With investment banking on the skids, some enterprising MBA students are looking toward supply chain management as the next area of opportunity.

"Our students see the re-engineering of supply chains as an important endeavor," says William Grenoble, executive director of the Center for Supply Chain Research at Penn State's Smeal College of Business.

Enrollment is up at Penn State and other premier programs such as Michigan State, where 70 percent of the MBA students have made supply chain management one of their two focus areas, and Arizona State, where a third of the MBA class of 2003 is majoring in supply chain management.

But before you head back to campus, beware. "The trend may have peaked," cautions Eric Johnson, professor of management at Dartmouth's Tuck School of Business. "MBA students as a rule are really tuned into the job market, and some of the boom in supply chain initiatives has waned."

Grenoble has heard similar rumblings, especially from high-tech companies. He adds, however, that traditional industries like chemicals, food and consumer packaged goods are still looking for talented young MBAs to work on supply chain initiatives. "The downturn in jobs this year is totally tied to the economy," he concludes.