DOCTORAL STUDENT See the LSU General Catalog for more information. Introduction The purpose of this posting is to set forth and explain the policies and procedures followed by the Department of Management in admitting and serving graduate students. It also includes certain Graduate School requirements which apply to all departments. The information contained here is not designed to supplant the LSU Graduate Catalog, and students are responsible for knowing current Catalog rules and regulations, especially various calendar deadlines. The following pages have been written for the benefit of those desiring either a minor or major in Management. As departmental requirements and practices change, this document will be revised periodically to reflect those changes. Philosophy and Intent The PhD is the terminal degree awarded in Business Administration at the Louisiana State University. As such, it is the highest degree that can be earned within the Department of Management. Consequently, individuals must demonstrate an extraordinary devotion to scholarship and exhibit a mastery of management concepts and theories to be considered candidates for the PhD. The primary mission of the PhD in Business Administration with a major in management is to develop trained professionals who are qualified to instruct in a university environment and who are capable of conducting scholarly research. All candidates are required to demonstrate knowledge in the broad domain of management and in a focused area of concentration within management. The broad domain is represented by the management core. The focused area of concentration can be selected from either 1) organizational behavior/human resource management or 2) strategic management. Admissions Individuals desiring admission must make formal application to the university Office of Admissions. The following information should accompany all applications submitted to the graduate school: transcript(s) of undergraduate study, transcript(s) of all graduate work attempted or completed, GMAT score, TOEFL score (if an international student) and a statement of purpose. If Graduate School criteria are met, the documents will be sent to the College of Business Administration for additional processing and to the Department of Management’s PhD Policy and Admissions Committee for a final admission decision. The following materials should be submitted to the department:  letters of recommendation and a statement of purpose.  The statement of purpose submitted to the department and graduate school should include: Career objectives and reasons for wanting to pursue a PhD; How has the applicant’s academic or professional background prepares them for PhD studies; Reasons for selecting the management program at LSU; As best as possible, an outline of possible research interests; Any other information that may assist the department in their admission decision To be considered for admission within the College and the Department, applicants should have successfully completed course work equivalent to the MBA or MS in Management. In general, a minimum GPA of 3.5 should have been maintained on prior graduate work and a score of 600 or above must have been achieved on the GMAT. Applicants who have graduated from non-U.S. institutions must take the TOEFL examination. A minimum score of 550 is expected; furthermore, applicants should display English language proficiency. Satisfaction of these threshold standards, however, does not guarantee admission. Final admission decisions will reflect a consideration of all relevant documents, as well as current Department resources. The Department of Management uses a rolling admission process.  We encourage candidates to apply by February 15.  However, applications received after this date will also receive consideration. Phases The PhD program at LSU, similar to most other research-oriented schools, has three distinct phases: (1) course work, (2) general exams, and (3) the writing of a dissertation and its oral defense. Each of these phases is covered below. Course work After students have been accepted in the PhD program, they should schedule an interview with the Department's Graduate Advisor before or during registration of their first semester of study. At this meeting, the Graduate Advisor will advise the student regarding course work to be taken during the first semester. At this time, the student should discuss with the Graduate Advisor the one area of management in which the student wishes to concentrate. The areas of concentration available are: (l) organizational behavior- human resource management and (2) strategic management. During the first year of study, all students will take a Qualifying Examination. This examination will be oral and will be administered by each student's Advisory Committee. This examination is to serve two major purposes: l) to determine whether a student is qualified to continue work on the doctorate in Management, and 2) to determine course work. It is the individual student's responsibility to request this examination. The request should be directed to the student's Major Professor. Individual students, with the advice of their Major Professor, will arrange the examination. Care should be taken to schedule the examination sufficiently early in the Fall or Spring semester to permit the student to earn residency credit (See residency requirements in the Graduate Catalog). As students pursue their course work, they will be expected to consult with their Major Professor (or the Graduate Advisor, if necessary) concerning academic or other problems that might arise, especially if any changes are to be requested in their program of study. The precise set of courses the student will take will be determined by the student's committee in accordance within departmental policies. General Examination The General Examination consists of written and oral portions. Students who have completed all required course work are eligible to take the General Examination. After students have successfully completed the General Examination and an independent research project, they are admitted to candidacy for the PhD and begin to work on their dissertation. If a student does not complete the dissertation within four years of passing the General Examination, it must be retaken. Dissertation The doctoral committee must be comprised of at least five members of the graduate faculty, including the Major Professor, who acts as chair. Doctoral committees must include a minimum of two graduate faculty members from