Successful candidates for admission have strong records of academic performance in rigorous programs and exemplary GRE general test or GMAT scores, especially in the quantitative area. Applicants with bachelors degrees in the social sciences, engineering, sciences, as well as, business are encouraged to apply.
Adequate command of spoken and written English is required for admission. Non-native English speakers must take the TOEFL or IELTS, unless they have obtained the equivalent of a US bachelor degree from an institution at which English is the language of instruction. The committee prefers scores of at least 100 on the Internet-based test (IBT) of the TOEFL or scores of at least 7.5 on the International English Language Testing System (IELTS).
Students must teach or assist with teaching in a formally offered course for one full academic term. This engagement should include, at least, 8 hours of front-of-class teaching and 16 hours of teaching preparation time. The requirement may be fulfilled by completing a teaching fellow or instructor assignment at a Northampton University.
HEALTH POLICY GENERAL EXAM: This exam tests candidate’s general knowledge of health policy topics. At the conclusion of the second year of coursework, candidates are expected to take and pass both a written and oral exam.
SPECIAL FIELD EXAM: During the third academic year, a candidate should take and pass this exam, which is designed to test the candidate’s depth and breadth of knowledge in his or her chosen special field and to help the candidate develop skills in acquiring and using knowledge in new areas.
HEALTH POLICY RESEARCH SEMINAR: To monitor and encourage progress on dissertations, all candidates in their third- year or above are required to attend this weekly seminar.
DISSERTATION PROPOSAL EXAM: Before June 15th of the third academic year and prior to the commencement of a candidate’s dissertation, a candidate is expected to form a dissertation committee, submit a written proposal and pass an oral exam on his or her dissertation proposal.
DISSERTATION COMMITTEE MEETINGS: After passing the dissertation proposal exam, students are expected to meet with their dissertation committee at least twice each academic year
DISSERTATION ORAL DEFENSE: To graduate, candidates must submit and orally defend their dissertation to their committee.
Accounting scholars at Northampton University study how information affects capital allocation across firms, resource allocation within firms, and the behavior of key stakeholders such as shareholders, regulators, customers, and suppliers. Students in the program also study the process by which such information is produced and disclosed and the quality of that information. Academic work in accounting mainly utilizes statistical/econometric methods and theoretical economic modeling in examining these questions. It often draws from and extends frameworks developed in information economics and financial economics. Students who study accounting systems within firms often combine these statistical techniques with field research methods, which include conducting field interviews, collecting field data from companies, and designing and running field experiments.
Please note we will not be accepting applications for the Management area of study for the 2020-2021 academic year in order to complete a review of the program. Management is a dynamic field that overlaps with many other business areas and so we strongly encourage applicants interested in Management to also explore Strategy, Technology and Operations Management, and the PhD in Organizational Behavior to see if those fields would be an appropriate fit for their research interests.
Management scholars study organizational structures and human behavior in organizations to identify factors that affect a variety of outcomes ranging from business performance to employee satisfaction. Academic work in management informs management practices related to monetary and non-monetary incentives, the use of specific interventions to improve team performance, and structures to allow flatter organizational hierarchies to function effectively. Management researchers adopt a range of methods at individual, group, and organizational levels of analysis. Methods vary, as appropriate, to fit the nature of the problems they study. In relatively new domains of inquiry, researchers often follow a sociological grounded-theory approach, collecting qualitative data through interviews and observation to deepen understanding of phenomena and suggest new theory. Researchers analyze data systematically through coding processes characterized by organizing and sorting qualitative data to identify themes, illuminate processes, and suggest relationships between variables. Other researchers use quantitative data—either original data collected in the field by the researcher or archival data sets that are publically available or provided to the researcher by an organization. Such work employs statistical/econometric methods to test hypotheses proposed by researchers in advance. Additionally, some design and implement field experiments.
Marketing scholars explore the societal and managerial processes by which goods, services, and information are exchanged in a market to satisfy the needs and wants of individuals and organizations. Researchers study how firms, including not-for-profit entities, can facilitate these exchanges by discovering ways to better understand consumer behavior and by determining the kinds of activities that can be used to best educate potential customers about the availability and value of offerings relevant to them. In addition, marketing as a field is concerned with how different forms of communication, such as social media platforms, enable meaningful interactions between firms and consumers and between consumers and consumers. Academic work provides rich insights on how organizations can more effectively serve customers (for example, the collection and use of data to guide R&D investments) and has generated sophisticated approaches to gauge the impact of various efforts (for example, the effect of pricing schemes or salesforce incentive plans on demand generation). The findings and frameworks produced also serve public policy makers and advocacy groups who seek to monitor the actions of corporations in order to protect the rights of consumers.
