Five programs at two schools. 2 bachelor’s, 3 master’s.
Stated graduate totals run $66,240 to $66,240. The lowest is at Loyola University Chicago.
Supply chain managers’ BLS occupation: median $124,120. Middle half $94,920 to $160,490; nationally $107,230.
What stands out most: freight brokerage and forwarding. The strongest is 5,630 cargo and freight agents, a location quotient of 1.99.
Three programs state STEM designation. Loyola University Chicago MBA, Loyola University Chicago MBA and Loyola University Chicago MS.
The metro
The Chicago Metro This Guide Covers
The Census Bureau defines the Chicago metro as the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN metropolitan statistical area: 13 counties, nine central and four outlying. Chicago splits into four metropolitan divisions, Chicago-Naperville-Schaumburg, Elgin, Lake County and Lake County-Porter County-Jasper County. The Chicago metro reaches into Illinois and Indiana. Every Chicago figure here for jobs, pay and industry covers that whole area.
Principal cities
Bolingbrook, IL, Chicago, IL, Des Plaines, IL, Downers Grove, IL, Elgin, IL, Evanston, IL, Naperville, IL, Schaumburg, IL and Skokie, IL
Central counties
Cook County, IL, DuPage County, IL, McHenry County, IL, Will County, IL, Kane County, IL, Kendall County, IL, Lake County, IL, Lake County, IN and Porter County, IN
Outlying counties
Grundy County, IL, DeKalb County, IL, Jasper County, IN and Newton County, IN
Metropolitan divisions
Chicago-Naperville-Schaumburg, Elgin, Lake County and Lake County-Porter County-Jasper County
Census Bureau CBSA delineation, July 2023. Schools are placed in the metro by their county.
Programs
Accredited Supply Chain Programs In Chicago
Chicago has five accredited supply chain programs, at Loyola University Chicago and Saint Xavier University. By level, Chicago has two bachelor’s and three master’s. In Chicago, Loyola University Chicago lists the most, four.
The only one of the 3 verified Chicago programs with an online format
More about this program
Weekday evening classes at Loyola's Water Tower Campus in Chicago make up Quinlan School of Business's Supply Chain Management MS, and the school says most of its courses are also offered online. The program is STEM-certified by the Department of Homeland Security and the National Science Foundation. It runs 36 credit hours at $1,840 per credit hour, for an estimated $66,240 in tuition and fees. New students start in fall or spring under a rolling admission policy, and if you're not ready to commit to the degree, you can take up to three courses as a non-degree student and later apply them toward it. Current Loyola undergraduates can also start earning credit toward the degree as seniors through an Accelerated Master's Pathway. Within a month of graduating, all of the program's graduates have a job, the school reports, at companies including BNSF, Bosch, IBM and Maersk.
Loyola's Next Generation MBA at the Quinlan School of Business lets you build a STEM-designated focus in supply chain management alongside marketing, information systems management, finance, or a general track. You choose between a one-year full-time track (36 credit hours) or a two-year part-time track called MBA: Flexible (48 credit hours), both priced at $1,840 per credit hour, putting estimated tuition and fees at $66,240 or $88,320. Classes meet weekday evenings and Saturdays, on campus at Loyola's Water Tower location and online. Every student completes a required Business Consulting course working with a real client. Quinlan is AACSB accredited, which the school says puts it among the 6% of business schools meeting that standard, and U.S. News ranked its part-time MBA No. 44 nationally and among the top 3 in Chicago in 2026.
Saint Xavier University's BBA with a concentration in supply chain management is a 120-credit program from its AACSB-accredited business school in Chicago. The concentration sits on top of the business major core and blends in-person classes with online supply chain courses offered through a partnership with Rize Education. Coursework covers topics such as forecasting and logistics planning, and assignments ask you to design logistics networks and contingency plans for actual products. Every class includes project work, and the program ends with a capstone created in partnership with companies, in which you analyze an existing corporate supply chain and build a portfolio to show employers. An accelerated BBA+MBA dual degree lets you finish both in five years.
Each card is read from the school’s own program page. The rank is the program’s place in this site’s national ranking of its kind; the highlighted lines compare it with the other verified programs in Chicago. A card marked “Not ranked” has no national rank to show: one is a bachelor’s program placed below the top 25 that the national bachelor’s list publishes.
These programs appear in the AACSB or ACBSP listing. This site hasn’t verified their tuition, credits or length yet, so their cards carry the accreditor’s record only.
STEM and OPT
STEM Designation And OPT
Three Chicago programs state STEM designation on the school’s own pages:
An F-1 student can work in the U.S. on optional practical training for 12 months after a degree; a degree in a field DHS designates as STEM adds a 24-month extension. Eligibility runs through the school’s designated school official; Study in the States has the terms.
Economy
What Chicago’s Supply Chain Economy Looks Like
County Business Patterns counts 284,408 transportation and warehousing jobs at 17,514 employers in the Chicago metro for 2023, and 253,713 more in wholesale trade.
