PhD in management

A PhD in management is synonymous with a PhD in business or a business doctorate and is the highest degree awarded in the study of business.^[1][2] The degree was designed for those seeking academic research and teaching careers as faculty or professors in the study of management at business schools worldwide.^[3]

The Ph.D. in Management Degree

Business doctoral programs

A PhD is a doctor of philosophy which can be obtained in many areas of study, while a PhD in management is specific to the study of business, then segmented into areas of specialization.^[4]

Areas of specialization for the PhD often include, but are not limited to:

• Accounting
• Corporate secretaryship
• Decision sciences (decision theory and decision analysis)
• Economics
• Entrepreneurship
• Ethics and legal studies
• Finance
• Health care management
• Marketing
  • Marketing PhD program
• Organizational behavior
• Technology and operations research
• Statistics
• Strategy

A PhD in management or business is often required for those interested in pursuing an academic career as a professor at a business school.^[5][6] Business schools often require faculty to hold a Ph.D. and to engage in research.^[7] Business school rankings are often heavily influenced by the proportion of faculty with Ph.D. degrees or doctorates.^[8] Research is fundamental to the integrity of a graduate educational institution. Through research, professors gain the expertise required to teach advanced courses and to ensure that they remain current in his or her chosen field.

Brief history

In the 1950s and 1960s, leading business schools made a transition from vocational training to scientific research, rooted in social sciences, such as economics, psychology, sociology, anthropology, systems engineering, and mathematics. Since then, Ph.D. programs in business prepare candidates to conduct scholarly research based on rigorous methods and applied to business. For example, such research might aim to develop new theory and empirical knowledge about business and management problems by combining methods from economics, psychology and mathematical decision theory. By combining methods from multiple social sciences, business research has developed its own subfields of research, published in business application oriented journals as well as in social sciences journals.^[9]

Business research

Research with regards to the study of business encompasses a wide range of activities. There are many research methodologies or "tools" one must learn before being able to conduct research. A PhD program in business will teach you these various methods ^[10][11][12].

Research methodologies

Common research methodologies used in studying business are: Modeling, Econometrics, Experiments, and Field Studies.

Schools offering a PhD in management

There are many schools offering business doctoral degrees, some of them are:

• Arizona State University
• Adamson University
• Bocconi
• Boston University
• Carnegie Mellon University
• Case Western Reserve University
• City University of New York
• Claremont Graduate University - Drucker School of Management
• Clemson University
• Columbia Business School
• Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers
• De La Salle Araneta University
• Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies
• Cornell University
• ESADE Business school, Barcelona
• ESSEC Business School,Paris
• ESC Rennes School of Business
• Georgia Institute of Technology
• George Washington University
• Grenoble Ecole de Management
• Haas School of Business
• Harvard Business School
• ESCP Europe
• IE Business School
• Innsbruck University School of Management
• INSEAD
• International Academy of Management and Economics
• Krannert School of Management
• Mines ParisTech
• London Business School
• London School of Economics and Political Science
• Manchester Business School
• McGill University
• New York University
• Northwestern University
• Paris Dauphine University
• Queensland University of Technology
• Rotterdam School of Management
• Simon Fraser University
• Solvay Brussels School of Economics and Management
• Stanford University
• University of Twente
• UCLA Anderson School of Management
• University of California at Berkeley
• University of Chicago
• University of Edinburgh Business School
• University of Houston, Bauer College of Business
• University of Ballarat
• University of Lausanne
• University of Manitoba
• University of Maryland, College Park
• University of Michigan
• University of Nebraska at Lincoln
• University of Texas, Dallas
• University of Texas Pan American
• University of North Texas
• University of Pennsylvania
• University of Southern California
• University of St. Gallen
• Washington State University
• Washington University in St. Louis
• Walden University
• Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
• Shanghai Jiao Tong University
• Sharif University of Technology
• University of Mindanao
• University of Management and Technology
• Tamil Nadu Agricultural University

Program structure

Typically, the PhD in management takes 4–5 years to complete^[13]. The structure is usually 2 years of intensive coursework (core courses and seminars) followed by a comprehensive examination.^[14] The dissertation phase is typically 2–3 years.^[14]

Funding and scholarships

Most PhD programs will offer accepted candidates a tuition waiver along with a stipend to cover living expenses.^{[15][16][17][18]}

Careers

Becoming a professor of business means investing years of study before obtaining the desired degree, but academia offers many benefits, including: attractive salaries, the combination of varied activities in one career, intellectual stimulation as well as professional autonomy.^[19] However, following through with a PhD degree can be challenging not only because of the academic rigour but also due to the pressure and stress that comes from conducting research and defending a dissertation. Moreover, once a person obtains a PhD, there is no guarantee that even with an offer from a business school, that the PhD student will go on to publish his or her research in a top journal, will be able to teach effectively, or will receive a tenured faculty position.