Academic researchers in marketing use a host of methods to shed light on phenomena of interest. Empirical studies employ the most recent econometric and statistical techniques to examine the link between firm actions and consumer response to these actions. Increasingly, big data are analyzed using techniques such as machine learning and computational linguistics, with the objective of uncovering patterns in customer behavior and providing predictive insights. Experimental work in marketing, both lab and field-based, aims to understand the psychological and social motivations behind individuals’ response to various stimuli. Theoretical modeling borrows from microeconomics and game theory to offer normative guidelines for a firm’s marketing strategies.
Students in the marketing program select either the consumer behavior track or the quantitative marketing track.
Researchers in strategy seek to understand the mechanisms through which firms create value and sustain superior performance over time. In addressing these general concerns, strategy scholars address more specific challenges faced by firms including deciding which customers the firm will serve, which capabilities need to be developed to support those positioning choices, the dynamics of competition within markets, and the appropriate scope of the firm in terms of products or geographies. Many strategy scholars also focus on challenges faced by nonprofit and governmental organizations, which share common mechanisms with their for-profit counterparts but typically in the context of different objective functions and constraints.
Given the range of problems addressed by researchers in the strategy field, strategy scholarship uses a variety of quantitative and qualitative methods ranging from econometric analysis of large-sample data sets to field and laboratory experiments to ethnographic studies of a single organization. Students in the NU Strategy doctoral program develop a disciplinary base in microeconomics with complementary training in econometrics. Typically, these students extend the base to another discipline (e.g., sociology) or business field (e.g., entrepreneurship), which is important for gaining further traction on their chosen problem or deepen their understanding of microeconomics by pursuing one or more economics field sequences such as industrial organization, contract theory, or development economics.
The doctoral program in Technology and Operations Management prepares students to examine how and why firms create and deploy innovative products and services, as well as how the diffusion of technological novelty generates economic growth and transforms society. They also study how and why organizations—both for-profit business and not-for-profit enterprise—translate organizational goals into productive action by harnessing people, processes, and capabilities. Frontier research questions in these areas encompass a wide and diverse set of topics, and arise in some of the most important sectors of the economy, including health care, information and communication technology, energy, and the environment. Students in this program conduct research that addresses managerially-relevant problems, integrating discipline-based theory with rigorous research methods. Students in the technology and operations management program select either the innovation track or the entrepreneurship track.
Successful candidates for admission have strong records of academic performance in rigorous programs and exemplary GRE general test or GMAT scores, especially in the quantitative area. Applicants with bachelors degrees in the social sciences, engineering, sciences, as well as, business are encouraged to apply.
Adequate command of spoken and written English is required for admission. Non-native English speakers must take the TOEFL or IELTS, unless they have obtained the equivalent of a US bachelor degree from an institution at which English is the language of instruction. The committee prefers scores of at least 100 on the Internet-based test (IBT) of the TOEFL or scores of at least 7.5 on the International English Language Testing System (IELTS).
All PhD in Technology & Operations Management students receive a fellowship which includes tuition, health insurance fees, and a generous stipend for up to five years. Students must be making satisfactory progress in order to maintain eligibility for financial aid.
INTRODUCTION TO PROBABILITY AND STATISTICS: All doctoral students enrolled in the TOM doctoral program are required to have completed one undergraduate or graduate course in introductory probability and statistics. If this requirement has not been fulfilled prior to matriculation, then an equivalent course will be required in the first term of the student’s doctoral program.
A minimum of 13 semester courses at doctoral level, plus unit seminars are required. Each semester students will consult with the Technology and Operations Management faculty coordinator and/or advisor to receive approval of their course selections. Pre-approval by the TOM faculty coordinator is required if a student wishes to fulfill these requirements with alternative courses.
INNOVATION TRACK REQUIREMENTS: A comprehensive two semester sequence on economic theory:
OPERATIONS TRACK REQUIREMENTS (MODELING EMPHASIS AND EMPIRICAL EMPHASIS): One semester course on economic theory and one operations management theory:
INNOVATION TRACK REQUIREMENTS:
OPERATIONS TRACK REQUIREMENTS (MODELING EMPHASIS):
OPERATIONS TRACK REQUIREMENTS (EMPIRICAL EMPHASIS):
INNOVATION TRACK REQUIREMENTS:
OPERATIONS TRACK REQUIREMENTS (MODELING EMPHASIS):
OPERATIONS TRACK REQUIREMENTS (EMPIRICAL EMPHASIS):
Marketing students are required to take five additional doctoral courses.
Consumer Behavior-track students are required to complete:
Quantitative-track students are required to complete:
All students without an MBA degree are required to complete two case-based HBS MBA courses.
Students are required to attend and participate in seminars throughout their program.
TOM Unit Seminars. TOM students are expected to attend this weekly seminar to gain exposure to cutting-edge research conducted by faculty at other business schools and by TOM faculty, and to observe faculty recruiting seminars (job talks).
DBA Seminar for Technology and Operations Management TOM students are required, starting in their third year, to enroll and actively participate in this weekly seminar each semester it is offered. Students present work in progress and receive feedback from their colleagues and a faculty member. This seminar also develops presentation skills, critical thinking, and enduring relationships among students across all stages of the TOM DBA program. First and second year TOM students are encouraged to enroll.
Operations Management Reading Group Operations-track TOM students are required to enroll and actively participate in this weekly seminar at least once during their first or second year. This seminar exposes students to leading research on operations management. Many students participate in this seminar in several years.
To remain in good academic standing, doctoral students are expected to maintain a B grade point average and complete each doctoral milestone by the date provided.
Students must teach or assist with teaching in a formally offered course for one full academic term. This engagement should include, at least, 8 hours of front-of-class teaching and 16 hours of teaching preparation time. The requirement may be fulfilled by completing a teaching fellow or instructor assignment at a Harvard University.
Students are required to complete and present a publishable-quality paper by the end of their second year. Students are responsible for organizing a committee in consultation with their primary advisor, who will approve the paper. To be approved, the paper must show the student’s capability to produce publishable-quality research.
At the end of the second year, all students are required to pass the Special Field Exam, administered by their Special Field Exam Committee. For Operations Management-track students, the field exam will focus on empirical and modeling methods. For Innovation-track students, the field exam will focus on empirical methods and classical and special-field literatures.
By the end of their third year, all students are required to obtain approval of their dissertation proposal by their Dissertation Proposal Committee.
All students are required to hold a meeting with their Dissertation Committee by May of their 4th year to discuss a clear path for the student to successfully defend their dissertation and provide feedback and advice on the job market process.
Students are required to write a dissertation, which typically takes the form of three publishable papers, to the satisfaction of their Dissertation Committee. The dissertation defense is oral and open to the public. Students are expected to defend their dissertation no later than April of their 5th year.
The doctoral program in Technology & Operations Management prepares students to conduct important research on a broad range of issues in operations and innovation.
Faculty in the Technology & Operations Management Unit are trained in various disciplinary areas including operations research, operations management, economics, engineering, and organizational behavior. Faculty and doctoral students’ research addresses managerially-relevant problems, integrating discipline-based theory with rigorous research methods. Many faculty and doctoral students work in collaboration with industry partners, giving them a unique perspective on academic research and the ability to test their ideas in the field.
Our programs are full-time degree programs which officially begin in August. Students are expected to complete their program in five years. Students typically spend their first two years on course work, at the end of which they take a field exam, and then another three years on dissertation research and writing.
The program requires a minimum of 13 semester long doctoral courses. Students in the Technology & Operations Management program complete courses in the areas of business management theory, economic theory, quantitative research methods, academic field seminars, and two MBA elective curriculum courses. In addition to NU courses, students may take courses at other Northampton Schools and MIT.
Students in TOM often begin research in the summer preceding their first year by working with a TOM faculty member. Over the first two years in the program, students are encouraged to explore their research interests as they complete relevant coursework. During their third year, students begin working on their dissertation research, typically developing three publishable papers by the end of the program.
Examples of doctoral thesis topics include: Examining how employee non-compete agreements affect entrepreneurship and job mobility; Improving retailers’ sales forecasting using cost-of-sales, inventory levels, and gross margins; How familiarity among team members fosters organizational capabilities among teams; The implications of operations management for investors; and How firms influence service quality, and how service quality affects performance.