Molde University College is the central Norwegian institution in logistics offering bachelor's-, master's- and doctoral degree in logistics. The MSc programme is in line with the new European standards on master`s degrees, covering a total of 120 ECTS, and being built on a bachelor degree of 180 ECTS.

The challenge of the future is to make the transition from the management of individual departments to cooperative thinking and acting in a globalised world with international competition. It is therefore important for all logistics specialists to master English well. For that reason, this programme is taught in English. This means that all instructions, textbooks, examinations, handouts, student presentations, etc., will be in English. About half the students are non-Nordic, so the study programme has a unique international profile.

Logistics

Logistics entails organizing the flow of products, services and information from raw materials to the end user. This programme aims to give a thorough analysis and understanding of problems and solutions associated with all parts of the value chain: purchase and supply, production planning, inventory management and distribution planning, including the creation of transport services. The connections between the different value chains, (Supply Chain Management) will also be a major focus in the programme.

The approaches to problem solving in logistics requires a broad understanding of the subject matter in order to arrive at satisfactory solutions on the basis of an analysis of alternatives. Logistics, therefore, is built on a broad spectrum of disciplines, such as economics, information/ communication technology, business administration, organization and management, besides quantitative methods based on mathematics, operations research and statistics.

"Siviløkonom"

In the Norwegian higher educational system the title' Siviløkonom' has a central position. If you have a bachelor’s degree in business administration from a Norwegian college or university, you can obtain the title 'Siviløkonom' in addition to becoming a master in logistics by taking our master program in logistics. For further details see “Siviløkonomstudium”.

The programme has two specializations, requiring somewhat different profiles from the basic education. The specializations are:

1. Industrial logistics

2. Supply Chain Management

The specializations have different target groups.

Industrial logistics is for those interested in quantitative methods for planning and management of activities involved in procurement, production, inventory and distribution within and across companies. Ideal backgrounds are business administration, engineering, mathematics and computer science, but the main point is an interest and ability in the use of quantitative methods and models.

Supply Chain Management is suited for students with an interest in organization, business and to some extent social science. Although mathematics and statistics are used, the focus is much more on the qualitative aspects involved in the management of the value chain.

Students with a background in economics or business administration can apply for both specializations.

Students with a background in logistics or subjects such as operations research, wishing to enrol in specialization 1, Industrial logistics, have the opportunity to build on their previous knowledge by taking more specialized courses in the first year. Also other students can apply for specialization 1, including students with a 3-year engineering or applied mathematics degree, or with a background from agricultural studies. Students with other backgrounds may ask to be evaluated.

The completion of 180 course credits (ECTS) (i.e. a Bachelor's degree) from a university is required. For students from some countries, a bachelor of four years is required.
Students from outside the European Economic Area must prove their abilities in English, by providing a proof that they have achieved at least an IELTS of 6.0, or equivalent.

The programme will qualify students for positions in the private and public sector, in Norway as well as abroad, in a broad range of professional areas. Career prospects for people with an education in logistics are good, since there is a shortage of this kind of competence both in business and government. In designing this programme, emphasis was placed on offering courses that would prepare students for the future needs of the private and public sectors.

The studyprograms should give the students a broad insight in all logistical activities that take place in a firm, as well as the relationship between these. Further, the relationships and coordination between a firm and its suppliers and the suppliers suppliers are highlighted and in a similar fashion, the firms customers and their customers. Depending on the specialisation of the masterprogram, the students should also have a deep insight into special topics and should be able to use special tools and methodologies to analyse and solve problems in the supply chain belonging to his or her specialisation.

The Master`s degree will also qualify the candidate for acceptance to the PhD degree programme at Molde University College, as well as other PhD programmes internationally.

The programme offers students the possibility to write the master thesis at a foreign university. This gives international students the opportunity to work on master projects related to their home country. Students interested in doing so should contact the student advisor early in their studies.

Most courses in the first year are based on a standard combination of lectures, homework and examinations. There is one exception for the specialization in Industrial Logistics where the students in their second semester will work with four different case studies.

The programme in the first year is organized to let the students pick courses according to their background from bachelor level and their planned specialization at master level.
Students with a specialization in logistics from bachelor degree, can utilize their former knowledge of logistics by picking more specialized courses in the first and second semesters.

The third and fourth semesters are structurally the same for all students. The seminars in semester three, requires that each student follows at least ten seminars. It is compulsory to be present during seminars. Two of these seminars are related to the preparation for writing the master thesis in semester four.

Some additional information about the MSc program can be found on the MSc logistics program homepage.