In a move to supply the growing logistics industry in Columbus and around the nation, the Fisher College of Business and the Ohio State College of Engineering are partnering to create a new graduate degree.
Classes start this fall for the master’s of business logistics engineering degree, said Walter Zinn, the chairman coordinating the degree and associate professor of logistics at the College of Business.
“It’s a joint degree between the department of marketing and logistics and industrial welding and systems engineering,” Zinn said. “The program lasts nine to 15 months and it’s designed to get jobs in the vast logistics industry in Columbus and around the nation. This is one of the few in the country.”
The degree encompasses 12 courses that will be taught in both colleges, Zinn said. He will be teaching some of the classes.
Logistics involves product distribution, Zinn said, and deals with things like transportation, inventory management, warehouse management and information processing.
“Columbus is a very central city in the U.S. for product distribution,” Zinn said. “We have a number of companies looking for students with skills in logistics.”
He said that there are already some companies interested in knowing more about the program.
Students will be taught the quantitative methods in the college of engineering and will learn strong managerial skills in the college of business.
“The combination of the two make for a very versatile and knowledgeable student who will be very marketable,” Zinn said.
Mark Posner, full professor in the College of Engineering said “It’s designed to enable the student to solve real world logistics problems. Whenever you are shipping materials or products, these are logistics issues that need to be dealt with.”
Posner is the assistant chair of the program and he will teach engineering classes.
“Because the program is jointly sponsored by the business and engineering schools, the students not only get a very strong technical background but are also able to operate effectively in a business environment,” he said.
He said that Allen Miller, professor of industrial and systems engineering, helped marshal the degree through the university’s process of approval, along with representatives from the business school.
“The degree was in the works for a little less than a year,” Posner said. “It had to be approved by the departments involved and the two colleges, the University Office of Academic Affairs and the state’s board of regents.”
“Given the situation in central Ohio, with so many logistics companies and distribution centers headquartered here, it provides more specialized training,” he said.
