Quality and Operations Management

Continuously improving business processes is of increasing importance for companies competing in today's global markets. For society, there is a strong need to sustain work opportunities by realising and utilising the potential in existing businesses. Companies need to compete both by bringing new products to the market and by improving existing products and processes. These two aspects constitute the rationale underlying this master’s programme.

Programme description

Aimed at improving the processes through which new and existing products and services are developed and delivered, we now witness a strong upsurge in industry’s interest in improvement techniques and philosophies. Examples are Six Sigma, Lean Production and Lean Product Development. Many industrial companies and public organizations are using improvement programmes based on these or similar ideas and success in these programmes requires a change in mindset together with organisational transformations. Engineers equipped with the knowledge and competence required for leading quality driven change processes and business improvement are therefore crucial.

This master’s programme in Quality and Operations Management supports you as a student in acquiring the knowledge and skills required to manage, improve and transform innovative and organisational processes as e.g. developing new innovative offers, manufacturing and delivery.

The programme gives you a thorough understanding of tools for identifying customer needs and business opportunities. You will be trained in the skills needed to manage the process of developing products and services.

A strong focus will be on the usage of different qualitative and quantitative tools. Another focus will be on production and delivery processes, in both manufacturing and service and on the tools and techniques for their improvement. You will acquire a number of competencies needed to manage improvement and change processes, whether they concern product development or production. These skills include leadership, project management and change management.

Career opportunities

Graduates of the programme can find positions as quality and improvement process facilitators, problem solvers or change agents, production, quality or product development engineers or project managers. There is also the prospect of working within management in the above mentioned areas as well as management consultants or academic researchers.

Examples of positions acquired by students of earlier versions of this programme are: management consultants, production engineers, quality engineers, Six Sigma Black Belts, project leaders in product development and company internal quality consultants. Future career opportunities are not restricted to manufacturing organizations, but also include service providing organizations and public services.

Research connections

All courses and projects are taught and supervised by active researchers in the field of quality and operations management and we apply or include our current research to examples, cases, projects and regular lectures. As a student, you will be able to take part in research discussions and analyses.

The programme is also connected with industry through guest lecturers in various courses and an industrially based project course. The industrial cooperation is facilitated by the division’s research collaboration with various companies and organizations, e.g. SKF, Volvo Trucks and the Region of Västra Götaland.

If you choose to focus on any of the three main subject options – Six Sigma, operations improvement, or product development – you will carry out a project in close co-operation with a company. In the Six Sigma project an employee from the company involved will work together with a group of students carrying out a Six Sigma project in that company. The operations improvement project is similar to a small research study where a group of students investigate a problem of interest to a certain company e.g. through interviews and study visits. The product development project concerns development of a prototype for a company.

Educational methods

The programme’s pedagogic frame is built on your participation and responsibility for your own learning process. Within the theoretical parts of the education and in order to improve your ability to present ideas both in written and oral form, you will write, present and discuss cases and term papers at seminars.

In the programme a number of group projects will be carried out, all of them in cross-cultural teams. This provides a training arena for cross-cultural group work preparing you for taking the lead in cross-cultural improvement projects.

Programme overview

The programme consists of one compulsory block of 60 cr here 15 cr are alternative compulsory, which gives the student a chance to choose between three alternatives. The alternatives are all industrially based projects, focusing on quality improvement, operational improvement or product development. The third semester includes 30 cr elective courses, although we recommend the course Change Management & Improvement Processes.

First Year Explanations

AUTUMN TERM Study period 1

Compulsory courses

• Quality and operations management, Examination

AUTUMN TERM Study period 2

Compulsory courses

• Integrated product development, Examination
• Design for quality, Examination

SPRING TERM Study period 3

Compulsory courses

• Operations strategy, Examination

Elective courses

• Product development project, Written and oral assignments
• Product development project, Project
• Operations improvement project, Project
• Six sigma black belt, Project

SPRING TERM Study period 4

Compulsory courses

• Research methodology, Examination

Elective courses

• Product development project, Project
• Operations improvement project, Project
• Six sigma black belt, Project

Second Year Explanations

AUTUMN TERM Study period 1

Elective courses

• Strategy creation and change, Examination
• Strategic management and economics of intellectual property, Examination
• Change Management & Improvement Processes, Examination

AUTUMN TERM Study period 2

Elective courses

• Project management, Examination
• Risk management and safety, Examination
• Platform development and modularization management, Examination
• Production logistics, Examination
• Business marketing and purchasing, Written and oral assignments
• Business marketing and purchasing, Examination
• ICT economics and policy, Examination
• Organizational behavior orientation, Examination

SPRING TERM Study period 3

Elective courses

• Intellectual property and innovation strategies, Laboratory
• Intellectual property and innovation strategies, Examination
• Improving healthcare service design and delivery, Examination

