Hi,

I am looking for an MBA that will allow me to pursue Lean Six Sigma courses (or even certification) while enrolled. Anybody know of anything? I've found that the Terry College of Business in Georgia has an elective in this area, which is pursued over two semesters. Something similar at a higher ranked school would be ideal though.

Thanks!

Doesn't the Iowa MBA at CIMBA do that?

@TheThreadsretread,

There are several schools who would offer Lean Six Sigma courses. Many also gives you the option of pursuing a LSS Certification.

I know, Univ of Pittsburg - Katz, and College of William & Mary - Mason offers LSS Certification. You can see course outlines of PSU Smeal, Purdue, MSU - Eli Broad etc. to check for yourself.

At W&M, LSS is offered as 3 credit course. 1.5 credit for Lean, and 1.5 for Six Sigma. These 3 credit courses offered makes it a "Yellow Belt". Students can pursue an additional 1.5 credit course called LSS Toolkit - which is more like a project. In which students implement what their learning and earn a Green Belt at the end of LSS Toolkit. In total its 4.5 credit.

Please be aware that several institutions dole out Lean Six Sigma Green Belt certifications. To better utilize my credits at W&M, and get the certification earlier. I opted to take the CSSGB from ASQ. Certifications from ASQ are usually considered to hold more value over others.

I, however, found that getting a Six Sigma Green Belt from ASQ was very easy. I studied the ASQ recommended Green Belt book for 3-4 days, and took the exam. The exam itself was an Open book. And questions were very easy, you can search the Index and find the answers. I also filled their supplementary sheet and marked all the questions that were wrong, or had no right options listed.

All in all, I found that Green Belt to be a joke. However, for some reason beyond my comprehension, it is valued a lot in by recruiters, and companies.

Try to get the Six Sigma Black Belt from ASQ if possible. You are required to improve an actual process and need to work with a Master Black Belt/ Black Belt.

Good Luck!

Ayon
W&M MBA 2015
CSSGB | PMP

Wouldn't it also be possible, if you didn't do an MBA from a school that offered LSS, to pick a provider and simply do the courses online?

Check out the MBA at Ohio State - Fisher. Their MBA concentration in operations management has a tight coordination with Six Sigma principles, with dedicated classes in this area.

Not sure if you can get any of the certifications through the concentration though. Check with the school's Center for Operational Excellence.

WOw, thanks for all the help! I didn't check here for a while. I will investigate all the different programs. I am interested in maybe doing my certification online and doing a better MBA at a top school like MIT or something.

That's probably your best bet. Six Sigma is a great set of principles to have (and worth knowing, in my opinion), but an MBA from Sloan would probably help out more, at least in terms of career progression.

Any other suggestions besides MIT? I'm open to other possibilities.

Any other suggestions besides MIT? I'm open to other possibilities.

This list here is a good start:

http://find-mba.com/lists/top-business-school-by-speciality/top-business-schools-for-supply-chain-management