Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Degree in the field of Business and a Major Concentration in Strategic Management
Program Learning Outcomes for the MA and PhD Degrees in the field of Business and a Major Concentration in Strategic Management
Upon completing the MA and PhD degrees in the field of Business and a major concentration in Strategic Management, students will be able to:
- Understand advanced Strategic Management concepts, theories, principles, and quantitative methods including how to analyze an organization’s environment regarding social, political, technological, economic, and global factors and its strength, weaknesses, efficiencies, decision-making frameworks, and resource management.
- Identify and explain questions and problems existing within the field of Strategic Management and propose research to address them.
- Execute original research in the field of Strategic Management.
- Communicate effectively, orally and in writing, research conducted in the field of Strategic Management.
Requirements for the MA and PhD Degrees in the field of Business and a Major Concentration in Strategic Management
MA Degree Program
The MA degree is a non-thesis master's degree. For general university requirements, please see Non-Thesis Master's Degrees. For additional requirements, regulations, and procedures for all graduate programs, please see All Graduate Students. Although students are not normally admitted to study for an MA, graduate students may earn the MA along the way to the PhD. Students pursuing the MA degree in the field of Business must complete:
- A minimum of 36 credit hours to satisfy degree requirements.
- A minimum of 30 credit hours of graduate-level study (graduate semester credit hours, coursework at the 500-level or above).
- A minimum of 9 credit hours of doctoral seminars in the student's specified discipline or PhD major concentration.
- A minimum residency enrollment of four fall and/or spring semesters of full-time graduate study at Rice University.
- A minimum overall GPA of 3.00 or higher in all Rice coursework.
Students must also successfully complete the research workshop participation requirements and the first-year summer research requirements (if applicable) in the PhD major concentration. Additionally, the Jones Graduate School of Business (JGSB) requires that not more than 3 years elapse between the time the student is admitted to the PhD program in Business and the completion of the MA degree, unless an extension is approved by the PhD Program Committee. The MA degree may only be conferred either concurrently with or prior to the conferral of the PhD degree.
The requirements listed in the General Announcements (GA) satisfy the minimum requirements for this degree program. In certain instances, courses (or requirements) not officially listed here may be substituted upon approval of the program's academic advisor or, where applicable, the department or program's Director of Graduate Studies. Course substitutions or any exceptions to the stated official curricular requirements must be approved by the Office of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies. Students and their academic advisors should identify and clearly document the courses to be taken.
Summary
| Code | Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Total Credit Hours Required for the MA Degree in the field of Business | 36 | |
PhD Degree Program
For general university requirements, please see Doctoral Degrees. For additional requirements, regulations, and procedures for all graduate programs, please see All Graduate Students. For program details, see the PhD Program Guidebook distributed by the Jones Graduate School of Business. Admissions applications should include scores on the Graduate Management Admissions Test (GMAT) or the Graduate Record Examination (GRE). Full financial support will be provided to admitted doctoral students. Candidates for the PhD degree spend at least two years in full-time coursework and at least two years writing the thesis. Four to five years is a reasonable goal for completing the program. Students pursuing the PhD degree in Business must:
- Complete a program of doctoral-level courses that is approved by the area (or major concentration) faculty advisor. Students take courses from departments such as economics, psychology, statistics, and political science in addition to courses from Jones Graduate School of Business.
- Complete all Rice coursework with a minimum overall GPA of 2.67 or higher.
- Complete all program coursework with a minimum GPA of 3.00 and a minimum grade of B (3.00 grade points) in each required course.
- Complete all of the course requirements in their selected major concentration.
- Complete and defend orally a doctoral thesis, setting forth in publishable form, the results of original research.
The requirements listed in the General Announcements (GA) satisfy the minimum requirements for this degree program. In certain instances, courses (or requirements) not officially listed here may be substituted upon approval of the program's academic advisor or, where applicable, the department or program's Director of Graduate Studies. Course substitutions or any exceptions to the stated official curricular requirements must be approved by the Office of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies. Students and their academic advisors should identify and clearly document the courses to be taken.
