Technology Management, Ph.D.

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Degree Requirements and Curriculum

The curriculum for the PhD-TM Program fosters a research-intensive doctoral education relevant for the rapidly emerging area of technology management. Management core courses provide a necessary foundation in management. Technology management courses expose students to the fundamental and most current research and thinking in the broadly defined technology management field. Research methods courses help students develop quantitative and qualitative research skills. Thematic elective courses help students gain in-depth knowledge in a focused thematic area related to technology management. Working together, students and doctoral advisers select which courses relate to the student’s course of study in the PhD-TM Program. As part of each thematic elective course, students also take an associated thematic independent research course to investigate thoroughly previous research in the selected theme. All PhD students must undertake a doctoral research project, preferably in the second summer semester of study. This course introduces students to the requirements of management research. Finally, students work on the dissertation, an original investigation of a research question(s) related to technology management. Students are required to complete 75 credits, including 51 credits from the course work and 24 credits from the dissertation. For the most current information visit: http://www.poly.edu/academics/programs/technology-management-phd.

1. Management Core Courses: 15 Credits

Management core courses should be taken as early in the program as possible. Choose five courses.

MG 6013 Organizational Behavior 3 Credits
MG 6073 Marketing 3 Credits
MG 6083 Economics 3 Credits
MG 6093 Accounting and Finance 3 Credits
MG 6303 Operations Management 3 Credits
MG 6503 Management of Information Technology and Information Systems 3 Credits

2. Technology Management Courses: 9 Credits

Choose three courses

MG 6313 Organization Theory and Design 3 Credits
MG 6543 Economics for Information Sectors 3 Credits
MG 6603 Management of New and Emerging Technologies 3 Credits
MG 8653 Managing Technological Change and Innovation 3 Credits
MG 8693 Special Topics 3 Credits

Associated Doctoral Seminars: 12 Credits

Four 3-credit doctoral seminar courses must be taken with an associated technology management course. These seminars provide strong research background required for doctoral studies in technology management.

Choose four seminars.

MG 9203 Seminar in Managing Knowledge-Workers in Innovative Organizations 3 Credits
MG 9213 Seminar in Information Systems Management 3 Credits
MG 9223 Seminar in Business Process Innovation 3 Credits
MG 9233 Seminar in Managing Technological Change and Innovation 3 Credits
MG 9243 Technology Management and Policy 3 Credits
MG 9253 Technology Strategy, Structure and Decision Making 3 Credits
MG 9263 Strategic Marketing Seminar 3 Credits
MG 9273 Doctoral Seminar in Technology Adoption and Diffusion 3 Credits
MG 9283 Doctoral Seminar on Entrepreneurship 3 Credits
MG 9293 Seminar on Content Innovation 3 Credits
MG 9303 Advanced Topics—Organizational Behavior and Organizational Theory 3 Credits
MG 9313 Introduction to Behavioral Sciences 3 Credits
MG 9323 Special Topics 3 Credits

Note:

Doctoral seminars are offered on a rotating basis. Not all the course options are available to all PhD-TM students during their study.

3. Research Methods Courses: 12 Credits

Students must take all four courses.

MG 9403 Business Research Methods 3 Credits
MG 9413 Quantitative Methods Seminar I 3 Credits
MG 9233 Seminar in Managing Technological Change and Innovation 3 Credits
MG 9433 Qualitative Research Methods 3 Credits

4. Independent Research Project: 3 Credits

MG 9913 Independent Research 3 Credits

5. Comprehensive Examinations

Each student must successfully pass two comprehensive examinations before starting the dissertation.

Part One: This examination includes material covered in the master’s-level management core and technology management courses. It can be taken after completing 30 graduate credits.

Part Two: This examination includes material from the thematic elective and associated thematic research courses, doctoral seminars and research methods courses. It can be taken after completing required course work.

Students can take both examinations together. Results are provided within one month of the examination. Students have only two chances to pass each examination.

6. Doctoral Dissertation: 24 credits

The dissertation is evaluated in two parts: Proposal Defense and Final Defense. For details, contact the PhD-TM Program academic director.

MG 999X PhD Dissertation in Technology Management 3 Credits

7. Research training and interaction with faculty

Every student participates in formal and informal research seminars each week with departmental faculty and visitors. All members of the program are expected to participate in formal and informal seminars each week with departmental faculty and visitors. Each student is required to present research in progress once a year and works towards publishable papers, usually with a faculty as co-author. The seminar is a key component of the student training. Participation in other research seminars and activities at the department is also required.

Students are expected to work actively with one or more faculty each year. They learn to be researchers by doing research.

8. Advising and evaluating

The TM doctoral program faculty director advises all first-year doctoral students. During their first year students have many opportunities to get to know the research interests of all departmental faculty. By the beginning of the second year, students have selected an intermediary adviser who will guide them through the comprehensive exam process and up to the thesis stage. By the middle of the third year students will have selected a thesis adviser. Each year every student submits a statement of intellectual progress to his/her adviser. All faculty meet to review the progress of all students in a day-long meeting each year. At this time, the student’s intellectual progress is reviewed and plans for the following year are considered. The results of this review include a formal letter to the student assessing the previous year’s work and offering guidance for the following year’s work.

9. Prerequisites

All PhD-TM students need a fundamental knowledge of probability and statistics. Students without such a background must take MG 5050 Probability and Managerial Statistics . Students without any background in professional writing and communications must take JW 6003 Introduction to Technical Communication or

JW 6313 Proposal Writing

. Students who have a master’s degree or who are transferring from other institutions (or other departments within Polytechnic) are admitted based on the same qualification standards that apply to new students. For each required MS- or PhD-level course, if students have taken a similar course, they may transfer credits for the course. However, students still have to take and pass both qualifying exams. A minimum of 30 credits, including all dissertation credit, must be taken at Polytechnic. No dissertation credits from other institutions can be transferred.

All students must take the required coursework as assigned and follow the stipulated curriculum. The course work must be finished within the first three years and the dissertation thesis within the next three years. Thus, all students (full-time and part-time) must complete all work for the doctorate within six years of initiation.