Doctor of Philosophy Degree Program

The goal of the Ph.D. Program in Management is to produce scholars capable of teaching and conducting research related to the management of organizations. To accomplish this goal, students must demonstrate competence in:

Summary of the Program:

Accomplishing the academic objectives normally requires a minimum of three, and more frequently four, years. During the first year, students take specified courses in statistics/research methodology and the students' major area. At the end of the first year, some of the areas require that students pass a written 'qualifying' examination in their majors.

By the middle of their third year most students are expected to have successfully passed their comprehensive examination in their field of concentration. Students must then complete a doctoral dissertation. The work on the dissertation usually begins in the third year and is completed by the end of the fourth year or soon thereafter. In addition, each student must have one year's teaching experience prior to graduation. Minimum requirements for the program are 45 credit hours of course preparation and 18 credit hours of the doctoral dissertation.

Prerequisites to the Program:

All applicants are expected to be graduates of an accredited American college or university or a foreign institution determined to be equivalent, and to have achieved acceptable grade point averages in all prior undergraduate and graduate studies. Majors in Strategic Management must have an M.B.A. or its equivalent. Applicants are required to submit a Graduate Management Admission Test score.

Students not meeting the program’s entrance requirements generally must take more courses than students who have met the requirements. Applicants with a recent M.B.A. degree are usually considered to have met the entrance requirements.

Specific course requirements are kept to a minimum so that students, in cooperation with their advisers and the director of the Ph.D. Program, may choose a program which best meets their own needs. Introductory course requirements listed below, therefore, are prerequisites to ensure a minimal level of competence in doctoral-level courses.

The following prerequisites should be met upon application, or shortly after entry, to the Ph.D. Program:

a) Information Systems and Management Science
Working knowledge of computer programming, knowledge of management’s use of computers, and knowledge of basic management science applications and models.

b) Mathematics and Statistics
Working knowledge of differential and integral calculus, matrix algebra, probability, sampling, estimation, hypothesis testing, experimental design, and regression.

c) Economics
Intermediate level knowledge of microeconom-ics and macroeconomics.

d) Social and Behavioral Sciences
Demonstrated competence in the behavioral and social sciences.

e) Business Administration
Introductory level knowledge of the following areas: accounting, finance, marketing, business policy, operations, management, public policy toward business, and business law. Students with a prior business degree are assumed to have this knowledge. Those without prior business degrees are expected to demonstrate their competence in these areas.

Students entering the program may have acquired the knowledge by formal course work, self-study, or work experience.

Core Requirements:

All students are expected to demonstrate competence in the foundation or core areas relevant to their major. Therefore, at the end of the first year (third semester for accounting), all students are evaluated by the faculty in their area. For some of the areas this means that students must pass a written or qualifying examination in their area of concentration. It is also expected that marketing and organization studies majors demonstrate satisfactory coursework in economics, and that finance, accounting, and management science majors demonstrate satisfactory course work in the behavioral sciences. This last requirement should be satisfied before students take their comprehensive examination.

Fields of Concentration:

The fields of concentration normally consist of a minimum of 30 semester hours; 21 in a major field and 9 in a minor field. The minor concentration may be selected from graduate courses offered anywhere at the University. The major concentration must be selected from one of the following:

Accounting
Strategic Management
Finance
Organization Studies
Management Science
Marketing
Sport Management
Hospitality and Tourism Management

The major field of Strategic Management is intended to be broad in scope and does not require a specified minor field. The major field of Organization Studies may include aspects of Human Resource Management.

Upon arrival in the fall, a student is assigned an adviser from the major area selected. The student and adviser draft a tentative program of study, semester-by-semester. During the second semester a three-person guidance committee, including the adviser, formally approves the student’s plan of study, including the nature of the comprehensive exam. The plan of study is also approved by the doctoral program director. The nature and scope of the comprehensives must be approved at least one semester before the exam actually takes place. The comprehensive committee must include representation by the minor area; the exam must be written, and may include an oral portion.

Doctoral Dissertation:

Upon completing the comprehensive examination, the student forms a dissertation committee in consultation with the projected chairperson and doctoral program director. The committee is composed of at least four members, including one person from outside the Isenberg School. Members on the committee are officially appointed by the Graduate School. A dissertation proposal is written and orally defended before the dissertation committee. After the committee accepts the proposal, the student completes the dissertation research to the satisfaction of the committee. The student must then successfully complete a final oral examination.

Teaching and Research Requirements:

All doctoral students must have three semesters of teaching experience prior to graduation. This requirement is satisfied by serving as a teaching assistant in the Isenberg School of Managment, for which enrollment in the school’s teaching preparation course is required. All doctoral students must also have one year of experience conducting research under the guidance of a faculty member.

Minimum Doctoral Program Schedule

Phase One (primarily first year)
Research Methodology Core 9 credits
Major Field Core 9 credits
Minor Field Core 3 credits

Phase Two (primarily second and third year)
Major and Minor Concentrations 18 credits
Advanced Methods 6 credits
Teaching Preparation
Comprehensive Examination

Phase Three (third and fourth year)
Dissertation Proposal Defense
Dissertation Research 18 credits
Final Oral Examination

Questions concerning the Ph.D. Program should be addressed to: Director of the Ph.D. Program, Isenberg School of Management, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA. 01003.