MIS PhD Program
The Doctor of Philosophy in Management (Management Information Systems) is the highest academic honor an institution can bestow to its students.
The doctoral program is rigorous with an aim to train and prepare students to be critical and creative independent thinkers. An MIS PhD gives students the ability to perform critical analysis of existing work and to undertake research studies to advance academic understanding in the MIS field in the course of their PhD studies and in their subsequent career.
The MIS PhD program is designed to prepare students for teaching and research careers involving the design, analysis, implementation and operation of computer-based information systems and other associated organizational and economic issues. MIS involves the use of computers in organizations and the integration of computer skills with the functional areas of management.
The MIS PhD program starts with a solid foundation in research methodology. Building on this, it offers a unique synthesis of state of the art technologies and approaches from Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence, Economics, Operations Management, Statistics and Socio-technical networks, to name a few.
Our premier faculty stands ready to mentor students and guide their entry into the many possible avenues of MIS scholarly pursuits. There is a mix of hands-on and theoretical work: the students learn how to implement, deploy and evaluate business information systems that are of interest to academia and industry alike.
Plan of Study
The major course work consists of a set of foundation courses (21 units), quantitative methods (9 units), specialization (6 units) and participation in the MIS research seminar (6 units). The table below lists the major requirements including the required courses.
Courses
There are required courses for the MIS PhD program. In addition, students must register for 18 credits of MIS 920 (Dissertation).
Faculty
Our world-renowned faculty have set and upheld a high bar in the field of MIS. Not only did they pioneer one of the first MIS programs in the world—a program ranked in the top five every year since—they’re also known around the world for their research, publications and outreach efforts.
Current Students
Management Information Systems PhD students come from a variety of backgrounds. We invite you to contact these students directly if you are interested in offering them an opportunity for project work or full-time position.
PhD Student Travel
Throughout their academic career, MIS Doctoral students will be encouraged to conduct research, submit it to conferences and journals and to engage in personal network building to become a member of the larger community. The MIS department encourages these activities and has a travel fund established for MIS doctoral students to attend conferences, workshops and other career-building activities.
In order to receive departmental travel funding, students must be in good standing in the department and:
- Obtain MIS travel authorization prior to traveling
- Submit an application, budget and current CV.
- Apply for Graduate and Professional Studies (GPSC) Travel grants, if eligible. If the student has already received a travel grant in the current year, this should be stated on the application form.
- Use grant funding first if the conference attendance is related to grant activity.
Applications will be evaluated based on the student’s progress in the program, whether or not the student is presenting at the conference and the role of the conference in the student’s overall professional development, in light of the demand and budget in any given year. Students applying for more than one conference in a given year should rank the conferences in order of preference, as funding will typically only be awarded for one conference (unless it is the student’s terminal year).
Travel funding amounts will be determined based on actual costs of conference attendance, assuming early bird registration, lowest cost flights and room sharing at the conference. Students who wish to attend a conference without a paper or other role are welcome to apply. However, it should be noted that funding amounts may be adjusted downward for attendance only.
PhD Awards and Scholarships
The MIS department supports three doctoral awards and scholarships:
- Paul S. and Shirley Goodman Award, for students who excel professionally in the study of international developments in the field of computer science
- Nunamaker-Chen Scholarship, for students selected by the MIS PhD committee for their hard work, determination and commitment to the MIS tradition, particularly that of design science research
- James F. LaSalle Teaching Excellence Award, for the MIS graduate student instructor who exemplifies the best of teaching and excellence in the classroom
View MIS PhD Awards and Scholarships
MIS PhD Doctoral Forms
These forms are to be used for MIS doctoral students as they prepare for their written preliminary exam that is usually conducted in the student's third year of study.
The forms are fill-able .PDF forms that students will download to their computers, fill out, save, rename and email to the proper individual.
Forms sent to the MIS Doctoral Coordinator:
Doctoral Prelim Proposal: Deadline of July 15 (or the following Monday.)
Doctoral Prelim Report Form: Deadline of October 15 (or the following Monday.)
Questions regarding the above? Please contact the MIS Doctoral Coordinator for details.
Form sent to the MIS Doctoral Advisor:
Travel application to attend MIS related conferences and events.