phd in strategy

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PhD Programs

Accounting & Management
Business Economics
Health Policy (Management)
Organizational Behavior
Technology & Operations Management

Students in our PhD programs are encouraged from day one to think of this experience as their first job in business academia—a training ground for a challenging and rewarding career generating rigorous, relevant research that influences practice.

Our doctoral students work with faculty and access resources throughout HBS and Harvard University. The PhD program curriculum requires coursework at HBS and other Harvard discipline departments, and with HBS and Harvard faculty on advisory committees. Faculty throughout Harvard guide the programs through their participation on advisory committees.

How do I know which program is right for me?

There are many paths, but we are one HBS. Our PhD students draw on diverse personal and professional backgrounds to pursue an ever-expanding range of research topics. Explore more here about each program’s requirements & curriculum, read student profiles for each discipline as well as student research , and placement information.

The PhD in Business Administration grounds students in the disciplinary theories and research methods that form the foundation of an academic career. Jointly administered by HBS and GSAS, the program has four areas of study: Accounting and Management , Marketing , Strategy , and Technology and Operations Management . All areas of study involve roughly two years of coursework culminating in a field exam. The remaining years of the program are spent conducting independent research, working on co-authored publications, and writing the dissertation. Students join these programs from a wide range of backgrounds, from consulting to engineering. Many applicants possess liberal arts degrees, as there is not a requirement to possess a business degree before joining the program

The PhD in Business Economics provides students the opportunity to study in both Harvard’s world-class Economics Department and Harvard Business School. Throughout the program, coursework includes exploration of microeconomic theory, macroeconomic theory, probability and statistics, and econometrics. While some students join the Business Economics program directly from undergraduate or masters programs, others have worked in economic consulting firms or as research assistants at universities or intergovernmental organizations.

The PhD program in Health Policy (Management) is rooted in data-driven research on the managerial, operational, and strategic issues facing a wide range of organizations. Coursework includes the study of microeconomic theory, management, research methods, and statistics. The backgrounds of students in this program are quite varied, with some coming from public health or the healthcare industry, while others arrive at the program with a background in disciplinary research

The PhD program in Organizational Behavior offers two tracks: either a micro or macro approach. In the micro track, students focus on the study of interpersonal relationships within organizations and the effects that groups have on individuals. Students in the macro track use sociological methods to examine organizations, groups, and markets as a whole, including topics such as the influence of individuals on organizational change, or the relationship between social missions and financial objectives. Jointly administered by HBS and GSAS, the program includes core disciplinary training in sociology or psychology, as well as additional coursework in organizational behavior.

Accounting & Management

Business economics , health policy (management) , marketing , organizational behavior , strategy , technology & operations management .

Undergraduate
Master of Accounting
Full Time MBA
Evening Executive MBA
Weekend Executive MBA
Charlotte Executive MBA

PhD in Strategy

Strategy and entrepreneurship.

As a strategy doctoral student, you have direct access to and work closely with UNC Kenan-Flagler’s renowned faculty. Strategic management is the bedrock of our research and provides a platform for additional focus areas: entrepreneurship and innovation, sustainable enterprise and information technologies.

The Strategy PhD Program prepares you to produce high-quality research as a faculty member at a top business school.

Our rigorous program draws from such disciplines as economics, psychology and sociology to inform research in the area of strategy and entrepreneurship. Although some students have completed graduate work before enrolling in the PhD program, it is not necessary.

Typical course schedule by year

During the first two years of the PhD program, your courses develop the tools you need to produce high-quality research. Sample classes include:

Economic Foundations of Strategy
Behavioral Foundations of Strategy
Organizational Theory Macro-Organizational Behavior
Seminar in Strategy: Topics might include international business, qualitative approaches to research, social networks, innovation and entrepreneurship, and simulation models.
You will write an original research paper under the supervision of a faculty member for presentation and critique.
Research Methods I
Research Methods II
Statistics I
Econometrics

You also take classes in other disciplinary areas such as economics, sociology and psychology. We maintain close ties with the Duke University faculty and you may take approved doctoral level courses at its Fuqua School of Business.

A comprehensive written examination covers all of the organizational behavior and leadership courses taken in the first two years of the PhD program.
An oral presentation of your current research
Full-time research
With consent of your advisor, you may attend/participate or present at external national or international conferences after your second year.
Dissertation and Oral Defense is expected prior to the end of your fifth year.
Preparing for the job market
You may take any elective course offered by UNC Kenan-Flagler or other UNC or Duke departments with guidance from your advisor.
Students are invited to participate in all related research seminars and guest speakers offered at UNC Kenan-Flagler.

View our current Strategy and Entrepreneurship PhD students .

