Cornell University Registrar

Graduate Field

Management

Program Description

A Ph.D. in the SC Johnson College of Business is a research-focused degree in one of our main faculty areas of specialization as listed below. These are disciplines that are key to any business and are taught at different course levels by expert faculty in each of our three schools. The choice of which of our three school-oriented fields of study to apply into depends on your interests and long-term plans. A Ph.D. in the Dyson School’s Applied Economics and Management field has a strong economics focus in its coursework, a Ph.D. in the Nolan School’s Hotel Administration field applies core business disciplines to hospitality contexts, and a Ph.D. in the Johnson School’s Management field appeals to students pursuing traditional business topics. Students in all three fields regularly work with faculty from across the entire college.

As part of the Cornell SC Johnson College of Business, PhD students in the field of Management have many opportunities to collaborate across schools, where our faculty work and innovate together in targeted disciplines through faculty areas in:

• Applied Economics and Policy
• Accounting
• Finance
• Management and Organizations
• Marketing and Management Communication
• Operations, Technology, and Information Management
• Services Management
• Strategy and Business Economics

These are disciplines that are key to any business and are taught at different course levels by expert faculty in each of our three schools. To learn more about the PhD programs in the SC Johnson College of Business and our targeted discipline areas and research faculty, please visit the Cornell SC Johnson College of Business Website.

The Johnson School’s highly competitive Ph.D. program is designed for students interested in pursuing a career teaching accounting, finance, management and organizational behavior, marketing, or operations and technology management in a university setting and conducting groundbreaking research in these and related fields.

Additional descriptions of each of these field concentrations is provided below.

Accounting deals with the theory and practice of developing financial data for two purposes: to enable management to control and plan the development of the enterprise and to enable others to appraise its condition.

Finance focuses on the financial structures and requirements of corporations of various types, the problems of maintaining sound financial condition, the organization and behavior of financial markets of different types, and the influence of public policies on those markets and on corporate finance. A knowledge of accounting is essential.

Marketing adapts analytical and behavioral theories commonly used in such disciplines as economics, operations research, psychology, and sociology. Topics addressed include models for new products, pricing theories, theories about advertising effects, advertising and promotion response models, market research techniques, and theories about marketing decisions.

Organizational Behavior focuses on social and behavioral science approaches to the study of human activity in organizational settings. It examines how individuals and groups interact within organizations, how organizational structures influence behavior, and how leadership, motivation, communication, and culture impact overall organizational effectiveness.

Production and operations emphasize data-driven, behavioral, and mathematical methods of analysis to address high-impact managerial decision problems. 

Strategy and Business Economics examines how firms create and sustain competitive advantage in dynamic markets. Drawing on principles from economics, sociology, and management, this area explores topics such as industry structure, firm behavior, innovation, market competition, and strategic decision-making. 

Concentrations

• Accounting (Ph.D. only)
• Entrepreneurship (Ph.D. only) (minor)
• Finance (Ph.D. only)
• Marketing (Ph.D. only)
• Organizational behavior (M&O) (Ph.D. only)
• Production and operations (OTIM) (Ph.D. only)

Program Information

• Instruction Mode: In Person
• Location: Ithaca, NY
• Minimum Credits for Degree: 144

Program Requirements

• Minimum Semesters for Degree: 6

Graduate School Milestones

• Responsible Conduct of Research Training: Required
• Open Researcher and Contributor ID (ORCID): Required
• Student Progress Reviews (SPR) begin: First Year
• Examination for admission to candidacy (A Exam): Spring of third year
• Defense of Dissertation (B Exam): Spring of fifth year

Field Specific Milestones

• Qualifying Examination (Q Exam) required

Course Requirements

• Course requirements are determined by the student’s Special Committee.
• Enrollment in a GRAD research course or the equivalent field specific research course is expected of all students.

University Graduation Requirements

Requirements for All Students

In order to receive a Cornell degree, a student must satisfy academic and non-academic requirements.

Academic Requirements

A student’s college determines degree requirements such as residency, number of credits, distribution of credits, and grade averages. It is the student’s responsibility to be aware of the specific major, degree, distribution, college, and graduation requirements for completing their chosen program of study. See the individual requirements listed by each college or school or contact the college registrar’s office for more information.

Non-academic Requirements

Conduct Matters. Students must satisfy any outstanding sanctions, penalties or remedies imposed or agreed to under the Student Code of Conduct (Code) or Policy 6.4. Where a formal complaint under the Code or Policy 6.4 is pending, the University will withhold awarding a degree otherwise earned until the adjudication process set forth in those procedures is complete, including the satisfaction of any sanctions, penalties or remedies imposed.

Financial Obligations. Outstanding financial obligations will not impact the awarding of a degree otherwise earned or a student’s ability to access their official transcript. However, the University may withhold issuing a diploma until any outstanding financial obligations owing to the University are satisfied.

Learning Outcomes

• Students will be trained to be cutting-edge scholars in their respective fields
  -Students will exhibit mastery of the methodological tools and techniques required for scholarly advancement in their respective fields.
  -Students will exhibit a mastery of extant literature in their field.
  -Students will exhibit the ability to critically evaluate the work of other scholars.
  -Students will demonstrate the ability to propose and execute novel research.
• Students will be trained to be effective communicators and teachers
  -Students will exhibit the ability to prepare and deliver well-written materials on relevant technical topics.
  -Students will exhibit the ability to support faculty members in their teaching efforts.
  -Students will exhibit the ability to plan and deliver relevant course material.
• Students will have an ethical perspective and a service orientation, and will live up to the highest professional standards in their future careers
  -Students will know the professional code of conduct in their respective fields.
  -Students will exhibit the ability to identify issues likely to pose ethical challenges.