Still, for those who have the motivation, drive and stamina to be successful in this field, there are many benefits. The life of a business professor is markedly different from a corporate career. An academic has more time to explore his or her own interests, pursues research, and rarely has a 'nine to five' type of career. Being a professor is much like being an entrepreneur (bad link – ).^[20] Success is based on the individual, and faculty are often their own bosses. Beyond being intellectually bright and able to conduct research, professors in business also need to be able to perform in the classroom. Teaching is a fundamental component of being a professor, though most faculty may only teach around 100 hours per year, the classroom setting can be challenging and often involve debate.^[21]

Not everyone can be a professor, but for those that have the skills required, it provides an excellent standard of living, with salaries comparable to the corporate world.^[20] Consulting, book publishing and speaking engagements can also further add to overall compensation.^[20] Academic institutions are often less vulnerable than corporations to forces like global economic downturns. Academia offers much in the way of financial stability.^[20]

PhD versus DBA

Prospective students interested in a career in industry (non-academic) should consider a DBA instead of a PhD in management, as PhD graduates are trained with an emphasis on research that helps to understand organizations, more than on actually leading organizations.^[22]

See also

• DBA – Doctor of business administration

External links

• Docnet: a consortium of business doctoral programs aimed at creating awareness about schools offering the degree, admissions and career advice for prospective students and general information on becoming a business professor.

References

1. ^ DBA or PhD In Business Administration http://www.allbusinessschools.com/faqs/dba-phd
2. ^ What is a PhD?http://www.phdproject.org/downloads/What_is_a_PhD.pdf
3. ^ Becoming a Business Professor http://www.aacsb.edu/resource_centers/DoctoralEdu/BusinessProfessor-full.pdf
4. ^ Online Dictionary http://www.thefreedictionary.com/PhD
5. ^ http://www.allbusinessschools.com/featured/doctorate-business-programs/
6. ^ AACSB "Becoming a Business Professor" article http://www.aacsb.edu/resource_centers/DoctoralEdu/BusinessProfessor-full.pdf
7. ^ AACSB "Becoming a Business Professor" http://www.aacsb.edu/resource_centers/DoctoralEdu/BusinessProfessor-full.pdf
8. ^ 2009 FT rankings table and criteria list http://rankings.ft.com/exportranking/global-mba-rankings/pdf
9. ^ Ph.D. Project http://www.phdproject.org/downloads/What_is_a_PhD.pdf
10. ^ Stanford http://www.gsb.stanford.edu/phd/overview/
11. ^ INSEAD http://www.insead.edu/phd/program/program_structure.cfm
12. ^ Columbia http://www4.gsb.columbia.edu/phd/whycolumbia/
13. ^ AACSB article about a PhD oin Business and Becoming a Business Professor http://www.aacsb.edu/resource_centers/DoctoralEdu/BusinessProfessor-full.pdf
14. ^ ^{a b} http://www.aacsb.edu/resource_centers/DoctoralEdu/BusinessProfessor-full.pdf
15. ^ FAQs Stanford http://www.gsb.stanford.edu/phd/admissions/apply/faqs.html
16. ^ FAQs INSEAD http://www.insead.edu/phd/faqs/index.cfm
17. ^ PhD admissions ESSEC http://www.essec.edu/programs/phd/admission.html
18. ^ Myths and Facts about Doctoral Programs http://www.betagammasigma.org/exchange/summer04/mythsandfacts.htm
19. ^ PhD Project http://www.phdproject.org/faqs.html
20. ^ ^{a b c d} http://www.hbs.edu/doctoral/SYOA/page2.html
21. ^ http://www.hbs.edu/doctoral/SYOA/page1.html
22. ^ Admissions FAQs Emory http://www.goizueta.emory.edu/degree/phd/phd_admissions_faq.html