Operations Management & Information Systems

There are five main components to the successful completion of a PhD in OMIS:

• 15 graduate-level courses (45 credits in total spread over two years).
  • 7 courses (out of 15) are (foundational) required courses.
  • Each PhD student should also pass 8 elective courses.
• A second year research project (which is one of the 7 core courses) culminating in a
  seminar presentation (OMIS 7985).
• A comprehensive field exam consisting of two components:
  • A closed-book quantitative exam
  • An open-book research design essay
• Each PhD student is expected to teach an undergraduate course in OMIS.
• The completion of a dissertation that is likely to result in publications in high-level journals.

A typical program of study will take between four and five years. The course requirements are completed during the first two years, the seminar presentation and comprehensive examination take place in second year, and the remainder of the program is focused on research development and scholarly output (i.e., dissertation and submissions to journals).

Required Courses

Year 1 (Fall)

• DCAD 7060 3.00 INTRODUCTION TO APPLIED STATISTICS
• DCAD 7250 3.00 RESEARCH DESIGN
• OMIS 7101 3.00 OMIS FOUNDATIONS 1
• DCAD 7100 3.00 LOGICS OF SOCIAL RESEARCH

Year 1 (Winter)

• OMIS 7102 3.00 OMIS FOUNDATIONS 2
• Plus three elective courses

Year 1 (Summer)

• One elective course

Year 2 (Fall)

• OMIS 7103 3.00 OMIS EMERGING TOPICS
• Plus three elective courses

Students without a Business background will be required to take a masters-level management course as part of their electives.

Year 2 (Winter)

• OMIS 7985 3.00 RESEARCH METHODS IN OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT & INFORMATION SYSTEMS
• Plus one elective course

Year 2 (Summer)

• Closed-book quantitative comprehensive exam (4 hours).
• Open-book, take-home research design exercise (1 week).

Some Graduate Electives (non-exhaustive list)

• GS/ECON 5100 MICROECONOMICS THEORY
• GS/MATH 6904 3.00 MODERN OPTIMIZATION
• GS/PSYC 6160 3.00 HIERARCHICAL LINEAR MODELING
• GS/ECON 5220 3.00 ECONOMETRIC THEORY
• GS/ECON 5320 3.00 GAME THEORY
• GS/PSYC 6132 3.00 UNIVARIATE ANALYSIS II: REGRESSION
• GS/MATH 6622 3.00 GENERALIZED LINEAR MODELS

Courses Notes:
<sup>1. Students without a Business background will be required to take a masters-level management course as part of their Year 2 Electives.
2. SB/OMIS 7101 and SB/OMIS 7103 will be taught every other year with the cohort of first and second year PhD students.</sup>

Research Proposal

Prior to the end of their second semester, students must submit to the OMIS area PhD coordinator a one-page research proposal that reflects their general area of interest. On the basis of this proposal, students will be assigned to an OMIS area faculty member who will supervise and guide the direction of a research project with the goal of producing academic manuscripts. Students are expected to work on research related activities starting in the summer of their first year and throughout their second year. During the summer of their second year (prior to taking comprehensive exam), students must demonstrate research ability by leading a 60-minute research seminar detailing their original contributions. Successful completion of this course is a prerequisite to the comprehensive examination.

Comprehensive Examination

The comprehensive field examination also takes place in the summer of the second year. There are two components: a closed-book quantitative exam (approximately four hours in length) and an open-book take home exam (one week). The closed-book exam will test students on skills learned in their core courses. The open-book take home exam will be in essay format and will test students on their ability to design a program of research. Students must demonstrate clear and coherent writing ability, methodological mastery and a deep comprehension of the literature relevant to the topic. Their academic writing style should mimic what is expected by top journals in the field (e.g., Management Science, Journal of Operations Management).

We recommend further consultation with your area Ph.D. rep concerning any impending changes to the program requirements and guidance on selecting appropriate optional courses.