SPRING TERM Study period 4

Elective courses

• International Business Relationships, Examination

Diploma thesis

• Master's thesis in Technology management and economics, Diploma thesis
• Master's thesis in Technology management and economics, part A, Diploma thesis
• Master's thesis in Technology management and economics, part B, Diploma thesis

Bachelor´s degree (or the equivalent) with a Major in: Industrial Engineering and Management or an Engineering Discipline.Prerequisites: Mathematics, minimum 30 credits including Statistics, minimum 7.5 credits. Minimum 15 credits from courses in Economics/Organization/Management.Preferable course experience: Single- and multivariable analysis and Linear algebra.English Language ProficiencyThe most common and important scores that are accepted are IELTS (academic training), 6.5 (with no part of the test below 5.5)TOEFL (Internet based): 90 (with a minimum of 20 on the written part)TOEFL (paper based): 575 (with a minimum of 4.5 on the written part) English Language Requirements IELTS band: 6.5 CAE score: (read more) Cambridge English: Advanced (CAE) is part of the Cambridge English suite and is targeted at a high level (IETLS 6.5-8.0). It is an international English language exam set at the right level for academic and professional success. Developed by Cambridge English Language Assessment - part of the University of Cambridge - it helps you stand out from the crowd as a high achiever. 60 (Grade C) TOEFL paper-based test score : 575 TOEFL iBT® test: 90

All Scholarships administered by Chalmers have now been awarded and all applicants have been notified of their selection results.

Important: Applications for scholarships should be made along with the application for Master's studies. Students should not wait until they receive an admission to do so.

• The Avancez Scholarships are 75% tuition fee waivers awarded by Chalmers University of Technology and are funded by the Chalmers Foundation. These scholarships are available to all students who are liable to pay tuition fees i.e., students with non-EU/EEA nationality.

• The IPOET (International Programme Office for Education and Training) Scholarships are 75% tuition fee waivers funded by the Government of Sweden. They are awarded by Chalmers University of Technology and available to nearly all fee-paying students, with the exception of 12 countries.

• The Mölnlycke Health Care Scholarships are 100% fee tuition waivers with possibilities for summer internships and a final master's thesis project.

• The Sievert Larsson Scholarship Fund (within Friends of Chalmers) offers a 100% tuition fee waiver and living expenses to students of Thai nationality who aim to study on a Master’s programme at Chalmers University of Technology.

• The US Friends of Chalmers Scholarship is a scholarship comprising USD 35 000 (i.e. a reduction of the tuition fee by USD 8750 per semester) and is awarded to one student with US citizenship.

• The Volvo Car Corporation Scholarships are 100% tuition fee waivers awarded to 2 Chinese students with the guarantee of participation in the VESC (Volvo Engineering Student Concept) programme which includes a summer job, master thesis project, mentorship and possible employment at Volvo Car Corporation.

• The Volvo Group Scholarship Programme is a 100% fee tuition fee waiver awarded to students of Indian nationality and Chinese nationality. The Scholarship includes possibilities for internships during the summer, a final Master thesis project and mentorship.

Scholarships that will not be offered in 2014

• The Chalmers MasterCard Scholarship (will be offered again in 2015) Available biennialy for a Master's student from Central America, South America or Mexico. The scholarship comprises a 280 000 SEK reduction of the tuition fee (70 000 SEK reduction/ semester).

• The FlexLink Scholarship (not available in 2014) for a Master's Student from China is a 100% tuition fee waiver along with possibilities for internship and a final master thesis project.

Note: Being granted alternative funding from external patrons does not affect the possibility of obtaining scholarships from Chalmers as an applicants financial status is not taken into account during the nomination process.

Scholarships for current students

Adlerbert 60th Anniversary Scholarships - Will be offered for the first time during 2014 to fee paying Master's Programme students who were admitted Autumn 2013, including scholarship holders whose scholarships do not include costs of living coverage. This means that, for instance, holders of Swedish Institute scholarships and Sievert Larsson, version 2 scholarships will not be eligible to apply. In order to be eligible the applicant must have passed at least 60 credits during the first year of studies. The scholarships, which amount to 60 000 SEK each, will be awarded based on the applicants' cumulative grade point average . Around 10 to 20 scholarships will be offered in 2014. More information about how to apply, etc., will be published soon.

Adlerbert Foreign Student Hospitality Fund - Only open for international students who have been admitted to, and enrolled on, a Master's Programme at Chalmers. Thus, prospective students cannot apply. Students can be awarded the scholarship a maximum of two times. The application period opens in late January and closes in late February. Consequently, it is only possible to apply during this period of a student's first and second year.

Scholarships administered by the Swedish Institute

The Swedish Institute, a government agency, administers over 500 scholarships each year for students and researchers coming to Sweden to pursue their objectives at a Swedish university. Use their online guide in order to find out if any of the Swedish Institute scholarships are available for citizens of your country at your intended level of study.