Business Administration - Operations and Supply Chain Management (M.B.A.)
Vermillion, SD
On campus
Fully online
No GMAT or GRE required
AACSB-accredited business school
The only one of the 2 verified South Dakota programs with an online format
More about this program
South Dakota's MBA lets you add a 9-credit Operations and Supply Chain Management specialization on top of the 27-credit business core. The specialization opens with Supply Chain Management, then you pick two more from Lean Management, Project Management, Data Management and Warehousing, or Quality and Six Sigma Management. Applicants with a business bachelor's finish the whole degree in 36 credit hours, while those without one add a 6-credit Essentials block for a 42-credit program. The Beacom School of Business runs it on campus, online, and out of its Sioux Falls site, and no GMAT is required if you hold a bachelor's degree from a US school. The online, part-time format is built so working students can finish in as little as two years. Beacom has held AACSB accreditation since 1949.
Seventy-six of the 120 total credit hours in USD's Supply Chain Management major sit inside the Beacom School of Business core and major coursework, including Supply Chain Management, Logistics and Distribution, Transportation Management, and Supply Chain Analytics. Business majors meeting the requirements can pursue a B.B.A./M.B.A. accelerated option, completing both degrees for a minimum of 153 combined hours, or a 3+3 J.D./B.B.A. concurrent program. Students can also join the Coyote Business Consulting Group, where student teams advise South Dakota businesses under faculty guidance for course credit. USD says the field has very high demand for operational and management analysts, and the school awards nearly $9.5 million in scholarships each year to help offset tuition, which it markets as low for both in-state and out-of-state students.
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 South Dakota. 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.
What A Supply Chain Degree Costs In South Dakota
University of South Dakota is the South Dakota graduate program here with a stated price, $17,845 in total.
University of South Dakota reports $9,432 a year in tuition and fees for South Dakota residents.
Graduate figures are read from each school’s own program page.
MBA Programs In South Dakota
MBA programs in supply chain management in South Dakota, by total tuition
Tuition and fees are per year for the whole school, from IPEDS 2023-24; graduation rates are six-year, whole school.
In-State And Out-Of-State Tuition In South Dakota
University of South Dakota reports charging nonresidents $3,510 more a year than South Dakota residents. For a South Dakota student, residency at University of South Dakota is worth about $14,040 over four years.
Tuition Discounts For South Dakota Residents
South Dakota belongs to one regional tuition exchange. WUE is open to South Dakota residents for undergraduate study. Besides South Dakota, nine member states have 82 programs, 33 of them in California.
If the program you want isn’t offered in South Dakota, an exchange can keep a campus over the border near South Dakota’s in-state cost. Before applying, South Dakota students should ask each school whether WUE covers its degree.
Western Undergraduate Exchange, run by WICHE: no more than 150% of the school’s resident tuition at participating public colleges.
Public Universities In Other WUE States
Supply chain bachelor’s programs at public universities in other WUE states, open to South Dakota students
Public universities in other member states with a supply chain bachelor’s in this site’s ranking, cheapest nonresident rate first; 6 more are on the bachelor’s ranking. Tuition and fees per year, whole school, IPEDS 2023-24. Participation is the school’s choice, program by program; the exchange rate, where offered, sits between the two figures.
Supply Chain Programs Near South Dakota
South Dakota borders Minnesota, Nebraska, Iowa, North Dakota, Montana and Wyoming. Together South Dakota’s neighbors have 29 accredited programs, 11 of them in Minnesota, more than South Dakota has itself.
Next door, the lowest stated graduate total is $21,300; in South Dakota it is $17,845. North Dakota, Montana and Wyoming share a tuition exchange with South Dakota.
Accredited supply chain programs in the states bordering South Dakota
Note: A blank cell means that state has no program with a verified figure.
Graduate totals are read from each school’s program page; bachelor’s rates are IPEDS 2023-24, per year, for the whole school.
Studying Supply Chain Management Online In South Dakota
One of the two South Dakota directory listings name an online format, so some South Dakota students can skip the commute to an in-state school.
Residency can still matter online for a South Dakota student: University of South Dakota charges South Dakota’s nonresidents $3,510 more a year on campus; a South Dakota student should check whether its online rate differs.