Summary
| Code | Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Total Credit Hours Required for the PhD Degree in the field of Business and a Major Concentration in Strategic Management | 90 | |
Major Concentration: Strategic Management
Students pursuing the major concentration in Strategic Management must:
- Complete a minimum of 90 credit hours as listed below to satisfy the PhD degree and the major concentration requirements.
- Complete coursework approved by the area faculty advisor; these courses will be a combination of Core Requirements and Elective Requirements.
- Complete a minimum of 12 credit hours of approved graduate level courses per semester, in the first two years in the program.
- Attend all research seminars organized in the strategic management area.
- Complete summer research paper requirements during the first two years in the program.
- Successfully pass a comprehensive exam.
- Write one major paper (sole-authored or co-authored) and present in a faculty workshop.
- Teach at least one semester as the primary instructor (during the third year in the program).
- Complete and defend thesis within a maximum of 7 years from the time of matriculation.
| Code | Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Core Requirements 1 | ||
| BUSI 540 | STRATEGY I | 3 |
| BUSI 541 | STRATEGY II | 3 |
| BUSI 549 | STRATEGY PRO-SEMINAR | 3 |
| BUSI 800 | PHD RESEARCH | 9-12 |
| ECON 501 | MICROECONOMICS I | 3 |
| POLI 504 | INTRODUCTION TO MAXIMUM LIKELIHOOD ESTIMATION | 3 |
| POLI 505 | ADVANCED MAXIMUM LIKELIHOOD ESTIMATION | 3 |
| PSYC 507 | RESEARCH METHODS | 3 |
| PSYC 601 | MULTIVARIATE STATISTICS | 3 |
| Elective Requirements 2 | ||
| Advanced Strategy Electives | ||
| Select 4 courses (6 credit hours) from the following: | 6 | |
| MICRO FOUNDATIONS OF ORGANIZATION AND MANAGEMENT | ||
| ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE | ||
| EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE | ||
| CONTEMPORARY MANAGEMENT THOUGHT | ||
| SEMINAR ON INNOVATION AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP | ||
| CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY | ||
| STRATEGY RESEARCH IN CORPORATE DEVELOPMENT: STRATEGIC ALLIANCES AND ACQUISITIONS | ||
| DESIGN OF BUSINESS RESEARCH | ||
| Approved Electives | ||
| Select coursework with the approval of the area advisor to total a minimum of 90 credit hours (see course list below) | 48-51 | |
| Total Credit Hours | Minimum of 90 | |
Footnotes and Additional Information
| 1 | The summer prior to the student’s first fall semester, a review Quantitative Methods course (an “Intensive Math and Statistics Camp”, hosted by the Economics department and Rice Online Learning) must be successfully completed as a required prerequisite to Core Requirements. |
| 2 | Students may select other elective courses if approved by an advisor in consultation with the faculty under the Major Concentration. |
Course List to Satisfy Requirements
With advisor approval, select 48-51 credit hours of additional coursework as Elective Requirements to total a minimum of 90 credit hours. The following are typically approved courses that may be chosen to fulfill Elective Requirements.
