Strategic Management Program

The mission of the Strategic Management Doctoral Program is to provide students the knowledge and skills they need to conduct high-quality research and to place them at top research universities around the world.The defining features of the program are its coordinated research structure across seminars, the vitality and flexibility of the Strategy faculty, and a well-developed culture of supportive and collaborative research and learning. Unlike many Strategy programs, research requirements and expectations are built into the entire program and coordinated across seminars. For example, a study outlined and developed under the guidance of faculty in the first semester is intended to be executed in other coursework in the second semester under the guidance of another faculty member. Similar expectations and requirements are coordinated across most of the seminars. This permits a building of research skills and accomplishments well before the student reaches the dissertation stage. The intent is to make the dissertation research less daunting and more meaningful for the student.

The vitality and flexibility of the program can be seen in faculty research. The faculty regularly publish in quality journals like the Academy of Management Journal, the Strategic Management Journal, and the Journal of Management, among others, and are very active in national and international professional organizations. Their research interests and expertise currently span a number of diverse topics like organizational design, effective knowledge management, global strategy, mergers and acquisitions, franchising, top management teams, and boards of directors. Thus, regardless of where a student's research interests evolve, it is likely that one or more faculty will be supportive and knowledgeable.

The supportive learning environment is partly reflected in our low attrition rate (near zero) among those few (typically three) students we admit every odd year. Our graduates have assumed faculty positions at major research universities across the country, including Auburn University, Michigan State University, Texas Christian University, West Virginia University and others. We will next admit students for Fall 2013.

For more information on the Strategic Management Ph.D Program, please contact Dr. Chad Van Iddekinge.