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General Description

The defining features of the OB/HR Doctoral Program are personal development, participation in scholarly activity, and diversity within a supportive, collaborative research and learning environment. The supportive environment is partly reflected in our low attrition rate among those few (typically two or three) students we admit each year. Our commitment to academic training has led to job placements in such schools as Pennsylvania State University, University of Georgia, Auburn University, University of Alabama, Texas Christian University, and the University of Utah.

The diversity and flexibility of the program is perhaps best illuminated through the faculty. The faculty possess expertise in a wide range of areas within OB/HR, including leadership, the management of stress, social influence, attributional tendencies of leaders and workers, organizational politics, labor relations, and employee staffing and performance management. Faculty research efforts have been published in scholarly outlets, such as Academy of Management Journal, Academy of Management Review, Journal of Applied Psychology, Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Journal of Management, and Industrial Relations, as well as in invited book chapters and presentations at professional meetings.

Prerequisites

OB/HR doctoral students must have a bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university. Although we prefer students to also have a master's degree in business or a related field (e.g., industrial and organizational psychology), it is not a requirement. If students have strong credentials (e.g., high GMAT scores) and demonstrate maturity, we sometimes allow them to begin the program without a master's degree.

Tools for Analysis and Research (TAR) Coursework

All OB/HR doctoral students take six Tools for Analysis and Research (TAR) courses. TAR course selection and substitution (where appropriate) is done in conjunction with, and must be approved by, the primary area adviser. Students must take the following four TAR courses:

• MAN 6979 - Seminar in Philosophy of Science
• MAN 6917 - Research Design
• MAN 6665 - Causal Models
• MAN 6665 - Causal Models

Plus two additional courses. Below is a suggested list of possible elective TAR courses.

• MAR 5935 - Consumer Behavior Methods
• EDF 6937 - Meta-analysis
• EDF 6937 - Hierarchical Linear Models
• EDF 5409 - Causal Modeling
• EDF 5410 - Non-parametric Analysis
• EDF 5434 - Measurement Theory II
• EDF 6475 - Qualitative Methods

Students should consult their primary advisor and/or the doctoral program coordinator to help determine the courses. The primary adviser can be helpful in determining the course that will best fit the needs of the student.

Primary Area

The OB/HR program includes courses dealing with perception, attitudes, personality, stress, leadership, group dynamics, motivation, organization design, human resource management, and labor relations. The courses are taught in a seminar format in which research design, data analyses, and other methodological issues are taught to expand the student’s research competencies. In addition to the general prerequisites for doctoral study, a master-level course in Organizational Behavior is also compulsory for admission to the program.

Doctoral students specializing in this program must complete the following primary area seminars that include two special topics (ST):

• MAN 6235 -Organizational Theory
• MAN 6275 - Organizational Behavior
• MAN 6306 - Human Resource Management
• MAN 6933r - Special Topic I (Topics Vary)
• MAN 6933r - Special Topic II (Topics Vary)

Additional Primary Area courses may be selected in consultation with the student's Primary Area advisor.

Support Area

The Support area further develops the student’s research skills. OB/HR students are required to have a support area in statistics/research methods and must take the following three courses:

• EDF 5401 - General Linear Model
• EDF 5402 - Analysis of Variance
• EDF 5406 - Multivariate Analysis

Suggested Course Sequence for Organizational Behavior and Human Resources Doctoral Students

*Schedule subject to change.

For more information on the Organizational Behavior and Human Resources Ph.D. Program, please
contact Dr. Chad Van Iddekinge.