| Code | Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| BUSI 503 | SEMINAR IN JUDGEMENT AND DECISION MAKING | 3 |
| BUSI 504 | GAME THEORY | 3 |
| BUSI 522 | CORPORATE FINANCE | 3 |
| BUSI 523 | EMPIRICAL METHODS IN FINANCE | 3 |
| BUSI 530 | INTRODUCTION TO ACCOUNTING RESEARCH | 3 |
| BUSI 531 | EMPIRICAL METHODS IN ACCOUNTING | 3 |
| ECON 504 / STAT 604 | COMPUTATIONAL ECONOMICS | 3 |
| ECON 510 / STAT 610 | ECONOMETRICS I | 3 |
| ECON 514 | EMPIRICAL INDUSTRIAL ORGANIZATION | 3 |
| ECON 523 | DYNAMIC OPTIMIZATION | 3 |
| POLI 503 / STAT 503 | TOPICS IN METHODS AND DATA ANALYSIS | 3 |
| POLI 504 | INTRODUCTION TO MAXIMUM LIKELIHOOD ESTIMATION | 3 |
| POLI 505 | ADVANCED MAXIMUM LIKELIHOOD ESTIMATION | 3 |
| POLI 511 | MEASUREMENT AND RESEARCH DESIGN | 3 |
| POLI 527 | INSTITUTIONAL ANALYSIS | 3 |
| POLI 575 | GAME THEORY | 3 |
| POLI 576 | INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY | 3 |
| PSYC 502 / STAT 509 | ADVANCED PSYCHOLOGICAL STATISTICS I | 4 |
| PSYC 503 / STAT 510 | ADVANCED PSYCHOLOGICAL STATISTICS II | 3 |
| PSYC 507 | RESEARCH METHODS | 3 |
| PSYC 550 | FOUNDATIONS OF SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY | 3 |
| PSYC 601 | MULTIVARIATE STATISTICS | 3 |
| PSYC 636 | ORGANIZATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY | 3 |
| PSYC 637 | META-ANALYSIS IN PSYCHOLOGICAL RESEARCH | 3 |
| PSYC 639 | INDUSTRIAL/ORGANIZATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY INTERNSHIP | 1-9 |
| STAT 541 | MULTIVARIATE ANALYSIS | 3 |
| STAT 606 | SAS STATISTICAL PROGRAMMING | 3 |
| STAT 611 / ECON 511 | ECONOMETRICS II | 3 |
| STAT 621 | APPLIED TIME SERIES AND FORECASTING | 3 |
Other
The major concentration in strategic management provides coursework in the base theories in strategic management. The field of strategic management studies big picture issues facing managers of firms, such as deciding what markets and industries to enter, how to enter and exit various markets, how to position the firm in the market in order to gain competitive advantage, and the timing, sequencing, and orchestration of competitive initiatives. Topics in strategic management include: Competitive strategy, resource allocation and corporate strategy, strategic decision processes, international and emerging market strategies, knowledge and innovation management, strategic entrepreneurship, corporate governance, and environment and non-market strategies. The main goal of the strategic management doctoral program is to train students to do high-quality research in any of these areas and to prepare them for careers as mainstream professors of strategic management at top academic research institutions. To achieve this goal, PhD students are required to take courses in strategic management, research methods and statistics, as well as possible disciplinary elective courses in economics, psychology and political science, and to write research papers examining important and relevant issues in strategic management. The program also has a teaching requirement to the extent that teaching opportunities are available.
Policies for the PhD Degree in the field of Business
Jones Graduate School of Business Graduate Program Handbook
The General Announcements (GA) is the official Rice curriculum. As an additional resource for students, the Jones Graduate School of Business publishes a graduate program handbook, which can be found here: https://gradhandbooks.rice.edu/2024_25/Business_PhD_Graduate_Handbook.pdf.
Transfer Credit
For Rice University’s policy regarding transfer credit, see Transfer Credit. Some departments and programs have additional restrictions on transfer credit. Requests for transfer credit must be approved for Rice equivalency by the appropriate academic department offering the Rice equivalent course (corresponding to the subject code of the course content) and by the Office of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies (GPS). Students are encouraged to meet with their academic program’s advisor when considering transfer credit possibilities.
Withdrawal Policy
A Jones Graduate School of Business student, participating in any offered program, may voluntarily withdraw from school at any time. Upon withdrawal, Rice University applies a sliding scale to tuition, which is noted in the university's Academic Calendar posted on the Rice Office of the Registrar website.
Additional Information
For additional information, please see the Jones Graduate School of Business website: https://business.rice.edu/.
Opportunities for the PhD Degree in the field of Business
Financial Aid
Jones Graduate School of Business scholarships are awarded at the point of admission and are based on the merit of the application. Financial assistance is generally awarded one academic year at a time. Continuation of assistance depends on Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) in accordance with Academic and Professional Standards of performance, professional behavior, and is subject to the availability of funds. Academic or disciplinary probation, suspension, or general failure to maintain academic pace will result in the removal of all forms of financial assistance (i.e. scholarship, employment, Federal/State student loans, etc.). Students have the right to appeal the suspension. All appeals will be reviewed by a committee.
Additional Information
For additional information, please see the Jones Graduate School of Business website: https://business.rice.edu/.