The PhD in Management program is designed to allow advanced students to participate in an ongoing program of knowledge creation at the Drucker School. Admission is limited to a small number of select students who are prepared to master relevant research methodologies and have research interests that are complementary to those of our faculty. The program is intensive with high expectations for publication and scholarly contribution. Our objective is to create and disseminate knowledge relevant to critical issues affecting management practice worldwide.

To be admitted, an applicant must secure a sponsor from our core faculty and present a detailed plan of study developed with the sponsoring faculty member. Applicants must have extensive familiarity with research in progress at the Drucker School and have developed a collaborative relationship with a core faculty member. Applications from outside one of Claremont Graduate University’s master’s programs are therefore less likely to result in admission.

The program requires 72 semester units of coursework, including 24 semester units of management courses, a minimum of 12 units of research methodology at the doctoral level, and a maximum of 12 units of independent study with the sponsoring faculty member. After completing at least 32 units, but not more than 48 units, a major paper of publishable quality, equivalent to a master’s thesis and demonstrating breadth in the chosen research area, is required. The sponsor and two additional faculty members then administer an open oral examination, covering the research paper submitted and coursework completed to date.

Upon successful completion of these requirements and all remaining coursework, a second paper, which serves as the dissertation proposal, is required. The student’s doctoral committee, consisting of the faculty sponsor and two other eligible members of the faculty, administers a second, open oral examination. Successful students are then advanced to candidacy. To complete the PhD program, the student must submit and successfully defend the dissertation within a period of seven years from the date of admission to the program.

Transdisciplinary Course Requirement. All students who enter the doctoral program after the fall 2004 semester are required to complete the transdisciplinary course requirement within the first two years of their program. For details on the requirement, see the “Doctor of Philosophy Degree ” section in this Bulletin.