PhD in Operations Management

In this program, doctoral students receive an exceptional training under the tutelage of renowned faculty members. Their research is conducted at the highest levels of academic rigor and scholarly excellence and target prestigious journals of the field.

We support and prepare our students for exciting academic and research positions by offering:

• An assistantship for five years, including the first four summers
• Excellent research training that yields several research manuscripts targeting some of our best journal outlets
• Opportunities to present research work at major conferences in our field, including INFORMS, POM, and ICIS
• Immersion into academia by nominating students for doctoral colloquia at major conferences
• Opportunities to strengthen CVs by teaching introductory courses for three semesters
• Opportunities to compete for school and campus awards, including the prestigious Isenberg Outstanding Doctoral Student Researcher Award and the Isenberg Outstanding Doctoral Student Teacher Award. Our students have regularly garnered such awards.

The totality of the training and mentoring our students receive at Isenberg uniquely prepares them for outstanding careers.

Anna Nagurney
Eugene M. Isenberg Chair in Integrative Studies and Ph.D. Coordinator in Operations Management

At a Glance

• Faculty are focused on understanding supply chains, networks, and emerging technologies
• Access to the Berthiaume Behavioral Research Lab with eye-tracking, facial analysis, & GSR technology
• Quality, personalized mentorship with a 1:1 student-faculty ratio
• Guaranteed graduate assistantship funding and benefits for 5 years
• Assistantships around $40,000+ per year
• Opportunities to learn from top scholars, with research faculty bringing diverse expertise
• Application Deadline: December 15

Reach out to PhD Coordinator Anna Nagurney at nagurney@isenberg.umass.edu for more information.

Your roadmap to a PhD—designed to help you make a lasting impact through research and scholarship.

Years 1 & 2: Coursework

• Students complete 45 credits of coursework and milestone exams, building a foundation in operations management theory and research methods
• Flexibility to customize much of the curriculum across the university
• Sample courses include:
  • Business Process Optimization
  • Data Science & Machine Learning
  • Integer Programming
  • Multicriteria Decision Making
  • Seminar in Management Science
  • Social Network Analysis
  • Stochastic Models
  • Supply Chain Management
  • Experimental & Causal Inference Methods
  • Regression & Advanced Modeling
  • Predictive Analytics & Machine Learning
  • Qualitative & Mixed Methods

Years 3 & 4 : Dissertation & Teaching

• Focus on dissertation proposal, research, and defense
• Teaching requirement up to three to four courses, gaining valuable classroom experience