An academic career in supply chain management (SCM) focuses on the creation and dissemination of research. A supply chain consists of suppliers/vendors, manufacturers, distributors, and retailers interconnected by transportation, information and financial infrastructure with an objective of providing value to the end consumer in terms of products and services, and for each channel participant to garner a profit in doing so. A supply chain also requires financial and information flows between channel members. Managing all these flows effectively and efficiently requires a systems approach to successfully identify, analyze and coordinate the interactions among the entities. Integrated management of these flows given the often-conflicting objectives of the channel members and the continuously evolving dynamic structure is the main focus of SCM. Supply chain core areas include logistics, operations management, supply and distribution management.

The PhD program is designed as a full-time in-person degree program to train students for academic faculty positions at leading research universities. After degree completion, students will be able to identify supply chain research problems that are managerially relevant, analyze them in a scholarly way and provide solutions for addressing them. This training is accomplished through the doctoral seminars, research methodology courses and completion of research projects and a dissertation. Students are also prepared to assume the role of educators by serving as instructional/teaching assistants and course instructors and faculty mentorship.