Gartner, Inc. has released the findings from its biennial Top 25 North American Supply Chain Undergraduate and Graduate Programs report. Fifty-two institutions in the U.S. and Canada participated in the undergraduate survey and 47 participated in the graduate survey.

The report is intended to support chief supply chain officers (CSCOs), heads of supply chain strategy and supply chain HR partners to identify the programs best equipped to support their growing talent needs.

“Looking at curriculum across undergraduate and graduate programs, we’ve seen growing interest in supply chain analytics, however, a decline in manufacturing focus,” said Dana Stiffler, distinguished VP analyst with the Gartner Supply Chain practice. “This is especially noticeable in supply chain M.B.A. degrees, with less than 50% of programs having significant manufacturing content, compared to 76% of programs two cycles ago in 2020.”

Among undergraduate programs, University of Arkansas maintained the No. 1 position (see Table 1). University of Tennessee, and University of South Carolina upheld their No. 2 and 3 positions, respectively. “The top three have retained their leadership positions in large part because of the program size and comprehensive curriculums,” noted Stiffler.

University of North Texas broke into the top five, jumping two spots to secure the No. 4 position. Rutgers University retained its position at the No. 5 spot for the fourth consecutive cycle. Several undergraduate university programs entered the Top 25 ranking for the first time in 2024, including Colorado State University, Georgia Southern University and Washington University, St. Louis. Notable programs rejoining the undergraduate rankings are University of Wisconsin, Madison, Howard University, Indiana University and Miami University, Ohio.

Table 1: Top 25 North American Undergraduate Supply Chain Programs

_{Source: Gartner (July 2024)}

For the graduate program ranking, University of Tennessee repeated in the No. 1 position (see Table 2). University of Arkansas, Rutgers University, University of Texas, Dallas and University of South Carolina round out the top five. Wayne State University and University of North Texas returned to the ranking and two programs, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, and Boston University, joined the ranking for the first time.

Table 2: Top 25 North American Graduate Supply Chain Programs

_{Source: Gartner (July 2024)}

Gartner clients can read more in: Top 25 North American Supply Chain Undergraduate University Programs, 2024 and Top 25 North American Supply Chain Graduate University Programs, 2024. Nonclients can view the webinar “Gartner 2024 Supply Chain University Top 25: Best Talent Sources” to learn more.

About the Gartner North American Supply Chain University Program Survey
Gartner sent out individualized request for information (RFI) links to supply chain program contacts at universities in the U.S. and Canada. In total, 52 undergraduate programs and 47 graduate programs provided complete RFI responses for degree programs. The final placement of university programs in Gartner’s relative comparison is based on a composite score of three categories: program scope, industry value and program size.

About the Gartner Supply Chain Practice
The Gartner Supply Chain Practice provides actionable, objective insights for supply chain leaders and their teams, so they can respond to disruption and innovate for the future through leading-edge supply chain management practices. Additional information is available at https://www.gartner.com/en/supply-chain. Follow news and updates from the Gartner Supply Chain Practice on LinkedIn and X using #GartnerSC. Visit the Supply Chain Newsroom for more information and insights.