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Strategic management ph.d., earn a ph.d. in business and a major concentration in strategic management to prepare for a career at top academic institutions.

The Ph.D. in Business and a Major Concentration in Strategic Management provides course work in the base theories in strategic management. The field of strategic management studies big picture issues facing managers of firms, such as deciding what markets and industries to enter, how to enter and exit various markets, how to position the firm in the market in order to gain competitive advantage, and the timing, sequencing, and orchestration of competitive initiatives. Topics in strategic management include: Competitive strategy, resource allocation and corporate strategy, strategic decision processes, international and emerging market strategies, knowledge and innovation management, strategic entrepreneurship, corporate governance, and environment and non-market strategies.

The main goal of the strategic management doctoral program is to train students to do high-quality research in any of these areas and to prepare them for careers as mainstream professors of strategic management at top academic research institutions. To achieve this goal, Ph.D. students are required to take courses in strategic management, research methods and statistics, as well as possible disciplinary elective courses in economics, psychology and political science, and to write research papers examining important and relevant issues in strategic management. The program also has a teaching requirement to the extent that teaching opportunities are available.

Interested in Rice Business?

Program information.

Rice Business offers an outstanding program for doctoral students interested in strategic management.

In addition to the requirements described in Chapters 1 and 6 of this guide, doctoral students who have chosen strategic management as their area must satisfy the following requirements for a Ph.D. degree.

Course, Research Work and Dissertation Advisor

The student’s course work must be approved by the area faculty advisor.
During the student’s first two years, he or she must take a minimum of 12 hours of approved graduate level courses per semester.
Course work includes a combination of required and elective courses. The required courses are listed in the attached course sample sequence.
The student is expected to attend all research seminars organized in the strategic management area during the student’s tenure in the Ph.D. program. Moreover, during the second and third years, the student must formally register for the strategic management research seminars and attend presentations of SE faculty as well as those of faculty members from other business schools who visit the SE area to present their research.
Students are expected to be fully engaged in research during the Ph.D. program, especially during all the summers, including the summer after the first year of their residency in the Ph.D. program.
Students must have a Jones School SE faculty member who has agreed to serve as their dissertation advisor by the end of the spring semester of their third year in the program.
From the second year onwards, students are required to give at least one research presentation every year in front of faculty and other doctoral students. Such presentations should demonstrate that the student is making adequate progress in his/her research. The presentation requirement may be fulfilled in the fall of the second and third years by presenting the required research paper and other research projects. It is the student’s responsibility to schedule this yearly presentation, together with his/her advisor and/or the strategic management area advisor.
Having teaching experience is important for doctoral students to perform well in the academic job market. As such, we require students in the SE area to have a teaching experience. In the third year of the program, all students receive an opportunity to be a teaching assistant for SE faculty in strategic courses at the Jones School. Moreover, to the extent that teaching opportunities are available, we require students to teach at least one semester course as the primary instructor before entering the job market.

Exam Requirements

Students must successfully pass a comprehensive exam administered by the SE faculty at the end of the second year. The exam is administered and graded by SE faculty, under the supervision of the strategic management area advisor or special committee set up for this purpose. The exam includes two parts:

Part I focuses on the coursework taken in strategic management and measures the student’s knowledge of the area as a whole including base theories, main strategy research topics, and research methods.
Part II requires writing a paper as a take-home exam (generally within 48 hours) on a topic jointly discussed between two SE faculty and the student; it focuses on the student’s ability to write a research paper establishing a contribution to the designated literature and also includes research methods and study design.

A successful performance in the exam demonstrates the student’s solid training in strategic management and provide the foundation from which he or she begins the research that forms the basis of the dissertation.

Research Paper Requirements

Students are required to write one major paper in their first two years, either sole-authored or coauthored with a faculty member(s) in the SE area. This paper is proposed in the spring semester of the second year and completed at the beginning of the fall semester of the third year. The bulk of the work on the paper is intended to be done in the summer. The paper is intended as (1) a developmental vehicle for the student and (2) that will result in publications in top quality journals (although credit is not dependent on publication).

The student is expected to take the lead on the project (in the manner of a lead author) and should individually decide (perhaps in collaboration with an SE area faculty member) on what topic the student will work. The paper must be approved by two tenure-track SE faculty members (one is typically the student’s adviser). The student is expected to present the paper in a faculty workshop at the beginning of the fall semester of the third year. Failure to complete the Research Paper Requirements, as outlined above, will mean that the student is not making satisfactory academic progress in the Ph.D. Program. See Appendix B for research paper approval and evaluation forms.

