About this Program
This Online Master's in Quality Management program is tailored to the needs of busy professionals by offering the "anywhere, anytime" convenience of an online education.
Our diverse students come from a variety of academic backgrounds and business sectors. It is appropriate for a technically-focused individuals who have previously pursued a four-year degree in technology, business, services, engineering or science. It meets the needs of technical professionals looking for both an advanced degree and appropriate preparation for their natural progression into management-level positions. It also meets the needs of professionals who are on a technical, rather than managerial career track, as it will help them to be more effective in team-based environment.
This 30–36 hr program takes the average student approximately three years to complete and has a project or thesis option. Get program information.
Parallel to the MS degree in Quality Management, there are two certificates, Quality Management Graduate Certificate and lean Six Sigma Graduate Certificate. The two graduate certificates require 18 and 15 credit hours respectively. All credit hours completed in one of the two certificates can be directly carried over to the MS degree program.
A student with ASQ (American Society for Quality) or equivalent professional certifications is eligible to apply for a waiver of up to three credit hours. Students must complete a minimum of 30 and 12 credit hours toward their master’s degree and graduate certificate, respectively.
Mission Statement
The Master of Science in Quality Management degree is a university-based, academic program dedicated to preparing professionals for quality-related roles in any organization. To this end, the Master of Science in Quality Management follows the recommendations of the American Society for Quality, quality professionals, business and industry, academic institutions and government agencies to coordinate an interdisciplinary approach to education, research and development in the principles of quality and continuous improvement in the public and private sectors.
Goals
Our goals are that the MSQM program will:
- Become the market leader in offering relevant and contemporary quality-related, graduate education.
- Prepare professionals, regardless of location, to meet the needs of all public and private sectors for quality managers, quality specialists and continuous improvement practitioners.
- Provide relevant theoretical and practical, graduate-level courses linked to the solution of real, work-related problems.
- Ensure interaction between fellow students and professors through team-based academic activities.
- Exemplify the attitudinal and ethical tenets of quality and continuous improvement.
- Actively recruit a diverse student population and faculty.
- Extend its research and service capabilities to the public and private business sectors.
- Require formative assessment of all applicants seeking degree admission.
- Require summative assessment of all graduates.
Guiding Principles
We strive after these fundamentals in our approach to serving you. Our program will: - Insist on the highest ethical standards in all of its actions.
- Keep customer satisfaction paramount.
- Treat all stakeholders (students, suppliers and employees) as partners.
- Seek, consider and apply stakeholder input.
- Endeavor to deliver the highest-quality education and research.
- Engage in continuous improvement.
What Students Say
- "Online learning can be difficult, but his class formats and his personal contribution and engagement in the discussion board is top notch." – Unknown student, through anonymous course and teaching evaluation
- "I always love the opportunity to use the topics we learned in practical ways i.e. projects/literature reviews." – Unknown student, through anonymous course and teaching evaluation
- "I can tell you this program, the professors, the material presented and the subject matter covered are magnificent. Truly, every class and more so, every chapter provided me with tools and skills sets I could take back to my office and employ the very next day." – Mike Fick, director of LEAN, quality, supply chain and facilities, Landscape Forms Inc. (used with permission)
- "Instructor and course [EM 547] structure is well organized. I like his enthusiasm towards encouraging students to read additional articles/books and his feedback boosted up my confidence and corrected me in many ways." – Unknown student, through anonymous course and teaching evaluation
- "The course [QUAL 546 TQM] was extremely beneficial in opening my eyes to quality concepts that can be directly applied in real world business." – Daniel Keatts, maintenance planning manager, Ford Motor Company (used with permission)
- "Professor Tucker is consistently excellent in all of the classes he teaches. He is very knowledgeable about the subject matter and is able to provide interesting examples of his experience with the topics." – Unknown student, through anonymous course and teaching evaluation
- "Dr. Fields and Dr. Tang are amazing teachers. They are highly professional and yet courteous." – Unknown student, through anonymous course and teaching evaluation
- "Excellent interactions. Always available for guidance and advice." – Unknown student, through anonymous course and teaching evaluation
"Professor Tang is very involved with this course [QUAL 655 Technical Six Sigma] and his students. He provides feedback and the course is well structured with weekly activity and discussions. This course was very well organized, informative and interactive." – Unknown student, through anonymous course and teaching evaluation - "I really enjoyed this course [QUAL 556 Human Aspects of Continuous Improvement]. I feel this subject is very important and overlooked at most companies." – Unknown student, through anonymous course and teaching evaluation
- "It was a pleasure seeing all your familiar names course after course and engaging in discussions and reviewing each other's work! I also would like to thank Dr. Tang for a great program and great guidance throughout several of my classes. Truly an inspiration." – Saed Haddad, Quality Engineer, Bridgewater Interiors/Johnson Controls (used with permission)
Outstanding QM Students
Year
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
Name
George M. Smith
Beth Jones
Andrew C. Huges
Constanc Bender
Natasha Laird
Employer
Magna Inc.
U of M Hospitals
RefrigiWear
ICU Medical
Hikma Parmaceuticals
2021
Kelley Stevens
Henry Ford Allegiance Health
2022
2023
Jon Gawlak
Donald Kehoe
SGS NA
Alberta Health Services
2024
Alexandra Pike
LifeShare Blood Center
History and Vision
The Master of Science in Quality Management degree program was approved in 1991 to provide graduate-level educational opportunities for the quality professional. Prior to that, as early as 1982, Eastern Michigan University had been offering quality courses in statistical process control and design of experiments.
Our vision is that the MSQM degree program will be recognized by its students and quality professionals as the nation’s provider of choice for best-in-class, quality-related academic programs.
At a Glance
- Number of credits: 30-36 hours
- Time to complete: varies
Catalog
Master's
Graduate Certificates
Resources
Herman Tang, Ph.D., Professor and Program Coordinator
Master of Science, Quality Management
111D Sill Hall
734.487.0226 | [email protected]
- Call: 734.487.0226
- Office: 111D Sill Hall, Ypsilanti, MI 48197