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PhD in Business Administration & Management

Boston University’s PhD in Business Administration & Management program trains scholars to develop and test management theories that contribute to management education and practice. Students acquire advanced knowledge of literature and theory in their major area of specialization as well as solid grounding in a minor (for example, a social science discipline such as sociology, economics, or political science) that broadens their foundation. Students also gain theoretical and practical knowledge of advanced research skills, essential for publishing in leading academic journals.

The PhD in Business Administration & Management program ensures that students develop an appreciation of the role of their research domain in managerial and organizational contexts, and can translate their learning from scholarly research into effective teaching. Our faculty, which has earned worldwide recognition for its scholarly and applied research, is the school’s major resource for doctoral education. Their commitment to advancing management knowledge through research published in top journals, and improving the quality of teaching, enables them to effectively mentor doctoral students, who, in close collaboration with faculty, are part of the intellectual capital of the school.

Learning Outcomes

The PhD curriculum has the following learning goals. Students will:

Demonstrate advanced knowledge of literature, theory, and methods in their field.
Be prepared to teach at the undergraduate or master’s level in a business school.
Produce original research of quality appropriate for publication in scholarly journals.

Residency

After matriculation into the PhD program, a candidate for the degree must register for and satisfactorily complete a minimum of 64 graduate-level credits at Boston University. More courses may be needed, depending on departmental requirements.

PhD in Business Administration & Management Curriculum

The curriculum provides the graduate with a combination of major and minor foci which incorporates both the depth and breadth of knowledge and research skills required to contribute to management research. It creates the capacity for learning and innovation in the face of rapid changes in the social, economic, technical, and political contexts of management. The curriculum has the following specific learning goals:

Students must:

Acquire advanced knowledge of theory and methods in their area of specialization (the major).
Gain sound knowledge of theory and methods in an area other than their specialization (the minor).
Acquire theoretical and practical knowledge of advanced research skills.
Have adequate preparation to teach at the undergraduate or master’s level in a business school.
Be capable of independently producing original research of quality appropriate for publication in scholarly journals.

Course Requirements

The minimum course requirement is 16 courses (64 credits).

Course category
Number of courses
Total credits

Research Methodology & Methods Core
5
20

Major area
5
20

Minor area
4
16

DS 906 Philosophy and Science of Research
1
4

Course choices must be approved by the department liaison prior to registration each semester. The department liaison must also approve whether courses will be accepted as meeting the requirements for classification as major, minor, or research methodology courses. In the fall of the first year, all students are automatically registered for DS 906 Philosophy and Science of Research. All students must take a noncredit teaching intensive prior to the start of their third year.

Research Methodology & Methods Core

Candidates are required to complete five courses in research methods and design. Students, with the advice and approval of department liaisons, will choose these courses. Courses may be taken at the Questrom School of Business or may be selected from appropriate courses offered in other disciplines at the University.

At least two of the five research methodology courses must be taken from the following list of approved Methods Core courses:

DS 911 Seminar in Macro Organizational Theory
DS 913 Experimental Design and Methods
DS 919 Machine Learning Methods for Social Science Research
DS 925 Methods for Causal Inference in Management Research
DS 929 Analytical Modeling for Business Research
MF 930 Advanced Corporate Finance
MO 923 Field-Studies Seminar

Major Area Courses

Students must acquire advanced knowledge of literature and theory in their area of specialization (the major). Such competence is gained by coursework, participation in seminars, and independent study. Candidates must complete five doctoral courses in the major area and pass a qualifying examination at the end of their coursework.

Minor Area Courses

Students are encouraged to choose a minor that draws on one or more of the social sciences that management theories draw on: for example, sociology, psychology, economics, and political science. Minor area courses may be selected from doctoral-level courses, including independent studies, from any department at the Questrom School of Business (other than the major area), or from other graduate departments at the University. The four-course minor may also be custom-designed as an interdisciplinary conceptual area with the advice and consent of the department liaison. For example, a student may define the minor as “human behavior” and take four doctoral-level courses in psychology, anthropology, and sociology to meet the requirement.