In South Dakota, purchasing managers earn the highest median of these occupations, $128,670. Logisticians in South Dakota earn a median of $80,020, below the $82,320 national figure; South Dakota’s lowest-paid tenth earn under $56,660 and the top tenth over $136,990.
For transportation, storage and distribution managers in South Dakota, the occupation that includes supply chain managers, the median is $107,410, with the 10th percentile at $70,090 and the 90th at $147,230. On the procurement side, South Dakota’s purchasing managers earn a median of $128,670 and its buyers and purchasing agents $73,990, across 1,180 jobs.
Supply chain occupations in South Dakota: jobs and median pay
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. BLS publishes no separate wage for customs brokers. They are counted inside compliance officers, an occupation that spans government, finance and healthcare, so figures for the whole occupation describe far more than customs work.
Pay And The Cost Of Living In South Dakota
At 88.6 for 2024, South Dakota’s BEA price level sits 11.4% under the U.S. average, so South Dakota’s $80,020 logistician median buys what $90,330 would nationally. Adjusted that way, South Dakota ranks 13th of 51 for logistician pay.
Supply Chain Pay By Metro Area In South Dakota
Sioux City, IA-NE-SD pays South Dakota’s highest logistician median, $80,020, $0 above the South Dakota figure. Metros crossing into Minnesota, Iowa and Nebraska count their jobs outside South Dakota too.
Median pay for logisticians and transportation, storage and distribution managers in South Dakota metro areas
Note: A blank cell means BLS publishes no estimate for that metro.
South Dakota Pay Against Its Neighbors
Wyoming pays logisticians the most here, $85,550; South Dakota is fourth of 7 at $80,020. Adjusted for prices, Wyoming leads at $92,296, and South Dakota places second.
Logistician and manager pay in South Dakota and the states it borders
Note: Price-adjusted pay divides the median by BEA’s state price level. A blank cell means no estimate.
Where The Supply Chain Jobs Are In South Dakota
South Dakota’s largest by headcount: buyers and purchasing agents (1,180), then industrial production managers (720) and production, planning, and expediting clerks (690). South Dakota holds 0.2% of U.S. jobs in the managers’ occupation, and South Dakota logisticians are 0.1% of the U.S. total.
The managers’ occupation has 0.808 jobs per 1,000 in South Dakota (location quotient 0.57), ranking South Dakota 38th of 50 and well below the national share. In South Dakota, logisticians hold 0.464 jobs per 1,000 (0.29 quotient, 51st).
Compliance officers and operations research analysts are left out of this count: both occupations reach well beyond supply chain work. “The managers’ occupation” is transportation, storage and distribution managers. A location quotient of 1.0 means the occupation’s share of jobs matches the national share.
South Dakota Logistics Industries
County Business Patterns counts 11,714 transportation and warehousing jobs at 1,298 South Dakota employers in 2023, plus 20,550 jobs in South Dakota’s wholesale trade. By that count South Dakota ranks 48th of 51 for transportation and warehousing employment.
Within it, trucking is South Dakota’s largest freight line, 5,325 jobs, followed by couriers and delivery at 2,268. Warehousing and storage employs 1,632 people at 37 South Dakota sites, 45th among the states. The best-paid of these lines in South Dakota is warehousing and storage, averaging $71,374 a year per job.
Logistics and wholesale industries in South Dakota: jobs, employers and average pay, 2023
Note: A blank cell means the Census Bureau withholds that figure to protect individual employers.
County Business Patterns 2023 (Census Bureau): employer establishments, mid-March employment and annual payroll; average pay is payroll divided by jobs. Rail is outside its scope. Shares compare with the 50 states and DC.
Supply Chain Job Growth In South Dakota Through 2034
In South Dakota, logisticians grow fastest: +18.1%, from 360 jobs in 2024 to 430 in 2034, per South Dakota’s labor market office (U.S.: +16.7%). The slowest in South Dakota is production, planning, and expediting clerks, at +2%.
Across its six core supply chain occupations, South Dakota expects about 210 openings a year. All six grow faster in South Dakota than across the U.S.
Projected employment for supply chain occupations in South Dakota, 2024 to 2034
Long-term projections from each state’s labor market information office, published through Projections Central (dlr.sd.gov). Openings count new jobs plus workers who retire or change careers. The core occupations leave out compliance officers and operations research analysts.
