MSc Supply Chain Management and Logistics

Detailed degree guide

Understanding, Knowledge and Cognitive Skills

Case studies will be used where students need to show that they can interpret data and relate those circumstances to the frameworks identified in the academic literature.

The dissertation will enable a student to undertake an in depth study in a selected area of the students choice where the relationship to current models needs to be established and findings used to verify or add to current knowledge.

• Knowledge that covers and integrates most of the main areas of the discipline, including their features, boundaries, terminology and conventions
• A critical understanding of the principal theories, principles and concepts
• A critical understanding of a range of specialised theories, principles and concepts
• Extensive, detailed and critical knowledge and understanding of one or more specialisms, informed largely by research-teaching linkages
• Critical awareness of current issues in research and knowledge creation within specialist areas of the discipline
• The development of original and creative responses to problems and issues associated with professional level practice and research.

Scholarship, Enquiry and Research (Research Informed Learning)

Students will be encouraged to work independently to complement the knowledge gained by reading, lecturers, programme work and a dissertation. Programmes in critical reading, literature reviews and research methods will be given to assist students to undertake work of scholarship.

The research output from the Logistics Research Centre will be incorporated into the taught curriculum e.g. Green Logistics and Supply Chain Risk and Adaptation

• Knowledge or understanding of the ways in which Logistics and Supply Chain Management is developed, including the implementation of emerging techniques of research and scholarly enquiry.
• Planning and execution of a significant project of research, development or investigation
• Demonstration of originality and creativity in applying knowledge and understanding to professional practice
• The use of a wide range of standard techniques and some specialist research (or equivalent) instruments in pursuing research led enquiry

Approaches to Teaching and Learning

The School is committed to enhancing the student learning experience through its approach to teaching and learning, which is derived from the University’s own Learning and Teaching Strategy.

In the first months of study, considerable emphasis is given to assisting students in the return to Higher Education through induction events. These introduce students to the different teaching methods that they will encounter: mostly lectures, workshops, lab work – as well as familiarising students with support services such as the library, computing services and the virtual learning environment. In this programme, considerable emphasis is placed on ensuring that this support meets the needs of foreign students, who are least likely to be familiar with the expectations of a British institution. In addition, the School is committed to providing a thorough grounding in scholarship skills at an appropriate level covering matters such as critical approaches to secondary texts and data, academic writing techniques, and reflective learning.

Throughout the degree, teaching is strongly research-informed. Building on students’ existing study skills from prior study and experience, the programme is designed to develop students’ professional expertise through group based work and projects, culminating naturally in the completion of a dissertation. Professional development planning also forms an integral part of the programme of studies, so that students graduate with considerably enhanced skills suitable for senior, specialist professional level or managerial employment in careers in business and public service in areas closely associated with the study of Logistics and Supply Chain Management. These policies ensure that graduates have high levels of employability and professional career readiness.

Approaches to teaching and learning are examined yearly through programme and course review. These processes are informed by various forms of feedback of which the most important are student feedback, external examiners reports, and evidence of the achievement of learning outcomes from formative and summative assessment.

Further details of the approaches to teaching and learning used in individual courses are included in course descriptors.

Assessment Policies

The programme uses a range of assessment types at all stages of study. Formative assessment is used in many courses to provide students and staff with feedback on performance and the achievement of learning outcomes. This feedback is used both to inform programme development, but also to enable the adaptation of learning opportunities to meet the needs of individual students and the cohort of learners. Summative assessment for most courses will involve a combination of coursework and examination, with greater weight typically given to unseen examination rather than coursework. The format of all assessment is determined by its appropriateness for measuring the learning outcomes of courses.

Among the forms of assessment used in the programme are essays, written exams, presentations, group and individual projects and the dissertation.

Further details of the approaches to teaching and learning used in individual courses are included in course descriptors.