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 Journal of Applied Psychology, Academy of Management Journal, and Organisational Behaviour and Human Decision Processes, to successfully present their research findings at academic conferences worldwide, and to successfully teach university-level OBHR classes.
The programme includes:
- Intellectually-stimulating curriculum emphasizing psychological foundations of organisational behaviour and human resources, statistics, and research methods
- Training in research from the very beginning of the program, including 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 have very 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 (research design, data collection, data analysis, manuscript preparation, conference presentation, manuscript publication) in addition to the required Ph.D. coursework.
I can't think of a more satisfying aspect of my job than working with PhD students and seeing how they mature into top-notch researchers. Our PhD programme is designed to make this happen. By the time you graduate from this programme, you should be able to head 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.
- Jochen Reb, 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
Welcome to the website for the SMU Ph.D. Programme in Organisational Behaviour and Human Resources. Our OBHR faculty consists of professors who are dedicated to understanding and rigorously investigating some of the most fundamental, challenging, interesting, and important questions that exist surrounding the human experience in the workplace. Among us, you will find scholars who study creativity, decision-making, deviant behaviours, emotions, intercultural management, leadership, mindfulness, negotiation and conflict management, organizational justice, performance appraisal, personnel selection, work-life (im)balance, and other fascinating topics.
Several factors combine to make us an attractive place for Ph.D. training. First, we are among the most productive OBHR groups around the world, publishing regularly in top-tier journals. This means that from day one in the programme, our Ph.D. students will be co-authoring and learning firsthand how to conduct research. Please visit the pages of our faculty to find out more about our research and publications: Faculty
Second, we are a very collegial group of scholars. We believe deeply that “the people make the place.” We consciously work to maintain a positive and supportive culture, and we consider Ph.D. students an integral part of that culture. Third, because we are a relatively young faculty, we still vividly remember the experiences of earning a Ph.D. We know what worked and what didn’t work in our own Ph.D. programmes, and we recognise the huge investment it takes to train and mentor Ph.D. students. Having benefited from mentors in our own graduate studies, we now look forward to investing in the next generation of scholars.
Fourth, we recognise that quality in is important for quality out. We will admit only those students whom we believe have the potential to develop into scholars who can advance and disseminate knowledge to world-class standards. And fifth, our location in Singapore, a vibrant city-state at the crossroads of the many cultures and economies of Asia, provides scholars with an opportunity to identify and focus on very interesting, challenging, and globally relevant, managerial issues.
Please enjoy reading more about our programme and our research, and please don’t hesitate to contact any of us if you have any further questions.
We look forward to receiving your application to our Ph.D. programme.
