FORT LEE, Va. -- The U.S. Army is searching for a few good logisticians who are seeking to attend one of the nation's top-ranked, military-friendly colleges. If selected, these officers will be able to pursue their Master of Business Administration with an emphasis on logistics.
The Maj. Gen. James Wright's MBA Fellowship at the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Va., is an exclusive partnership between the college's School of Business and the U.S. Army. This program offers captains and majors in the Logistics Branch and logistics fields such as medical, aviation and personnel, a fully-funded Advanced Civil Schooling opportunity, said Lt. Col. Shannon Cox, Field Grade Logistics Branch chief at the U.S. Army Human Resources Command.
The fellowship, named after the 45th quartermaster general, was spearheaded by the Army Logistics University, which is a part of the U.S. Army Combined Arms Support Command at Fort Lee.
ALU, a key stake holder in educational outreach, was the catalyst in developing this program, which offers Soldiers an opportunity to pursue higher education in a collegiate environment.
"This is a great opportunity for advancing their career and broadening their skill sets to support the Army," said Richard J. Poole, dean of Education and Operations at the university.
Ideal candidates for the fully-funded program's 20 slots are captains and majors, who are Key Developmental complete but not Intermediate-Level Education program complete, said Cox.
Applicants must have already taken the graduate record examinations or graduate management admission test, said Cox. They must also be able to obtain acceptance from William & Mary and meet college standards.
This is a competitive program, and only those who apply and are at the top of the list in terms of experience and eligibility will be accepted, said Cox.
This fellowship program is not a cake walk, and those who are accepted will have to work really hard, she said. Those selected will have the perks of attending college, such as wearing civilian attire, two-year stabilization and receive basic housing allowance for the Williamsburg area. Officers selected will still be required to maintain Army standards. For example, William & Mary requires a 2.7 standard however, those in fellowship will be required to maintain the Army's standard of 3.0.
Although there is some criteria that will render certain Soldiers ineligible, such as those who have received the Critical Skills Retention Bonus or have already used the CSRB ACS incentive, currently being deployed is not a discriminating factor, said Cox.
The length of schooling is 15 months, but majors will be required to attend blended ILE at Fort Lee to complete the common core curriculum, said Cox.
"Whether or not the distance learning portion of the blended ILE will be required remains to be determined. The ultimate goal for this program is that it will be Military Education Level IV equivalent," said Cox.
The program of study will include one work-study program where students will be expected to conduct a major project for a Department of Defense entity such as CASCOM, the Army G-4 or the Army Material Command, she said.
"All the feedback we've received from those currently enrolled in the fellowship has been positive. It's a tough program but very rewarding," said Cox.
Interested officers should apply online at http://mason.wm.edu/ and click on prospective students. Under the Apply Now, click on Full-Time MBA Application. Create a new account to get a PIN and password.
Once the account has been created, start the application process. Please note two letters of recommendation, a writing sample and an interview via Skype may be required. After being accepted into the program, officers are required to take a pre-MBA math course, which is funded at their expense.
Once accepted by William & Mary, participants need to submit a Department of the Army Form 1618 with letter of acceptance and undergraduate transcripts to their Assignment Officer no later than Jan. 6, 2012.
Those accepted into the fellowship will be required to report no later than July 8, 2012.
Course Description -- The course of study is jointly delivered by the William & Mary School of Business, the Department of Government and the Thomas Jefferson Program in Public Policy.
Management, Budgeting and Defense Appropriations
Provides a military-specific context for management decision-making.
Ethics and Leadership
The study of ethical perspectives and values in management decision-making.
LEAD
Accelerates students' development of personal and interpersonal competencies critical to early career success.
Organizational Behavior and Process
Provides the analytic frameworks and tools to diagnose events in and to take effective action in today's changing organizations.
The Technology Infrastructure
Introductory IT module on the "technology" part of "Information Technology."
Financial Accounting: Reporting and Analysis I
Analysis and interpretation of financial statements
Applied Data and Economic Analysis I
Covers the use of key economics concepts of demand and supply in managerial decision-making.
Applied Data and Economic Analysis II
The second module continues the economic and statistical analysis into applications to industrial structure.
Financial Management
Emphasizes alternative approaches to valuation.
Marketing Management
Focuses on developing integrated marketing programs that address customer needs, competitive activity, channel and supplier behavior, macro environmental factors, and market evolution.
Accounting for Managerial Decision Making
Emphasis on managerial decision-making and control of operations using accounting information systems.
IT-Enabled Technological Transformations
The second IT module on the "information" part of "Information Technology."
Design and Control of the Modern Operations Function
Provides an introduction to the responsibilities and decisions facing the modern operations manager.
Business, Government and the Global Economy
Introduces basic macroeconomic concepts in the global economy for both industrialized and developing countries.
Lean Toolkit
Teaches the Lean methodology, which is used to reduce process lead time, improve responsiveness to customers, increase efficiency and reduce inventory.
Six Sigma Toolkit
Introduces the many tools and techniques and operation of logistics networks or supply chains, and the flow of materials and information on them.
Capstone Project
A project specified by the military and supervised by faculty which applies the business skills learned through their MBA coursework.
Related Links:
The College of William & Mary's Mason School of Business
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