Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) program

The Doctor of Philosopy (Ph.D.) degree program in Management Sciences is for advanced graduate students with a strong research interest in the management sciences.

Students in the Ph.D. program are expected to complete several courses (depending on prior coursework), pass a comprehensive exam, and submit a Ph.D. thesis of independent and original work. The program takes most students four to five years of full-time study.

Program details

Course requirements

Students admitted to PhD program fall 2017 and onwards

Students who choose the PhD program must complete a total of four courses (.50 weight per course) at the 600 or 700 level.

Of the four courses, at least two of the courses (0.50 weight per course) must be from the following list of core courses:

MSCI 605 Organizational Theory and Behaviour
MSCI 607 Applied Economics for Management
MSCI 623 Big Data Analytics
MSCI 630 Human Computer Interaction
MSCI 631 Probabilistic Models in Operations Research
MSCI 634 Deterministic Models in Operations Research
MSCI 641 Text Analytics

No more than two courses (0.50 weigh per course) may be taken outside of the department. These courses could be taken in place of two elective courses. Core courses must be chosen from the above list. Any courses completed outside the department will require department approval. This must be approved prior to enrolling in the course in Quest for it to count toward your degree requirements. This includes OVGS courses. In order to receive pre-approval you will need to complete an Elective Pre-Approval Request Form.

Please submit an Elective Pre-Approval Request Form for approval before enrolment opens in Quest.

Students must maintain an overall average of at least 73% at the end of each term, with no more than two failed courses overall.

A grade less than 65% in any course counts as a failure. A failed core course must be repeated (one time only) and a failed elective must be replaced. A failed course will count toward your overall GPA but does not count toward the four course requirement (six in the case of students admitted prior to fall 2017).

The PhD program in Management Sciences has two major milestones: (1) a comprehensive exam and (2) a final thesis defence.

Comprehensive Exam

Students must pass a comprehensive exam, normally taken within 16 months (or four terms) of commencing the program. This exam will focus on:

Suitability of the proposed thesis topic.
Adequacy of the preparation of the student for completing the proposed research
Knowledge of the fundamental concepts of the management sciences.

The Faculty of Engineering PhD Comprehensive Exam page contains detailed instructions for completing your PhD Comprehensive Exam milestone.

Thesis

Lastly, students must write, submit, and defend a thesis of independent and original research.

PhD thesis defence and submission: The PhD thesis submission and acceptance page has a detailed breakdown of your requirements in the final steps of your PhD program.