of various areas dealing with the design, operation and control of production systems and subsystems.

As an operations and supply chain management major, you may study purchasing and materials management, production forecasting and scheduling, methods of managing a project from start to finish, production objectives, planning and control, quality control, and the science behind effective management.

In addition, you may study international business operations and management of working capital for the manufacture and distribution of a product.

Faculty members in the Department of Management have a strong commitment to high-quality teaching. Two faculty members have been named Regents Professors for outstanding teaching and research. Regents Professors devote at least half of their teaching load to introductory-level classes. Two faculty members received the President's Council University Teaching Award, and another was awarded the Shelton Excellence in Teaching Award.

Getting hands-on experience

Upon completion of 12 semester hours at UNT with at least a 2.5 GPA, you may work in a job related to your area of study through UNT's Cooperative Education and Internships office. You may earn academic credit and money and gain valuable work experience.

Co-op employers pay extremely well, and the jobs usually last several semesters, often until graduation. More than 1,800 employers work with the office to provide excellent learning opportunities, many of which become permanent full-time positions upon graduation. The office also assists with placing students in internships, which last for one full semester or summer.

Preparing for UNT

If you are a high school student, we suggest you prepare for college by becoming computer proficient and taking:

• English … 4 years
• Math … 4 years
• Social science — economics, geography, government, history … 4 years
• Science … 3 years
• Foreign language … 3 years
• Fine arts … 1 year

You will need to take courses in most of these subjects under the university core curriculum required of all undergraduates, in addition to your major courses. Talk with your high school counselor about preparing for college, including the entrance exams (SAT Reasoning Test or ACT) that you should take during your junior year.

To prepare for study in operations and supply chain management, take accounting and statistics courses in high school.

As a benefit for transfer students, UNT participates in the Texas Common Course Numbering System. This system makes it easier to transfer credits for general academic courses from one Texas institution to another.

If you're attending a Texas community college, you should consult the UNT Transfer Guide, the UNT Undergraduate Catalog and an academic advisor/counselor to discuss your degree plan. Proper planning will help you receive the maximum amount of transfer credits.

You may declare your intention to study operations and supply chain management immediately upon enrolling at UNT.

Charting your path with academic advising

Once you declare operations and supply chain management as your field of study, you will receive one-on-one academic counseling and advising from the professional field director in the Department of Management. This will allow you to stay on track for graduation and to know how to structure your curriculum to achieve your career goals. The department office is in the Business Administration Building, Room 315. The program director is Richard E. White. Contact him at 940-565-3036 or by e-mail at white@unt.edu.

Curious about courses and other features of this major?
See the current catalog.