College Station, Texas — Texas A&M University is shortening the distance between distribution professionals and their graduate degrees with its Web-based Master of Industrial Distribution program. The MID program is accepting applications for its second class, which begins in August.

The two-year program is conducted online, with no class meeting times. Students are required to spend one week in residence at Texas A&M during each year of the program.

Like an MBA program, the MID teaches the principles of strategic planning, the fluctuations of markets and how to understand and manage the activities that direct the purchasing decisions of both suppliers and customers. The MID curriculum includes both business and industrial distribution courses. Through project work, students research solutions to specific challenges their companies are facing.

"The MID fills the career-long educational needs of today's executive talent in distribution and manufacturing — independent of time or distance," said Dr. Ben Zoghi, Texas A&M's Industrial Distribution Program Coordinator, who also heads the school's Thomas A. Read Center for Distribution Research and Education. "The MID complements the Read Center's Certificate in Distribution Management program, which offers a comprehensive skill set for managers and potential managers."

For more information on the MID or CDM programs, visit http://idsource. tamu.edu.