Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Business Administration - Decision Sciences

The PhD Program in Business Administration at Duke University's Fuqua School of Business prepares candidates for research and teaching careers at leading educational institutions and for careers where advanced research and analytical capabilities are required. The PhD program places major emphasis on independent inquiry, on the development of competence in research methodology, and on the communication of research results. Students are introduced at the outset of the program not only to rigorous coursework, but also to the research activities of the faculty and of other students. A ratio of doctoral students-in-residence to faculty of less than one-to-one facilitates this opportunity to work closely with faculty. The PhD program usually requires four to six years of work, with an average of roughly five years. The student and the faculty in his/her area determine the specific program of study in accordance with each student's goals and interests. Each student is required to gain expertise in an area of special interest via coursework or independent study and to take a comprehensive exam in this area, usually during the second or third year of residence. The final requirement is the presentation of a dissertation. The PhD program offers programs of research and training in the areas of accounting, decision sciences, finance, marketing, management, operations management, and strategy. The Fuqua School of Business policy is to provide stipends, tuition and registration, and health fees for all new PhD students. The school provides tuition, registration, and health fees throughout the program and provides stipend support for ten semesters, as long as the student continues to make satisfactory progress toward the PhD. The Ph.D. program in Decision Sciences at Fuqua prepares students to pursue cutting-edge research under mentorship of our faculty. The training and research themes in our Ph.D. Program is comparable to that of top Ph.D. programs in operations research and management science. The Decision Sciences Ph.D. program is primarily intended to prepare graduates for academic research careers, though positions in industry are also a possibility. Prospective Ph.D. students with strong mathematics background and a desire for theoretical research in areas of decision sciences and operations research are encouraged to apply. The interdisciplinary nature of our program leads students to take courses and interact with students and faculty from many other areas around Fuqua and Duke University. Our Ph.D. Students take graduate-level courses in decision sciences, operations research, statistics, applied probability, and economics as the foundation upon which to build a program of original research culminating in a dissertation. No previous course work in business administration is necessary. In addition to Ph.D. courses offered by Decision Sciences faculty, our students are expected to take graduate courses at Fuqua School of Business, and at Duke economics, mathematics, statistics and computer science departments. Programs of study and research are individually designed to fit each student’s interests and abilities.