Philosophy and Positioning of the Ph.D. Programs in Management Science

The School of Management grants a Ph.D. degree in Management Science. The School of Management defines Management Science as the use of economics, behavioral science, mathematics, and statistics, to conduct rigorous scientific research. It encompasses both theory and empirical analysis. Management Science embraces areas of specialization like accounting, finance, information systems, marketing and operations management. It has no clear boundaries among the various areas, and places emphasis on science and is not constrained by the culture of individual disciplines. It is this underlying orientation of science and integration that distinguishes Management Science from other philosophies and approaches to the study of management.

The Ph.D. program in Management Science is characterized by a high ratio of research faculty to students, which fosters close working relationships. Core and elective courses provide the students with a thorough understanding of management principles. Course work incorporates a broad business outlook into the study of theory and practice. A sequence of Ph.D. seminars exposes students to traditional and emerging research issues. Students have the opportunity to be involved in ongoing research projects under the mentorship of experienced faculty. We emphasize involving students in research early in their graduate careers. The close interaction with faculty members enables students to quickly learn to identify and develop research ideas and create their own research agenda. Students also develop their teaching competence under faculty mentorship by teaching organized classes.

Faculty research interests range from quantitative modeling to empirical studies using tools form operations research, mathematical programming, optimal control theory, stochastic processes, simulation, statistics and econometrics.

Students typically have an undergraduate/ graduate degree in business, economics, engineering, computer science or mathematics. Our students come from all over the world.

Students admitted into the program typically devote the first two years to course work and research projects. They take a comprehensive qualifying exam, based on the course work, at the end of the second year. During their second summer in the program, students also write an original research paper on an operations management topic of interest to them. At the end of the second year, each student begins to develop his/her dissertation research area, which is usually completed over the next two years