Plan of Study

Plan of Study

The student's faculty advisor will help develop a program that will typically involves two types of activities:

  • Advanced level seminars and course work through the Department of Management and Organizations and other UA departments
  • Independent study and supervised research with individual faculty members

Courses for the First Two Years

It is the goal of the Management and Organizations department that students finish all major and minor coursework within their first two years of the Ph.D. program. The following courses are required for all Management and Organizations students: 

  • Two courses in statistics: Univariate and Multivariate Analyses (MGMT 683/684 and MGMT 685/686) 

  • Two courses in research methodology: MGMT 601/602 is focused on experiments and MGMT 653/654 is focused on surveys and field studies 

  • Two courses covering Organizational Behavior (MGMT 615/616) and Organizational Theory (MGMT 645/646) 

  • Seminar in Human Resource Management (MGMT 621/622) 

  • Three additional courses to fulfill the doctoral minor requirement. Students work with their advisors to develop a course of study that best fits with their research interests and career goals (additional courses may be taken on an elective basis): 

    • Management and Organizations: PhD Seminars offered at least once every two years in specific areas of organizational behavior such Groups and Teams, Judgment and Decision Making, Motivation and Well-Being, and Topics in Organizational Theory 

In addition, during the first two years students will complete an independent study totaling 3.0 credit hours in which they will develop a first-authored research project with a faculty advisor. They will also partake in a 1.0 credit hour professional development workshop series (offered every other year). 

Example Recommended Schedule 

First Year 

First Semester 

  • MGMT 615/616 Theory of Management and Organization  

  • MGMT 683/684 Univariate Analysis in Management: Linear Statistical Models 

  • MGMT 601/602 Experimental Research Methods  

  • MGMT XXX Professional Development Workshop (offered every other year) 

Second Semester 

  • MGMT 685/686 Multivariate Analysis in Management: Applied Multivariate Statistical Analyses  

  • MGMT 615/616 Organizational Behavior 

  • Management and Organizations Department PhD Seminar   

  • Select faculty research advisor for independent project, plan project, and select committee 

Summer 

  • Make substantial progress on independent research project and potentially have formal committee proposal meeting 

  • Work on research projects 

  • Possibly teach one-two summer courses for experience and additional pay (the decision about who teaches summer courses depends on student interest and course availability) 

Second Year 

First Semester 

  • MGMT 645/646 Organizational Theory  

  • MGMT 653/654 Field Based Research Methods  

  • Management and Organizations Department PhD Seminar    

  • Formally propose independent project to committee in order to collect data during latter half of the fall semester or during the spring semester 

Second Semester 

  • MGMT 624/622 Human Resource Management 

  • Management and Organizations Department PhD Seminar 

  • Complete data collection for independent project and finalize the write-up for defense 

Summer 

  • Complete independent project 

  • Pass major written exams; oral exams to be taken within six months following written exams 

Third Year and Beyond 

After passing comprehensive exam at the end of year two, students’ main priority will be developing their research interests, research expertise, and research program.  The third and fourth years are devoted entirely to research, with the exception of one class to be taught during either the fall or spring semester of students’ fourth year in the program.  It is expected that students will propose their dissertation in the fourth year, finish collecting dissertation data by the fall of the fifth year, and defend their dissertation by April of their fifth year to graduate on time. This also will facilitate entering the market the summer before students’ fifth year with dissertations successfully proposed.