School spotlight:

University of Wisconsin-Madison

by Rebekah Bovenmyer

You might think of cheese and the Green Bay Packers when you think of Wisconsin (I know I do). Located in the state capitol and on Lake Mendota, the University of Wisconsin-Madison is also home to a lot of transportation and freight-related majors:

• supply chain management; operations and technology management
• cartography and GIS
• real estate and urban land economics
• economics
• engineering mechanics and astronautics
• civil engineering

Supply chain management; operations and technology management

If you liked our Tech trends article on RFID and our feature on how corn is moved through the supply chain, then you might be interested in supply chain management and operations and technology management.

Students in any business major can get a specialization in supply chain management. There are 7 required courses, including fundamentals of supply chain management, supply chain process integration through ERP systems, logistics management, and procurement and supply management.

"Our program takes a holistic approach to the management of the product and value chain. We're very cross-functional, and the complexity involved in supply chain management requires that approach. The fact that a consumer can choose from multiple colors and options in a product, and get that product where and when they want it, is possible because of the supply chain," says Verda Blythe, director of the Grainger Center for Supply Chain Management at the Wisconsin School of Business.

Students in the operations and technology major figure out how to make companies' processes more efficient, taking courses in economics of transportation, fundamentals of supply chain management, and facilities location models.

The UW-Madison offers a bachelor's in business administration (BBA). Students enter the pre-business program and then, depending on their GPAs, are admitted into the operations and technology management major.

For more information on the supply chain management specialization, see http://www.bus.wisc.edu/grainger/prospective/undergradspecialization.asp or contact Verda Blythe, vblythe@bus.wisc.edu.

For more on the operations and technology management major, see http://www.bus.wisc.edu/oim/.

Cartography and GIS

If you love pouring over those difficult-to-fold maps on road trips, then you might want to look into cartography (map-making) and geographic information science (GIS). GIS is used to help decide where roads should be built and to help guide truck drivers along their routes, for starters.

The UW-Madison offers a bachelor's of science (BS) in geography with an emphasis in cartography and GIS. Courses include map reading and interpretation, GIS applications, and graphic design in cartography.

Students in the cartography program are also required to take surveying, remote sensing, and photogrammetry courses in the civil engineering department.

For more information, visit http://www.geography.wisc.edu/.

Real estate and urban land economics

You might think that a real estate agent only sells houses, but students in real estate and urban land economics at the UW-Madison know that lots of different people and organizations buy land. Governments buy land to build roads so that trucks can travel quickly with their freight.

Students in this major get a BBA and take courses in urban and regional economics, computer applications in real estate analysis, real estate law, and real estate finance.

For more information, visit http://www.bus.wisc.edu/realestate/.

Economics

Do you like to understand the big picture of how the world works? Students in economics analyze both how individuals and groups use money and other resources in their lives and businesses. Economists can look at one transportation industry in particular, like freight, or how individuals and businesses use transportation.

Students at the UW-Madison can get either a bachelor's of arts or a BS degree in economics, taking classes in urban and regional economics, urban transport economics, and the economics of transportation.

For more information, see http://www.ssc.wisc.edu/econ/undergrad/.

Engineering mechanics and astronautics

If you were the kid who always dismantled a doll or robot to see how it worked, you might like engineering mechanics and astronautics. Engineering mechanics and astronautics majors at the UW-Madison learn how airplanes fly and what makes cars and trucks run. Then they try to make it better.

Students earn a BS in engineering mechanics and can get a specialization in astronautics if they want to work on airplanes and spacecraft. They take courses in mechanical vibrations, mechanics of materials, and aerodynamics.

For more information, see http://www.engr.wisc.edu/ep/ema/prospective/undergrad/.

Civil engineering

Trucks zip across the country every day, through cities and over long stretches of interstate highways, to bring the food and fun things you use to warehouses and stores near you. If you want to design the roads, bridges, and highways the trucks drive on or make sure they're built just right, then you might have a lot in common with students in civil engineering at the UW-Madison.

The Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering offers a BS in civil engineering with three option areas: environmental engineering, fluid systems engineering, and construction engineering and management. The construction engineering and management option has an emphasis area in transportation.

Transportation-related courses in the department include highway engineering, traffic control, urban transportation planning, and advanced highway materials and construction.

For more information, see http://www.engr.wisc.edu/cee/.