Against the national mix, Chicago stands out for freight brokerage and forwarding. Chicago’s location quotient: 1.99 for cargo and freight agents.
Supply chain occupations in the Chicago metro by concentration
County Business Patterns 2023. Share is each line’s part of all transportation and warehousing jobs; ratio is the local share over the U.S. share. Not published: withheld by the Census Bureau to protect individual employers.
How this guide decides what a metro stands out forShow the rules
Air cargo: air transportation holds at least twice its national share of the metro’s transportation and warehousing jobs, and at least 10,000 jobs.
Port and water freight: water transportation holds at least twice its national share of the metro’s transportation and warehousing jobs, and at least 1,000 jobs.
Warehousing: warehousing and storage holds at least 1.4 times its national share of the metro’s transportation and warehousing jobs, and at least 5,000 jobs.
Parcel and courier hubs: couriers and delivery holds at least 1.5 times its national share of the metro’s transportation and warehousing jobs, and at least 5,000 jobs.
Trucking: trucking holds at least 1.5 times its national share of the metro’s transportation and warehousing jobs, and at least 5,000 jobs.
Distribution management: transportation, storage and distribution managers have a location quotient of 1.4 or more.
Purchasing: purchasing managers have a location quotient of 1.4 or more.
Operations analytics: operations research analysts have a location quotient of 1.5 or more.
Manufacturing: industrial production managers have a location quotient of 1.5 or more.
Freight brokerage and forwarding: cargo and freight agents have a location quotient of 1.5 or more.
Online
Online Programs A Chicago Resident Can Enroll In
27 online programs say a resident of the Chicago metro can enroll, on the school’s own authorization page. For Chicago, none of them names Illinois and Indiana as closed.
Online supply chain programs that state they enroll Illinois and Indiana residents
Each school’s own state-authorization page, read 2026-09-24. The table lists the programs whose page says who can enroll; “Every state” is the school’s own statement and “Closed in” lists the states it names. The rest are in the online degree ranking. Authorization changes, so confirm with the school before you apply.
How to become
How To Become A Supply Chain Professional In Chicago
1
Pick The Level That Fits Where You Start
Chicago offers two bachelor’s and three master’s. With a degree already, Chicago’s stated graduate totals start at $66,240.
2
Keep Working While You Study
Beyond Chicago, 27 online programs state they enroll Illinois residents.
3
Know The Local Pay Ladder Before You Negotiate
Logisticians in Chicago run from $48,430 at the 10th percentile to $127,150 at the 90th, with the median at $79,900.
4
Aim At The Roles Chicago Concentrates
Cargo and freight agents are Chicago’s most concentrated supply chain occupation: 1.99 times the national share, median $59,850 in Chicago.
Cost
What It Costs To Study In Chicago
The Chicago graduate programs that state a total run from $66,240 at Loyola University Chicago to $66,240 at Loyola University Chicago. Saint Xavier University reports $36,840 a year in tuition and fees for a Chicago bachelor’s. Chicago sits at 103.6 on BEA’s 2024 price index (U.S. = 100).
Graduate supply chain programs in Chicago, by total tuition
Note: A blank cell means the school’s program page does not state that figure.
Pay
Supply Chain Pay In The Chicago Metro
BLS counts Chicago’s supply chain managers among transportation, storage and distribution managers; in Chicago their median is $124,120, against $107,230 nationally. Chicago logisticians earn $79,900 at the median, and the middle half of them $62,990 to $99,320.
Seven of the nine occupations below pay more in Chicago than nationally. At Chicago’s prices, the logistician median is worth $77,127 in national terms.
Supply chain pay in the Chicago metro by percentile
BLS OEWS May 2025, metropolitan area estimates: annual wages at the 10th, 25th, 50th (median), 75th and 90th percentiles. BLS publishes no separate wage for supply chain managers. They are counted inside transportation, storage and distribution managers, and every figure here is for that whole occupation.
Questions
FAQ
Which Schools In Chicago Offer A Supply Chain Management Degree?
Loyola University Chicago and Saint Xavier University: five accredited programs in Chicago.
Are Any Chicago Supply Chain Programs STEM-Designated?
Yes: Loyola University Chicago MBA, Loyola University Chicago MBA and Loyola University Chicago MS. An F-1 graduate of one of these Chicago programs can apply for the 24-month STEM OPT extension.
What Do Supply Chain Managers Earn In Chicago?
BLS counts them among transportation, storage and distribution managers, whose Chicago median is $124,120; the top tenth earn over $210,910.
What Kind Of Supply Chain Economy Does Chicago Have?
By the thresholds on this page, Chicago stands out for freight brokerage and forwarding.
Can You Study Supply Chain Management Online From Chicago?
27 online programs say a resident of the Chicago metro can enroll, on the school’s own authorization page. For Chicago, none of them names Illinois and Indiana as closed.