The course curriculum is designed around a challenging course of study in both the theory of strategic management and in innovative empirical design. The sample course sequence is typical although the students might choose different courses across disciplines to structure a specific degree plan. Besides the required 1st and 2nd year Strategic management basic and advanced courses, students are required to take a microeconomics course as well as statistic and methodology courses. Doctoral students may continue taking courses beyond their second year. Sample Course Sequence in Strategic Leadership (Psychology Oriented)

Year 1 (Fall)

BUSI 540 Strategy Management Theory (3.0)

BUSI 549 Strategy Pro-seminar (3.0)

POLI 504 Methodology and Data Analysis (or equivalent-e.g., ECON 510)

PSYC 507 Research Methods (or equivalent)

Year 1 (Spring)

BUSI 541 Strategic Management Research (3.0)

BUSI 5XX Advanced Topics in Strategic Management (1.5 hours see courses below)

POLI 505 Topics in Political Methodology (or equivalent-e.g., ECON 511)

Elective

Year 2 (Fall)

BUSI 5XX Advanced Topics in Strategic Management (1.5 hours)

PSYC 601 Multivariate Statistics (or equivalent)

ECON 501 Microeconomic Theory I (or equivalent)

Year 2 (Spring)

BUSI 5XX Advanced Topics in Strategic Management (1.5 hours-see courses below)

BUSI 5XX Advanced Topics in Strategic Management (1.5 hours see courses below)

Examples of elective courses are:

BUSI 503 Econometric Models in Marketing

BUSI 504 Game Theory

BUSI 530 Introduction to Accounting Research

BUSI 531 Empirical Methods in Accounting

BUSI 522 Corporate Finance

BUSI 523 Empirical Methods in Finance

ECON 504 Advanced Economic Statistics

ECON 510 Econometrics I

ECON 510 Econometrics II

ECON 514 Industrial Organization and Control

ECON 523 Dynamic Optimization

STAT 522 Advanced Bayesian Statistics

STAT 541 Multivariate Analysis

STAT 606 SAS Statistical Programming

STAT 621 Time Series Analysis

STAT 622 Bayesian Data Analysis

PSYC 502 Advanced Psychological Statistics I

PSYC 503 Advanced Psychological Statistics II

PSYC 507 Research Methods

PSYC 601 Multivariate Statistics

PSYC 637 Meta-Analysis in Psychological Research

PSYC 550 Foundations of Social Psychology

PSYC 636 Organizational Psychology

PSYC 639 Groups and Teams: Advanced Topics in I/O

POLI 503 Topics in Methods and Data Analysis

POLI 504 Advanced Topics in Methodology and Data Analysis

POLI 505 Topics in Political Methodology (Panel Data or Time Series)

POLI 511 Measurement and Research Design

POLI 527 Institutional Analysis and Design

POLI 576 International Political Economy

POLI 575 Game Theory

BUSI 540: Strategic Management Theory This seminar covers foundational as well as contemporary theories in strategic management. The course draws upon foundational theoretical perspectives from economics, sociology and organization theory to supplement more traditional strategy approaches towards understanding firm performance and related issues. Potential topics on contemporary theories may include: behavioral theory of the firm, transaction cost economics, agency theory, behavioral agency theory, structural contingency theory, theories of cooperative strategy, organizational networks, the resource-based view of the firm and upper echelon theories or theories regarding top management teams, theories of opportunity recognition and new venture creation, resource dependence theory, and theories of organizational evolution.

BUSI 541: Strategy Management Research This seminar examines the effectiveness of corporate and competitive strategy in creating and maintaining competitive advantage. Topics may include firm resources and sustained competitive advantage, dynamic capabilities and knowledge-based theories of competence, strategy as real options, and cooperative strategy including strategic alliances and joint ventures. Topics may also include corporate diversification strategy, international diversification and entry into emerging markets, corporate governance, management of diversified business groups, strategic entrepreneurship, and management of innovation.

Advanced Topics in Strategy (1.5 credit course modules)

Required Advanced Strategy Electives (They take two per semester after the first semester in the program)

BUSI 515 Micro foundations of organization & management (1.5)

BUSI 542 Organization change (1.5)

BUSI 543 Executive leadership & corporate governance (1.5)

BUSI 544 Contemporary management thought (1.5)

BUSI 547 Innovation & knowledge management (1.5)

BUSI 551 Strategy research in corporate development (1.5)

BUSI 550 Corporate social responsibility (1.5)

BUSI 552 Design of business research (1.5)

Other topic are likely to be developed in the future.

Certification of Candidacy indicates that a student has reached the advanced stage of the Ph.D. Program, permitting him/her to devote full time to writing a dissertation. At least eight months must elapse between admission to candidacy and conferral of the degree. The requirements for candidacy are: