Strategy, Entrepreneurship and Innovation Option

Option contact: Sam Cho

1. Strategy, entrepreneurship and innovation option objectives

The primary objective of the strategy, entrepreneurship and innovation option is to train doctoral students for careers as professors at high-quality research-oriented universities. This training includes providing you with a program of coursework that prepares you to conduct quality research in strategy and entrepreneurship as well as management and marketing. The program involves you in faculty-sponsored research projects as co-investigators and co-authors, and assimilates you into all aspects of academics related to innovation and commercialization (e.g., teaching, research, and service).

2. Additional admissions information

Admission into the strategy, entrepreneurship and innovation option is competitive, with only a few spots available each year. Apart from the criteria discussed on the minimum admissions requirements page, admission preference will be given to applicants possessing one or more of the following characteristics: 

• A master's degree in strategy, entrepreneurship, management, or a related field
• Relevant work experience
• An intent to develop a proficiency in business research, particularly in the areas of strategy and entrepreneurship

It is expected that students entering the doctoral program will possess competencies in mathematics (including linear algebra and calculus) and business (accounting, economics, finance, management), have adequate computer skills and a solid command of the English language. If the student is deficient in any of these areas, additional classroom work (beyond the major course of study) may be required.

3. Program requirements: strategy, entrepreneurship and innovation option (24 credits)

The strategy, entrepreneurship and innovation option program requirements enable the student to develop proficiency in his/her primary area of study. The bulk of the training will involve doctoral seminars such as the following:

BA 660: Foundations of Entrepreneurship Research

BA 661: Organizational Theory

BA 662: Corporate Entrepreneurship and New Ventures

BA 663: Strategic Management

BA 664: Technology and Innovation Management and NPD

MGMT 650: Organizational Behavior

MRKT 690: Marketing and Commercialization

4. Research methods and statistics requirements (18 credits)

Doctoral students are required to complete a minimum of 18 credits of graduate-level courses toward the establishment of a strong foundation in research methods. Topics covered in such courses include research design, econometrics, and other statistics.

Sample classes include:

BA 612: Foundations of Business Research

BA 613: Business Research Methods

AEC 525: Applied Econometrics

AEC 625: Advanced Econometrics I

AEC 626: Advanced Econometrics II

5. Supporting program requirements (32 credits)

Supporting program requirements are comprised of an integrated portfolio of courses intended to develop proficiency in a major field of academic study. These requirements include graduate-level courses in microeconomics and teaching effectiveness and may also consist of other graduate-level courses and seminars in strategy, management, marketing, economics, accounting, finance or other areas consistent with the student's research concentration. The supporting field courses are chosen by the student in consultation with the strategy, entrepreneurship and innovation Ph.D. program coordinator and/or the student's doctoral committee.

6. Independent research papers

First-year summer paper 

Ph.D. students are required to complete a research paper during the summer between their first and second year in the program. The purpose of this research paper is to give students some initial experience with taking a research project from start to finish, and to provide feedback to students following their first year in the program. Students are required to present this summer paper to faculty and fellow doctoral students during the fall term of their second year in the program.

Dissertation

A student’s progression through the Ph.D. program culminates in the completion of a dissertation paper reflecting an appropriate mastery of a specific area of literature, research design, methodology and analysis to the satisfaction of the student’s doctoral advisor committee.