Semester in Strategic Operations

Semester in Strategic Operations (SSO)

Get the in-depth knowledge, skills, and experience you need to succeed by spending a semester working at the heart—and with the hands—of a business.

Overview

Students in the SSO immersion will learn the fundamentals of business operations, from the shop floor and beyond. Alongside peers from the School of Industrial and Labor Relations (ILR) and the College of Engineering, students get a thorough grounding in all facets of operations, as well as current and core operations issues.

Career Paths

General management
Consulting
Operations – including supply-chain management, strategic planning, and production management

A Sample of Companies Recruiting Here

Recent SSO students secured MBA internships and full-time employment at prestigious companies such as:

McKinsey & Company
Ernst & Young
Johnson & Johnson
Corning
BCG
General Electric
General Mills
American Express
Intel
PricewaterhouseCoopers

And more.

Highlights

The semester in strategic operations is Johnson’s original immersion. It is a comprehensive plunge into the heart of operations that has provided students with a unique, intense learning experience for nearly a quarter century.

Curriculum Details

Students enrolled in the Semester in Strategic Operations immersion focus on how operations strategies are developed and aligned with business strategies. SSO’s dynamic curriculum includes:

Core classes focusing on supply-chain management, retail operations, advanced data analytics, statistical programming, probability, and visualization tools
Site visits, which typically consist of visiting 15 sites over the course of 11 days to see firsthand how corporations align operations to overall business strategy
Continuous-improvement project, which is a week-long capstone event at a major corporation