All graduate programs must conform to the Faculty of Graduate Studies policy on admissions. Accordingly, there will be three means of entry to the three-field PhD in Management:

1. An applicant who holds a recognized master’s degree in a management field with an average standing of at least “B+” may be admitted to PhD studies as a regular or provisional student

2. An applicant who holds a recognized master’s degree with high standing in a field other than management and who wishes to proceed to doctoral study in a management field may enroll in an MCS or HTM or DoB MBA. If the student achieves a superior academic record and shows a particular aptitude for research, the Board of Graduate Studies, on the recommendation of the Department/School admissions committee, may authorize transfer to the PhD program without requiring the student to complete the master’s degree.

3. An applicant who has achieved excellent standing at the honours baccalaureate level in a management field and who wishes to proceed to doctoral study may enroll in an MCS or HTM or DoB MBA. If the student achieves a superior academic record and shows a particular aptitude for research, the Board of Graduate Studies, on the recommendation of the Department/School admissions committee, may authorize transfer to the PhD program without requiring the student to complete the master’s degree.

All applicants, whether admitted directly into the PhD in Management program or into an MCS or HTM or DoB MBA, must have a GMAT score of 600 or better or a GRE score of 1250 or better. Furthermore, applicants must present evidence that their previous course or other academic work, either at the graduate or senior undergraduate level, includes at least six of the following twelve course areas:

• Strategy and policy

• Microeconomics

• Research methods

• Marketing

• Accounting and Finance

• Data analysis

• Public management and administration

• Organizational Behaviour/ HRM/ Leadership

• Business-government relations

• Psychology/Sociology or equivalent

• Decision-making/operations management

• Statistics

Quality applicants who are from a non-management background, if accepted into the program, will make up for any shortfall in their background.

The goal of the PhD program in Management is to produce graduates with both a breadth of knowledge about management theories in general, and a depth of knowledge such that they will be competent researchers and/or teachers in their chosen field. Since most courses will be common to the current three fields in this program as well as to any future fields, the key indicator of the student’s area of specialization will be his or her thesis topic.

Five core courses will ensure that each student has a breadth of knowledge about management and research. Of the five core courses, two will cover the theories and practice of management. Three will focus on research, with one providing an understanding of the philosophy of research and design, and two covering the specific methodologies used in quantitative and qualitative research. These core courses will encourage interaction and knowledge-sharing among all of the PhD in Management students, no matter what their field of specialization is. They will also be the basis for the first qualifying examination, which will deal with knowledge about management and the nature of research. One additional course will be required that each student will select from a list of electives. Although these elective courses will clearly relate to the specializations available in the PhD in Management program, students will be allowed to enrol in whichever course is of most interest to them. A second qualifying examination will test the depth of knowledge of each student in the elective selected and his or her ability to design and analyze a rigorous research project. Students are to present and defend a doctoral research proposal not later than the end of the sixth semester, i.e., after completion of the qualifying examination.

Overall, the proposed program consists of two semesters of coursework (five core courses and one elective), followed by two qualifying exams, presentation and defence of a research proposal, and finally, the completion and defence of a full doctoral dissertation.