Organization Studies

The PhD program in Organization Studies is designed for individuals who are interested in understanding and researching the changing dynamics of organizations in contemporary society. From studying the meanings and conditions of work and employment relations to exploring leadership, gender and diversity, students seek to understand the processes of organizational change.

Message from Coordinator About Academics Students

Message from Coordinator

Charles C. Manz

Nirenberg Chaired Professor of Business Leadership

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The Organization Studies PhD fosters innovative thinking and takes an integrative approach to issues commonly addressed across the fields of organizational behavior, human resource management, and organization theory.

Our program provides students with strong grounding in organization and management studies, as well as in the current developments and controversies surrounding organizations and their management. Our goal is to develop outstanding researchers who make substantive contributions to scholarship and to place them in research institutions.

The doctoral program is successful because it offers:

World-class faculty who are active researchers with visibility in the field’s top journals
Cooperative and stimulating intellectual climate that supports individual scholarly development
Individual attention from faculty that allows students to collaborate with faculty
Rigorous coursework that equips students with the intellectual tools to investigate meaningful questions
Exposure to eminent research faculty from around the world for research talks and campus visits

We welcome applications from intellectually curious, academically oriented individuals.

About the Program

Overview

Isenberg’s PhD in Organization Studies is a multidisciplinary residential program that prepares students for careers in academia. Students will broaden their understanding of the areas of study within organization studies, and they will conduct independent research based on their interests. The small class size allows for individual attention from faculty and the program size provides many opportunities to work with faculty on research projects. Students also have the opportunity to develop effective teaching skills.

Areas of Study

Organization studies draws from a number of fields including psychology, sociology, economics and labor studies. Topics of study include, but are not limited to:

Human Resource Management
Organizational Behavior
Organizational Theory
Leadership and Motivation
Identity and Sensemaking
Power Relations and Inequality

Research

Our program offers access to a unique group of world-class faculty specializing in the following research topics:

Strategic Human Capital
Human Resource Management
Person-Organization Fit
Diversity
Leadership
Corporate Social Responsibility Practices
Social Identity, Sensemaking Processes and Organizational Change
Sustainability
The influence of Culture and Values
The contributions of Feminist Theorizing

Academic Overview

Students generally complete a PhD in Organization Studies within 4-5 years. Students must take 45 credits of coursework, building foundational knowledge in Organization Studies and Research Methods before taking advanced courses. The program includes a summer paper and first year portfolio, a colloquium, a comprehensive examination, a 2-year teaching requirement and a dissertation.

Coursework

Here’s a sample of our required organization studies courses:

Conceptual Found. of Org. Behavior & Theory
Statistical Inference I
Research Methods
Organization & Admin. Theory
Qualitative Research
Theory & Research in Organization Behavior

Prior electives have included seminars on leadership and empowerment and international organizational behavior; other electives or independent studies are offered depending on faculty availability and student interest.