PhD & Master's in Operations Management Graduate Programs in California

What is an Operations Management Graduate Program?

If you want to get an education and enhance your career, consider enrolling in operations management graduate programs. Earning your graduate certificate, masters, doctorate degree in operations management could help you hone analytical and decision making skills you may need to succeed—and to make sure your organization succeeds.  More specialized options may also be available, such as supply chain management, logistics, as well as a variety of industry-specific programs. If this sounds like the opportunity you’ve been waiting for, browse available program listings or keep reading to learn more about earning a business operations management degree.

Operations management is a dynamic field that focuses on making sure an organization runs as efficiently as possible. In other words, in this position, you’d use your business acumen and analytical skills to manage your resources—supply chain, personnel, technology, and processes—to help your team succeed. You might be responsible for things like balancing cost with revenue, figuring out how to utilize staff efficiently, or managing supply chain and logistics.

Operations management graduate programs could reflect the variety of potential responsibilities and career paths available in the field. For example, you might also consider studying supply chain management, transportation and logistics, or even earning an operations research degree. Operations research graduate programs might focus on performing research to help businesses make more effective decisions. Some programs may even be designed to meet the needs of specific industries.

Construction Management

Construction management combines project management skills with construction experience to ensure that construction projects are completed on a timely, cost-effective basis. In this position, you could be responsible for managing teams with diverse skill sets, budgeting projects, collaborating with clients and professionals (such as architects and engineers), overseeing legal compliance, subcontracting, and managing schedules and timetables. Earning your graduate degree in construction management may help you attain necessary leadership and project management skills. This, alongside your construction industry expertise, could help you succeed.

Contract Management

Contract management may use a wide array of business, collaboration, and negotiation skills to handle things like: writing and responding to business proposals, negotiating agreement details, and overseeing contract implementation. Contract managers may also be responsible for making sure all contract stipulations are met, and handling any problems that occur, helping to ensure the satisfaction of both parties. The specifics of your role may vary depending on the needs of your organization and your experience. Contract management skills could be crucial in a variety of business settings and industries. As such, earning a graduate degree in contract management could be an asset to your career goals.

Quality Management

Quality management aims to use business strategies and statistics to ensure an organization’s quality output. This not only involves evaluating the level of quality in a given product or service, but also managing the processes involved in creating said product or service. As a quality management professional, you could be responsible for overseeing, establishing, and modifying processes, or using statistical analysis to create strategies. In other words, you might use a combination of data, business analysis, and leadership skills to help your team function as effectively as possible. Earning your graduate degree in quality management could help you develop the expertise you need to make these strategic decisions and position yourself for career success.

Supply Chain Management

Supply chain management focuses on the cost-effective acquisition and utilization of resources within an organization. In this role, you might oversee the acquisition and delivery of raw materials, as well as monitoring their utilization to minimize cost and maximize revenue. You might also be responsible for leading teams, interacting with vendors, overseeing logistics, and making strategic purchasing, sales, and inventory decisions. Earning your masters, doctorate, or certificate in supply chain management, you could demonstrate your expertise in this area. Some examples of what you might study include logistics, business analytics, financial accounting, procurement, and more.

How to Choose Your Operations Management Graduate Program

No matter what industry you work in, the skills you develop while earning your graduate degree in operations management could be vital not just to your success, but to that of your whole organization. With the diversity of potential responsibilities you might hold in an operations management role, identifying an operations management graduate programs tailored to your needs could help set you apart.

Consider whether you would prefer to attend a program designed for a specific industry (for example, construction management), or whether you’d prefer to work on more broadly applicable skills. Then identify the types of responsibilities you may hold, and which skills and topics may support those aspirations most effectively. For example, are you more in need of expertise making financial decisions, supply chain management, or managing teams of people? That way, you could identify programs that support your interests, experience, and the career you want.

Operations Management Graduate Program Levels

One part of choosing your operations management graduate program is identifying your targeted degree level. Your choices might depend on prior education, experience, and your objectives. A variety of degree types might be offered within each category. Here are the three primary graduate program levels you might be considering:

• Operations Management Masters Degree Programs: Earning your masters in Operations Management could help you take your career to the next level. Many students may have earned relevant bachelor’s degrees and some relevant professional experience, but some programs may be designed for those new to the field. You might study leadership, strategic, and analytics. You might earn one of several degree types including Master of Science (MS), Master of Arts (MA), and Master of Business Administration (MBA). The specifics of each may vary by program.
• Doctorate in Operations Management: Currently hold, or aspire to higher level leadership or c-suite positions? Interested in teaching or performing research in a university setting? If so, consider earning your doctorate in Operations Management! The two primary degree types you might consider including a Doctor of Business Administration (DBA), which generally follows having earned an MBA, and a PhD in Operations Management. Earning your operations management doctorate could help to set you apart as an expert in your field.
• Operations Management Graduate Certificate Programs – Earning a graduate certificate in operations management could be your path to an advanced credential in less time. Operations management masters certificates could allow you to get your feet wet in graduate education without committing to a full degree, or pursue focused education regarding a specific skill or topic. Post-masters certificates may also be available to those who have already earned a masters.

Operations Management Degree Program Formats

As a working professional, you may have unique needs to fit your operations management education into your life. Luckily, many operations management graduate programs may be offered in convenient formats for your schedule, preferences, and educational needs. While the specifics of each program’s scheduling and course delivery format may vary, in general, the types of operations management graduate programs that may be offered are as follows:

• Operations Management Graduate Schools: Earn your operations management graduate degree in a convenient campus setting! You could take classes alongside other current and future operations management professionals, making valuable connections with your peers and professors. And you could earn your degree with the support of your campus facilities and services.
• Online Operations Management Graduate Programs: Earning your operations management degree online could help you balance your education, life, and career goals. You could access your courses from your own computer, allowing you to get the education you want, without conflicting with your responsibilities as an operations management professional.
• Hybrid Operations Management Programs: Torn between campus and online programs? Earning your operations management degree in a hybrid program, you could take advantage of the flexibility of online programs, accommodating your busy career, and the resources and personal nature of a campus program.

DID YOU KNOW? According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the annual median annual salary for General Operations Managers, in May 2023, was $129,330.

GradSchools.com offers 17 Graduate Schools with Operations Management Graduate Programs and Schools in California