Message from the Coordinator
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.
Giuseppe Labianca
Berthiaume Chaired Professor of Leadership
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.
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
- Corporate Social Responsibility Practices
- Social Identity, Sensemaking Processes and Organizational Change
- The Influence of Culture and Values
- The Contributions of Feminist Theorizing
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.
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.
YEAR 1: Coursework, including foundational courses; Summer paper; Colloquium; First Year Portfolio
YEAR 2: Coursework, including core courses, research electives and minor area courses; Colloquium; Comprehensive exam
YEAR 3: Additional coursework as needed; Development of dissertation proposal; Teaching
YEAR 4: Dissertation; Teaching
Organization Studies Doctoral Candidates
