Университет Крэнфилда, Королевский военно-научный колледж Шивенхам, MSc, Defence Acquisition Management

Introductory studies; research methodology; strategy, leadership and change; defence resource management; systems thinking and organisational design; personal and operational skills for effective support solutions; internal consultancy; programme and project management; professional acquisition knowledge (1); professional acquisition knowledge (2); system effectiveness; management of battlespace technology; comparative international acquisition; supply network management in a commercial environment; supply network modelling; supply network management in defence; supply and support network modelling; defence acquisition knowledge; managing knowledge and information in defence acquisition; leadership and through-life capability management; plus options: simulation and synthetic environments; capability, requirements and systems; comparative international acquisition; management of battlespace technology; humanitarian logistics; management science; the actual modules studied will depend on the variant chosen; for all of the variants the final part of the course is the same and requires production of a 20,000-word, research-based thesis that examines a relevant acquisition process, challenge, opportunity or issue.

1st or 2nd class Honours degree in an appropriate discipline, or equivalent; a lesser qualification together with appropriate work experience may be acceptable; exceptionally, candidates without formal qualifications may be considered if sufficiently experienced and subject to satisfactory performance on the Graduate Management Admissions Test (GMAT); students whose native language is not English must attain an IELTS score of 7.

The course assesses the practical application of the theories, concepts and analytical techniques to the modern, multinational defence acquisition and logistics management environment; the course aims to improve individual and organisational effectiveness through advanced knowledge of key issues that enable enhanced decision-making within the challenging and changing defence acquisition environment; it also provides a unique capability, procurement, contracting, logistics and supply chain management qualification with a commercial best practice focus based within the defence environment; a key feature of the course is the eligibility for a qualification of the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply (CIPS), through the exemption from all elements of the Professional Stage, and the Chartered Institute of Logistics (CILT) as an optional element; students can sit the Association of Project Management examinations; the course is available in three variants: General acquisition (which takes a broad perspective of the holistic and integrated nature of the topic); supply network management (which focuses on logistics and supply chain management); support solutions specialist (which has a specific approach that seeks to develop internal consultancy skills within the support environment).