Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Management - Design and Innovation

The PhD in design and innovation brings together the disciplines of information systems, strategy and marketing to prepare scholars for path-creating research on consequential issues faced by organizations and managers. The program encourages a cross-disciplinary approach to the generation of new knowledge on the management challenge of creating value for customers, stakeholders and society. Because traditional boundaries between the economic and the social, between the public and the private, and between management disciplines are becoming blurred, economic elements that had been separate and autonomous are now interconnected and interdependent. As a result, the global market economy requires unrelenting innovations in designing better products, services, interactions and environments. The guiding principles for PhD studies in the Design & Innovation Department are: To develop scholars with the interdisciplinary theoretical grounding and methodological skills that enable path-creating research on important management problems To prepare scholars and educators capable of holding academic positions in top universities and research institutions To produce scholars with a reputation as risk-takers who are unafraid to embrace the unconventional and engage in exciting research that informs both disciplinary and interdisciplinary interests To train graduates that value partnership with practitioner-scholars who share their interests and engage in joint exploration of research opportunities for publication in top scholarly journals Curriculum The department’s PhD program is focused on disciplinary research and trains academic scholars for faculty positions in the disciplines of information systems and marketing at leading business schools. The organizing principles for the program are: To provide rigorous interdisciplinary training in theory and methods through core courses To challenge students to develop research articles in each year of study that are discipline-focused and draw from their interdisciplinary training The PhD program consists of coursework in three areas and a dissertation. Coursework in the following areas is required: general management research and methods, specialization research, and a minor area of study. The general management research and methods component involves six courses offering sufficient interdisciplinary orientation: Research theory and methods Qualitative research methods Measurement in management research Multivariate data analysis Theory building and analysis Advanced data analysis At the end of the first- and second-year of study, each student will be expected to complete and present a publishable paper that draws from one or more of their courses of study and demonstrates their progress in the program. These papers are expected to be targeted to top academic conferences and academic journals. In addition, students are required to attend the interdisciplinary research seminar series during each year of their study. Following the completion of all required coursework, students take a comprehensive qualifying examination, generally during the second summer semester or early in the fall semester of the third year. Upon successful completion of the comprehensive qualifying examination, the student is admitted to candidacy and formally begins the dissertation phase of the program. The dissertation proposal and the dissertation itself are generally completed in one-and-a-half to two years. The advising team for each student will be led by a faculty member from the student’s disciplinary focus but is expected to have interdisciplinary representation. Students making normal progress should expect to finish all degree requirements within four to five years.