Supply Chain Occupations In South Dakota, One By One
Transportation, Storage, And Distribution Managers In South Dakota
South Dakota has 370 transportation, storage and distribution managers. Their median, $107,410, puts South Dakota 20th of 52. The middle half of South Dakota’s pay for this occupation runs from $88,250 to $123,670, and the outer tenths reach $70,090 and $147,230. At 0.808 jobs per 1,000 in South Dakota, its location quotient is 0.57 (38th). South Dakota’s labor office projects +14.3% to 2034, about 30 openings a year.
Logisticians In South Dakota
South Dakota has 210 logisticians. Their median, $80,020, puts South Dakota 29th of 52. The middle half of South Dakota’s pay for this occupation runs from $69,860 to $102,050, and the outer tenths reach $56,660 and $136,990. At 0.464 jobs per 1,000 in South Dakota, its location quotient is 0.29 (51st). South Dakota’s labor office projects +18.1% to 2034, about 40 openings a year.
Purchasing Managers In South Dakota
South Dakota has 70 purchasing managers. Their median, $128,670, puts South Dakota 36th of 51. The middle half of South Dakota’s pay for this occupation runs from $114,390 to $152,530, and the outer tenths reach $95,100 and $187,190. At 0.143 jobs per 1,000 in South Dakota, its location quotient is 0.26 (50th). South Dakota’s labor office projects +4.7% to 2034, about 10 openings a year.
Buyers And Purchasing Agents In South Dakota
South Dakota has 1,180 buyers and purchasing agents. Their median, $73,990, puts South Dakota 34th of 52. The middle half of South Dakota’s pay for this occupation runs from $62,760 to $90,740, and the outer tenths reach $56,330 and $105,110. At 2.571 jobs per 1,000 in South Dakota, its location quotient is 0.81 (41st).
Industrial Production Managers In South Dakota
South Dakota has 720 industrial production managers. Their median, $107,490, puts South Dakota 48th of 51. The middle half of South Dakota’s pay for this occupation runs from $96,530 to $132,470, and the outer tenths reach $82,620 and $162,240. At 1.569 jobs per 1,000 in South Dakota, its location quotient is 0.99 (23rd). South Dakota’s labor office projects +9.3% to 2034, about 50 openings a year.
Cargo And Freight Agents In South Dakota
South Dakota has 200 cargo and freight agents. Their median, $64,340, puts South Dakota third of 49. The middle half of South Dakota’s pay for this occupation runs from $60,390 to $68,830, and the outer tenths reach $49,730 and $80,160. At 0.429 jobs per 1,000 in South Dakota, its location quotient is 0.68 (29th). South Dakota’s labor office projects +11.6% to 2034, about 20 openings a year.
Production, Planning, And Expediting Clerks In South Dakota
South Dakota has 690 production, planning, and expediting clerks. Their median, $50,530, puts South Dakota 49th of 52. The middle half of South Dakota’s pay for this occupation runs from $45,200 to $59,020, and the outer tenths reach $40,700 and $66,450. At 1.516 jobs per 1,000 in South Dakota, its location quotient is 0.6 (37th). South Dakota’s labor office projects +2% to 2034, about 60 openings a year.
Compliance Officers In South Dakota
South Dakota has 1,130 compliance officers. Their median, $72,630, puts South Dakota 38th of 52. The middle half of South Dakota’s pay for this occupation runs from $64,020 to $85,760, and the outer tenths reach $57,140 and $115,920. At 2.468 jobs per 1,000 in South Dakota, its location quotient is 0.92 (25th). South Dakota’s labor office projects +5% to 2034, about 90 openings a year.
Pay and percentiles from BLS OEWS (May 2025); state ranks count the states, DC and Puerto Rico with an estimate. Each occupation’s salary page carries its national, state and metro detail.
South Dakota Freight And The Supply Chain Economy
Counting shipments that start, end or stay in South Dakota, the Freight Analysis Framework estimates 199.9 million tons of freight worth $115.2 billion moved in 2024. That ranks South Dakota 43rd of 51 by value and 39th by weight, and 48.5% of its tonnage never leaves the state.
By value, cereal grains and live animals lead South Dakota’s freight. By weight, South Dakota moves mostly cereal grains and natural gas and fossil products. In South Dakota, trucks carry 64.5% of the tons, pipelines 19.2% and rail 11.8%.