the major department, at least one of whom must be a full member. The remaining members may be from the major department or may be from other departments pertinent to the student's area of concentration, with the proviso that at least one of the remaining members must be a full member of the graduate faculty. Any declared outside minors require representation either from among the first five members of the committee or by additional appointments to it. After students have prepared a formal dissertation proposal, they present the proposal to the committee Chair for approval. With the Chair's approval, students may schedule a formal defense of the proposal before their entire committee. Students are responsible for arranging the date and time of the proposal defense, and inviting the Management faculty to attend. A copy of the proposal should be deposited with the department's Administrative Assistant five school days prior to the defense. The committee will approve the proposal in writing, or state in writing why the proposal is rejected. If rejected, the procedure is started over. Students are responsible for scheduling the final examination, which is primarily a defense of the dissertation, at least three weeks in advance. They are responsible also for notifying the Management faculty of the date, time, and place of the exam at least two weeks prior to the date of the exam. Students shall be judged to pass the examination if not more than one member of the Dissertation Committee dissents. Results of the examination shall be reported to the Graduate School by the Chair. The Graduate Advisor must also be notified of examination results. Selected Graduate School Rules All students who have been admitted to the doctoral program are required by the Graduate School to register full-time each semester in order to stay in good standing. Students with graduate assistantships, are required to sign up for 9 hours per Fall and Spring semester. If they also receive Summer assistantship, they are further required to sign up for 6 hours during the Summer semester. Students with fellowships are required to sign up for 9 hours per Fall and Spring semester and 6 hours per Summer semester. A minimum of 9 hours of dissertation credit is required for the PhD degree. If a student is aiming at a particular graduation date, the finished dissertation must be in the hands of the dissertation committee at least three weeks in advance of the date established by the Graduate School as the final day for submitting dissertations to the Graduate School. At least one year must elapse between the passage of the oral comprehensive and the acceptance of the dissertation by the Graduate School. Orientation Guide Although this guide will provide you with some additional useful information about the PhD program at LSU, there are always questions not answered in a standard guide, and each doctoral student has special needs. When questions arise, please seek help from the Graduate Advisor, other faculty members and/or fellow students. Length of Study Most students should plan on spending four years in the program. Course work typically takes two full years; for example, 3 courses each in Fall and Spring semesters the first year, 2 courses in the Summer, then 3 courses each in Fall and Spring the second year to complete the minimum courses. Students who have taken such a schedule usually prepare for their Comprehensive Exam during their second Summer and sit for the exam in early Fall. Most doctoral students seek academic careers, and the central market for academic placement occurs a full year before positions are actually available. Sequence of Course work Course work is usually sequenced as follows: Entering students tend to concentrate on research methods courses because they have not selected a supporting field. They also take any doctoral- level Management seminars offered, often only one per semester. In the first two semesters, then, a student might take 2-3 supporting field courses. The second year of course work contains the balance of the supporting field and Management course work, often including at least one independent study course to pursue special interest areas. Of course, all of this depends on how quickly you choose a supporting field and on the availability of courses. Research Assistantships Research assistantships are an important part of your program because they provide "on the job training." As mentioned above, you are expected to show initiative in research assistant duties. Also, you should expect to receive training via your assistantship. Assuming adequate progress in the PhD program is being made, research assistantships are renewed annually for up to four years. A half-time research assistantship involves twenty hours of effort per week during the semester. The workload usually varies across the semester, though, so that some weeks require more time and some less. Minor in Management Students minoring in Management must take 12 hours of 5000 level or higher courses. At least six hours must be Management core courses, i.e., 7203, 7600, 7811, and 9201. Students with a major outside the E. J. Ourso College of Business may be required to enroll in one or more remedial courses before taking other courses in the Department. Students minoring in Management and with a GPA less than 3.5 in management courses shall be required to take a four-hour written exam designed and evaluated by their Minor Professor. The evaluation of the written exam shall be reported to the Graduate Advisor in the student's major department rather than to the student. Management Course Offerings COURSE NUMBER COURSE NAME 7001 Management of Technology 7111 Entrepreneurship Management 7201 Administrative Theory and Behavior 7202 Business and Society 7203 The Development of Management Thought 7301 Seminar in Personnel/Human Resources 7302 Reward Systems in Organizations 7500 Labor Management Relations 7401 International Business Management 7402 Comparative and Cross-Cultural Management 7600 Organizational Behavior 7700 Organization Theory 7701 Organization Innovation and Design 7703 Organization Development 7704 Systems Management 7800 Seminar in Policy Formulation and Administration 7811 Research Issues in Strategic Management 9800 Seminar in Advanced Business Problems 7000 Operations Management 8000 Thesis Research 9201 Research Seminar I: Theory and Design of Organizational Studies 9202 Predissertation Research 9000 Dissertation Research 9222 Research Seminar II: Advanced Methods in Organizational Studies