The PhD program in Management is designed to produce graduates who can make scholarly contributions to their chosen fields. Most graduates undertake careers as researchers, scholars, and teachers, in academic environments.

The doctoral program in the Scheller College of Business is intended for full-time students who will complete their entire doctoral program prior to leaving campus. Full-time residence in or near Atlanta is expected. The doctoral program is strongly research-oriented and emphasizes early and effective involvement in research, with students experiencing considerable personal attention and close interaction with faculty. The PhD program complements and reflects the technological emphasis of the Institute and places considerable weight on learning outside the classroom. The tutorial model is the basic educational approach employed throughout the program.

Applicants to the doctoral program in management should note that supplementary application materials are required by the College of Business in addition to those required by Georgia Tech's Office of Graduate Admissions and Enrollment Services.

Applications and viewbooks are available online at https://www.scheller.gatech.edu/degree-programs/phd

All PhD programs must incorporate a standard set of Requirements for the Doctoral Degree.

Requirements

The central goal of the PhD program is to train students to perform original, independent research.  The most important part of the curriculum is the successful defense of a PhD Dissertation, which demonstrates this research ability.  The academic requirements are designed in service of this goal.

The curriculum for the PhD in Management offers seven concentration areas: Accounting, Finance, Marketing, Information Technology Management, Operations Management, Organizational Behavior, and Strategy & Innovation.

Summary of General Requirements for a PhD in Management

• Core curriculum courses (area of specialization, 18 credit hours). Management students will be required to complete courses foundational coursework in their assigned area.
• Electives (area of specialization, 12 credit hours).
• Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) (1 course, 1 hour, pass/fail).  Georgia Tech requires that all PhD students complete an RCR requirement that consists of an online component and in-person training. The online component is completed during the student’s first semester enrolled at Georgia Tech.  The in-person training is satisfied by taking PHIL 6000 or their associated academic program’s in-house RCR course.
• Qualifying examination (1 course, 3 hours). This consists of a one-semester independent literature review followed by an oral examination.
• Doctoral minor (3 courses, 9 hours).
• Research Proposal.  The purpose of the proposal is to give the faculty an opportunity to give feedback on the student’s research direction, and to make sure they are developing into able communicators.
• PhD Dissertation.

Qualifying Examination

The student will be examined for knowledge in his/her field. The exam will be written and with the possibility of an additional oral component. The exam should be comprehensive in the student’s field and may include a section on research methodology and quantitative methods.

Minor

The minor will follow the standard Georgia Tech requirement: 9 hours outside the student’s home unit, with a GPA in those courses of at least 3.0.  These courses are in addition to the other core and elective requirements.  The courses for the minor should form a cohesive program of study, outside the area of ML, that is approved by the Faculty Advisory Committee. Typical programs will consist of three courses from the same school (any school at the Institute) or three courses from the same elective area in the courses listed above. The courses should all be from the same School or from the same elective area in the courses listed above.  Programs that do not meet this criteria cannot be approved by the Graduate Committee.

Dissertation Proposal

The student will present a dissertation project proposal to a Thesis Advisory Committee

consisting of at least three persons, one of whom is the Thesis Advisor. The Thesis Advisory Committee provides advice and guidance during development of the research topic and conduct of the research and is charged with approving the thesis when the research is completed and presented as the doctoral thesis. There should be a written proposal to be approved by the thesis committee at least one semester before the defense. If the student pass and has completed all other requirements, he/she will be considered a “candidate” for the PhD degree. You will submit the Request for Admission to PhD Candidacy form.

Doctoral Dissertation

The primary requirement of the PhD student is to do original and substantial research.  This research is reported for review in the PhD dissertation, and presented at the final defense. When the Thesis Advisory Committee considers the thesis to be satisfactory, a recommendation

for a Final Doctoral Examination Committee is made by the student and the Thesis Advisory Committee. The Final Doctoral Examination Committee consists of at least five individuals. At least one member of the Final Doctoral Examination Committee must be from outside the College of Business. According to Institute rules, members of the Thesis Advisory Committee must be members of the Final Doctoral Examination Committee. Dissertation research should be of sufficient quality and scope that it is publishable in refereed journals in the student’s field. The candidate will make an oral presentation of the project and its findings in a colloquium open to the public. You will submit the Certificate of Thesis Approval for Doctoral Students form when you successfully defend your dissertation.