Programme Goals and Main Features

The Ph.D. in Business (Organisational Behaviour and Human Resources) aims to equip doctoral students with the knowledge, skills, and ability to conduct highly-rigorous research in OBHR. The programme is designed to prepare students for an academic career in OBHR in major research universities worldwide. We aim to provide students with the ability to publish in the top OBHR journals of our field such as Academy of Management Journal,  Journal of Applied Psychology, Organisation Science, and Organisational Behaviour and Human Decision Processes, to present their research at academic conferences worldwide, and to teach university-level OBHR classes.

The programme includes:

• Intellectually-stimulating curriculum emphasizing the core foundations of organisational behaviour and human resources, statistics, and research methods
• Training in research from the very beginning of the programme, including idea generation, research design, data collection, manuscript writing, and navigating the journal review process
• Preparation for and experience in teaching OBHR at the university level

Our Ph.D. programme is intentionally small, with an average expected intake of about three to four students per year. This allows us to select very high-potential students, and enables each student to develop close working and mentoring relationships with OBHR faculty members.

Each student will be involved in multiple research projects with multiple faculty members beginning with the first term of study. Through these assignments, students will have ample opportunity to learn the craft of research through hands-on work (idea generation, research design, data collection, data analysis, manuscript preparation, conference presentation, manuscript publication) in addition to the required Ph.D. coursework.

I have to say the most satisfying aspect of my job is working with and mentoring PhD students and seeing them mature into top-notch researchers and succeed in our field. Our PhD programme is purposefully designed to make this happen. By the time you graduate from this programme, you should be able to develop and lead your own research programs that you will work on in collaboration with other researchers around the world and the results of which you will publish in our field's top journals. This will make you a valuable colleague at any research university.

- Kenneth Tai, Associate Professor of Organisational Behaviour & Human Resources

Testimonials

"This is an outstanding PhD programme characterised by both academic rigor and intellectual openness. It is a well-thought and organised programme to equip candidates with the skills and tools to conduct scientific research to advance management as a science. At the same time, it is a highly collegial department where PhD students are given the space to develop and pursue their research ideas. We are a university very connected to international researchers as well and that gave the opportunity to collaborate and develop our own research network. I felt strongly supported by my supervisor and committee, and also by other faculty and staff during my time there!"

- Samantha SIM Su-Hsien (PhD 2016). Assistant Professor, Nova School of Business and Economics, Portugal

"My PhD journey at SMU OBHR program is one of the most rewarding life experiences. I had the opportunity to learn from a group of remarkably productive and humble OBHR scholars who are always there to lend a helping hand to PhD students. The guidance and training I received in the program was priceless, which helps me become an independent researcher and prepares my academic career going forward. I felt extremely fortunate to have been part of the OBHR program."

- JIN Mengzi (PhD 2018). Assistant Professor, Peking University, Guanghua School of Management, China

"I chose the SMU doctoral program as it has one of the best Organisational Behaviour & Human Resources (OBHR) department one could find, and I am happy to note that this is by far one of the best life decisions I have ever made. OBHR faculty members are not only excellent researchers and mentors; they are also the most generous people. I always wanted to have an environment that is full of learning opportunities as well as gives me a safe environment to experiment with new research problems and SMU provided me with all of these. My dissertation committee members provided me very rigorous training that greatly helped me in the job market. They have always been very supportive and have become my life long mentors and friends. I have no hesitation in saying the years I spent as SMU-PhD students were one of the most memorable years of my life and I will always be grateful to the school and to the faculty members."

- Pooja MISHRA (PhD 2018). Assistant Professor, Indian School of Business, India