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Students in the CSOM SCO Ph.D. Program take a set of seven required courses (21 credits) during their first two years, and an additional set of elective courses during and, as may be necessary, beyond the first two years to reach or, at their choice, exceed the University of Minnesota 40 course credit minimum requirement.

The seven required SCO Ph.D. Program courses are research and methods seminars taught by SCO Department faculty and include:

		Matriculation Year
		EVEN		ODD
		1st	2nd	1st	2nd
OMS 8651	Experimental Design		V	V
OMS 8652	Regression Analysis	V	V	V	V
OMS 8711	Research in Operations Strategy	V			V
OMS 8721	Management of Technological Operations	V			V
OMS 8735	Operations Forecasting and Inventory Research		V	V
OMS 8745	Research in Quality Management	V			V
OMS 8755	Behavioral Research in Operations Management		V	V

 

Elective courses are self selected by students with guidance from the faculty to strengthen preparation for research scholarship. Note that at least 8 credits have to be from coursework outside of the CSOM (consult the section titled “Program Requirements” in the CSOM Ph.D. in Business Administration Student Handbook for additional information).

Elective courses may be chosen to enhance methodological skill development (e.g., statistics, mathematics, empirical methods, etc.) or, alternatively, to increase understanding of particular foundational disciplines (e.g., economics, engineering, organizational behavior, cognitive psychology, anthropology, etc).

Course descriptions:

Research methods courses

OMS 8651: Experimental Design

ANOVA for one-way, two-way, & multi-way data. Basic concepts of statistical design and analysis of results, etc.

OMS 8652: Regression Analysis

Regression and correlation models, inferences in simple & multiple regression, multi-colinearity, indicator variables, etc.

Topics seminars

OMS 8711: Research in Operations Strategy

Operation performance; competitive advantage; focused factory, product, & process innovation; operations strategy implementation.

OMS 8721: Management of Technological Operations

Theories & models used to address problems of managing technological operations & operations in manufacturing & service firms.

OMS 8735: Operations Forecasting and Inventory Research

Research on forecasting, inventory control, materials requirement planning, JIT manufacturing, aggregate planning, scheduling, routing, sequencing, & dispatching, etc.

OMS 8745: Research in Quality Management

Research literature, methods, and results on quality strategy, economics of quality, statistical process control, vendor management, off-line quality & quality practice.

OMS 8755: Behavioral Research in Operations Management

Classic behavioral literature in economics and other business disciplines, behavioral problems that arise within operations contexts, testing and analyzing operations phenomenon, whether through an experimental study or an analytical model.

*Other SCO course offerings are available in partnership with departments throughout the University of Minnesota.

SCO Ph.D. students, at the end of the summer following their first year, will deliver, in writing and by oral presentation, a student-led paper on a topic relevant to the interests reflected in the diverse faculty of the SCO Department. This student-led paper may take the form of either a critical literature review; a theory-building paper of a social sciences orientation; an analytical paper of as statistical, operations research, applied economics, or mathematical orientation; or an empirical paper using primary and/or secondary data sources.

SCO Ph.D. students are expected to submit their papers to the SCO Ph.D. Coordinator by a specific date, generally in the third or fourth week in August, and to conduct their “45 plus/minus 15” minutes presentation soon after submitting their papers. Exact dates are determined annually and will be communicated to SCO Ph.D. students in advance.

Each SCO Ph.D. student-led paper and presentation will be evaluated by a team of three SCO Department members, with one member preferably identified by the student in consultation with the specific faculty member and the SCO Ph.D. Coordinator.

SCO PhD students are required to complete a research paper of publishable quality before their thesis proposal defense, which is expected to be held sometime during the third or fourth year in the program.

In the summer after the second academic year, typically when all coursework has been completed, SCO Ph.D. students sit for the Written Preliminary Examination. For procedures and relevant forms, please consult the section titled “Steps to Degree” in the CSOM Ph.D. in Business Administration Student Handbook.

The Written Preliminary Examination is one of two formal assessments to determine whether or not an individual can proceed to the Ph.D. thesis research stage. The SCO Ph.D. Program Written Preliminary Examination is a comprehensive competency examination designed to assess competencies in each of the seven seminars in the SCO Ph.D. curriculum, as well as competencies in synthesizing across the seven seminars and in the conduct of scholarly research. As part of the SCO Ph.D. Program Written Preliminary Examination, SCO Ph.D. students write answers, in class, to open-ended exam questions over multiple days in a two-week period in mid-to-late July.

In addition, SCO Ph.D. students complete a Take-Home portion that requires the submission, one week after the Take-Home is handed out, of a research proposal. This Take-Home portion of the SCO Ph.D. Program Written Preliminary Examination is generally customized to reflect the scholarly, and potentially Ph.D. thesis-related, interest of the examinee. The Take-Home has a page limit of 20-25 pages.

Students typically will complete their oral prelim by the end of fall semester of their third year in the program. Format of this exam will vary depending on the committee chair and adviser.

Students are expected to defend their dissertation proposal by the end of their third year in the program.