PhD in Operations Management
The Operations Management doctoral program trains students to use theoretical, data-driven, or empirical analysis to advance their understanding of how work and processes are, or should be, organized and managed.
Thoughtful design and execution of operations are critical to the success of any enterprise. The program equips you to address both strategic questions of operations designs and tactical challenges of executing processes. Faculty employ a wide range of research methodologies, enabling students to develop and apply the most appropriate tools to solve problems.
The program is designed to prepare scholars for successful academic careers in both business and engineering schools. Through rigorous coursework and close collaboration with faculty on research projects, you will receive mentorship in a small, apprenticeship-based environment. Students typically work with one or more faculty members who are actively engagement in cutting-edge research.
Active Research Areas
Service management, healthcare management, retail operations, logistics, supply-chain management, sustainability, stochastic control of processing networks, revenue management, not-for-profit operations, and contracting and economic mechanism design.
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Our faculty’s research expertise spans modeling, optimization, data analysis, prediction and prescription, and empirical research methods. Faculty publish in leading journals, including Management Science, Manufacturing & Service Operations Management, Mathematics of Operations Research, and Operations Research, and serve on the editorial boards of many of these publications. Their work has also appeared in practitioner-oriented articles, such as Harvard Business Review and Supply Chain Management.
Faculty hold leadership positions in professional organizations, including the Manufacturing and Service Operations Management Society and the Applied Probability Society. In addition, our faculty have authored three textbooks on operations management, supply chain management, and operations strategy that are used in universities around the world.
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Our PhD students come from a variety of quantitative backgrounds, including engineering, computer science, mathematics, operations research, and statistics. A master’s degree is not required, although approximately half of our matriculating students have completed graduate study.
Because the program is research-intensive, strong quantitative skills are essential. Recommended coursework includes calculus, linear algebra, optimization, probability, and statistics. Training and coursework are grounded in operations research and economics; therefore, an interest in economics is expected. Prior research experience is not required.
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Coursework
During the first two years, students typically take three to four courses each quarter (fall, winter, spring). The first-year curriculum provides rigorous training in operations research as well as microeconomics, econometrics, stochastic modeling and optimization.
In the second year, coursework becomes more flexible as you transition toward independent research. Students chose from PhD courses in operations management, as well as in relevant fields as economics, engineering, and quantitative marketing, or MBA courses when appropriate.
Preliminary exam
You will take a two-hour oral exam administered by a committee of at least three Operations faculty. The exam is based on your presentation of a classic operations paper selected by the faculty. You are expected to present the paper as if it were your own research, demonstrating a strong understanding of the paper’s analysis, significance, and limitations, and respond effectively to questions from the faculty.
Qualifying exam and candidacy
By the end of the second year, you are required to write a research paper that demonstrates competency in operations research. Upon successfully passing this qualifying exam and maintaining a 3.0 (B) grade point average in coursework, you are admitted to candidacy.
Research, proposal and dissertation
Beginning in the third year, your primary focus is dissertation research under the guidance of one or more faculty advisors. A dissertation proposal must be presented to the faculty by the start of the fourth year. In your final year, you must complete a dissertation demonstrating original and significant research and successfully defend it in an oral (“final”) examination.
Teaching requirement
To promote engagement with faculty and integration with the intellectual community, students serve as research and teaching assistants during years two, three, and four. Research assistantships (RAs) provide valuable preparation for research careers, while teaching assistantships (TAs) help students develop the skills needed for academic teaching after earning their PhD.