Ph.D. in Management

The craft of research is something you learn by doing, so you’ll get involved in research projects right away. Meanwhile, in the classroom, you’ll take both research methods and content seminars. Highlights include Research Methods in Management (taught by Jason Colquitt), Advanced Research Methods in Strategy (taught by John Busenbark), Theory and Research in Organizational Behavior (taught by Cindy Muir), and Theory and Research in Strategy (taught by Adam Wowak).

You’ll continue to move ongoing research projects forward, but will begin pivoting to lead-authored work in the areas that you’re passionate about. In the classroom, you’ll continue to take additional research methods and content seminars–both inside and outside of M&O. Highlights include Topics in Entrepreneurship & Innovation (taught by Dean Shepherd), Topics in Organizational Behavior (taught by Brittany Solomon), Topics in Organization Theory (taught by Tim Hubbard), and Philosophy of Science (taught by Amanda Sharkey). That training will culminate in your comprehensive exams, which occur the summer after your second year.

With your coursework complete, you’ll focus even more on moving projects forward–both your lead-authored projects and ones where faculty are leading. Much of that attention will be devoted to the review process: submitting manuscripts, handling revisions, and otherwise improving your work. You’ll also teach for the first time, with OB students teaching one section of an undergrad OB course and S&E students teaching one section of an undergrad Strategy or Entrepreneurship course.

As you continue to manage your portfolio of research projects, you’ll turn your attention to your dissertation. What important contributions do you want to make to your unique areas of interest? You’ll also teach for the second time.

You’ll defend your dissertation proposal in early summer before going on the academic job market in the fall. Students tend to accept academic positions in November or December. You’ll then defend your dissertation in the spring, continue to manage your research portfolio, and look forward to life as a professor!

All students who are admitted to the program will be given a full tuition waiver. So the program is essentially tuition-free. In addition, all PhD students are paid a stipend of $42,000 a year. That stipend serves as compensation for your research activities (and for the teaching you would do in years three and four). Health insurance is also provided for you and your family.

We require either the GRE or the GMAT, and do not grant waivers for that requirement under any circumstances. We have no preference between the two tests. If you’ve previously taken one of those tests, we require a score that is less than five years old. The GRE institution code is 1841 (no department code is necessary).

It’s hard to say, as that is a function of a given application cycle, along with the rest of an applicant’s admissions portfolio. In prior cycles, the applicants who were shortlisted averaged 84th percentile on Verbal and 73rd percentile on Quant.

Yes, if English is not your native language, or if English was not your language of undergrad (or masters) instruction. We accept the TOEFL, IELTS, or Duolingo English Test. If you’ve previously taken one of those tests, we require a score that is less than two years old. The TOEFL institution code is 1841 (no department code is necessary). Notre Dame’s Graduate School lists the following as minimums to apply: TOEFL (80, with 23 Speak), IELTS (7.0), and Duolingo (120). Applicants with scores below those thresholds will not be shortlisted.

The APPLY button will take you to the online application, which goes through Notre Dame’s Graduate School. That application will ask you for your resume, a statement of purpose/intent, three letters of recommendation, and unofficial transcripts of prior degrees.

No. The application will ask which faculty you might like to work with, but that is just to give us a better sense of your interests (and to help decide who will interview you if you get shortlisted). No advanced contact with faculty is expected. Please direct any inquiries to Jason Colquitt rather to individual faculty members.

No. Anyone with a bachelor’s degree can apply. There is no masters requirement. And past applicants have had a wide variety of bachelor’s degrees and undergraduate majors.

Not really. “Pre-doc” programs provide two years of research experience and skill building. The culture of our program is such that we’ll work to instill the skills you’ll need in the first year. If you know that a scholarly path is right for you, why wait two years to get started?

No. This sort of degree is best thought of as a research apprenticeship—where you are learning research skills in collaboration with faculty. That sort of collaboration requires a full-time, five-year, in-residence commitment.

Yes. Like virtually all other PhD programs in Management, the focus of our program is training students to become professors in top business schools. Upon graduation, the expectation is that you’ll become a professor in a Management department at a UT-Dallas Top 50 business school. If you are interested in OB topics with more of an eye toward a consulting or industry path, you might consider PhD programs in industrial/organizational psychology. Those programs offer both academic and applied tracks. This link provides information on several such programs.

No. This is—first and foremost—a research degree. Teaching is part of the degree, as teaching is an important part of a professor’s career. But, if teaching or administration are your main focus, you might do a search for Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) programs, which are sometimes also called Executive Doctorate programs. This link provides information on several such programs. Click the Begin box, then the Get Started box, to see the complete list.