The National Graduate School of Quality Management
Six Sigma Black Belt Certificate* Program Overview The NGS Six Sigma Black Belt Certificate teaches Lean and Six Sigma process improvement methods. The program consists of four, three-credit graduate level courses taught over a five month period. Attendees are required to complete a work-related, process improvement project. The entire program is completed in 6 months. The program is designed for individuals who aim to manage work-related projects, to achieve a skill set relevant to what is generally understood as “six sigma applications” and to apply the “best practices” of six sigma in actual projects.
Admission Requirements
Two years minimum of work or military service Project Management experience as team leader or team member Familiarity with data gathering concepts & techniques and quality best practices
Program Courses
SSM 643: Advanced Learning to See, Improving Throughput SSM 674: Advanced Six Sigma Applications and the DMAIC Model SSM 572: Black Belt Advanced Analysis Methods and System SSM 575: Black Belt DOE, Improve and Control Methods
There is emphasis on data collection and analysis, as well as the understanding and application of statistics. Topics include contemporary management techniques such as change management and project management.
Students are typically experienced, working adults from both corporate and military environments. Classes are offered online or onsite.
$2,900 (plus Minitab and application fee)
Why go to NGS? Employers hire, promote, and recruit NGS graduates because of their extraordinary practice-based knowledge and their proven ability to achieve accelerated, tangible results. Today, black belts must acquire leadership, project management, and project-related financial analysis skills in order to “explain” project results to senior management. NGS prerequisites for entry into the Black belt program are thus derived what appear to be “success indicators” from the applicant’s background and experience. *Not available in MA.
Application Process 1. Visit www.ngs.edu 2. Click Apply Online 3. Complete application Be sure to include: Résumé and $50 application fee;
4. Once admitted,
register by clicking link provided with acceptance letter.
Tuition Accreditation NGS certificate programs are accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), an ANSI Accreditation Program Certificate Issuer— Accreditation #0916. NGS is accredited by The New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEAS&C). NEAS&C may be contacted at
[email protected] or (781) 271-0022. Certified to operate by State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV).
Contact Us
[email protected] 800-838-2580 ext. 107 www.ngs.edu 1
The National Graduate School of Quality Management
Six Sigma Black Belt Certificate Course Descriptions SSM 643 Advanced Learning to See, Improving Throughput (3cr, graduate)
This advanced course covers Lean Thinking, Value Stream Mapping (VSM), and the Toyota Production system in depth. Students are challenged on how to continuously improve a process through work flow analysis, identification of obstacles to faster processes, and VSM implementations to eliminate waste. Instruction is provided in throughput improvement methodologies, including throughput analysis, and Just-In -Time (JIT) production.
Program Format
SSM 674: Six Sigma Applications and the DMAIC Model (3cr, graduate)
Students learn Six Sigma and Lean methodologies and how organizations employ these process improvement methodologies in diverse industries such as manufacturing, transactional, healthcare and defense. Students are guided to apply these methods to their own improvement projects to tangibly effect improvements at their organizations.
SSM 572: Black Belt Advanced Analysis Methods and Systems (3cr, graduate)
Application of financial business theory and the cost of quality are the core concepts of this course. Topics include: cost accounting, understanding the hidden cost of inefficiency, and financial implications of Lean operations. Students will calculate the measurable cost benefit resulting from their process improvement.
SSM 575: Black Belt DOE, Improve and Control Methods (3cr, graduate)
This course introduces and applies Design of Experiments (DOEs) and process improvement methods and tools. IT teaches and provides opportunities to apply methods to fix and sustain the actual performance improvement made and prepares students for their program Project final deliverable. Topics include: Failure Mode Effects Analysis, Quality Function Deployment; Design of Experiments, After Project Process Monitoring, and Project Closure.
Final Project
A work-related Six Sigma project is required for completion of the certificate program.
The Six Sigma Black Belt program is taught 100% online Students complete 40 hours of course work Earn your certificate in 6 months Use of Minitab, PowerPoint and Excel is required Students receive graduate credits
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The National Graduate School of Quality Management
Six Sigma Black Belt Certificate Project Information Project Coursework: The student works with a project team of one-three students to find and implement a solution to a work-related process problem. The course work includes using the Six Sigma DMAIC methodology to Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, and Control the process and eliminate or reduce the problem.
In the Define Phase, the student will complete a project charter, identify the cost of the problem, examine the current process, organize a work team, and define the scope of the problem. In the Measure Phase, the student will study the process and problem closely to identify root causes or the problem and collect data on the problem. In the Analyze Phase, the student will analyze the data collected to understand the variation in the process and identify opportunities that could improve the process by reducing the variation. In the Improve Phase, students will identify solutions to the problem, select the optimal solution, pilot the solution on a small-scale and statistically prove the solution reduces variation in the process, then calculate the full-scale cost of implementing the solution and the cost-saving of eliminating the problem. The student may also be involved with implementing the full-scale solution (full-scale solutions usually take longer than 6 months depending on the size of the organization). In the Control Phase, the student will put solutions in place that will control and sustain the process to permanently solve the problem.
Project FAQ
It is recommended each student works on their own project NGS alumni can work on their former team project A completed certificate project must be submitted 180 days after the start of the program
Project Selection: The project is a work-related, process improvement project that can be accomplished within the five-six month period for the program. The process (or sub-process) should be one that repeats several times per month, such as an operational process, (like manufacturing a product, inventory management, supply chain planning, or providing a service to a customer), or a transactional process (like order management, customer billing, or engineering document control). Processes that are not a good choice for projects for this program are processes that only repeat a few times a year (like a month end close process), when the solution is already known (like implementing an e-solution to a process), a process where the scope is too large to implement in 5-6 months, or a process that does not have a process flow like energy reduction. Project Presentation: The output requirement for this program is a thorough project presentation in PowerPoint with speaker notes.
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