South Dakota’s largest domestic trading partner is Minnesota ($15.4 billion, both directions), then North Dakota and Iowa. South Dakota exported $2.1 billion of freight, mostly to Canada, and imported $1.6 billion, mostly from Canada. The framework forecasts South Dakota’s tonnage to grow 34.7% by 2050 and its real value 84%.
The five largest commodities by value in South Dakota freight, 2024
Freight Analysis Framework 5.7.1 (BTS and FHWA): 2024 estimates in current dollars; the 2050 value forecast is in constant 2017 dollars. Trading-partner values combine freight in both directions.
South Dakota Metro Areas With Supply Chain Programs
University of South Dakota sits in the Vermillion, SD micropolitan area.
Vermillion, SD (micropolitan area): University of South Dakota.
Areas are Census Bureau CBSAs (July 2023), assigned by each school’s county.
South Dakota Programs In The National Rankings
MBA ranking: one of the 38 programs is in South Dakota, and the best placed is University of South Dakota at number 1.
How To Choose A Supply Chain Program In South Dakota
With two accredited programs in South Dakota, the choice at home is short: University of South Dakota. If none fits, South Dakota’s neighbor Minnesota has 11.
Stay in state if you can. At University of South Dakota, a South Dakota resident pays $9,432 a year against $12,942 for everyone else.
Ask about WUE before ruling out a school outside South Dakota; South Dakota’s residents can use it for undergraduate study.
Check the format line by line: one of South Dakota’s two directory listings name an online option, and University of South Dakota states an online graduate format on its own page.
Match the program to where you’ll work: in South Dakota, Sioux City, IA-NE-SD pays logisticians most, $80,020 against $80,020 statewide.
Look at demand too: in South Dakota, logisticians grow fastest, +18.1% by 2034.
FAQ
How Many Supply Chain Management Programs Are In South Dakota?
This directory lists two accredited supply chain programs in South Dakota, at one school: one bachelor’s and one master’s.
How Much Does A Supply Chain Management Degree Cost In South Dakota?
University of South Dakota states a graduate total of $17,845. University of South Dakota reports in-state tuition and fees of $9,432 a year to IPEDS.
What Do Supply Chain Managers Make In South Dakota?
In South Dakota, the occupation counting supply chain managers pays a median of $107,410 across 370 jobs, against $107,230 nationally.
How Much Do Logisticians Make In South Dakota?
The logistician median in South Dakota is $80,020, across 210 jobs. At South Dakota’s price level of 88.6 (U.S. = 100), it buys what $90,330 would nationally.
Which South Dakota Metro Area Pays Supply Chain Workers The Most?
Sioux City, IA-NE-SD has South Dakota’s highest logistician median, $80,020. Sioux Falls, SD-MN pays South Dakota’s managers’ occupation the most, $107,550.
How Does South Dakota Supply Chain Pay Compare With Neighboring States?
Of the 7 states compared with South Dakota, Wyoming pays logisticians the most, $85,550; South Dakota ranks fourth at $80,020. After adjusting for prices, South Dakota ranks second.
How Many Logistics Jobs Are In South Dakota?
Census County Business Patterns counts 11,714 transportation and warehousing jobs in South Dakota for 2023, 1,632 of them in warehousing and storage. BLS counts 210 South Dakota logisticians, the planners who run those flows.
Which Supply Chain Job Pays The Most In South Dakota?
Purchasing managers earn South Dakota’s highest supply chain median, $128,670, then industrial production managers at $107,490.
Is Supply Chain Management In Demand In South Dakota?
South Dakota’s labor market office expects logisticians in South Dakota to grow 18.1% by 2034, against 16.7% nationally, and South Dakota expects about 210 openings a year across South Dakota’s six core supply chain occupations.
Can South Dakota Residents Get A Tuition Discount At Out-Of-State Schools?
Yes. South Dakota is in WUE. WUE reaches 82 accredited programs outside South Dakota and covers undergraduate study for South Dakota residents. Before applying, South Dakota students should ask whether WUE covers the program.
Can You Study Supply Chain Management Online In South Dakota?
One of the two South Dakota programs lists an online format in the accreditor’s record. Of South Dakota’s graduate programs with verified costs, University of South Dakota states an online format.
