Terry College of Business - University of Georgia
Department of Management
Terry College of Business - University of Georgia

PhD in Business Administration (Management)

Program Overview

Our program is an ideal destination for anyone interested in a Management PhD, for four reasons:

  • Research Productivity. We rank 1st in the Texas A&M/University of Georgia Rankings of management department productivity for 2019. When adjusted for faculty size, we also rank 1st for both the 2019 and 5-year total. We therefore stand as one of the most productive groups in the country.
  • Student Focus. Not only are we productive, we publish with our students as well. If you look at our vitas, you'll see that almost all of our work is being done with our PhD students. This accelerates their training and positions them favorably when they enter the academic job market. 
  • Editorial Experience. Our faculty includes the former editors-in-chief of Academy of Management Journal and Organizational Research Methods — the flagship empirical and methodological journals in the field. It also includes 5 current or former associate editors at premier management journals including current associate editors of Personnel Psychology & Strategic Management Journal, and recent associate editors of Academy of Management Review & Academy of Management Journal​. 
  • Institutional Prestige. Founded in 1785 as the nation's first public university, University of Georgia is ranked 16th in the US News Top Public Schools ranking. It is considered one of the Public Ivies, alongside institutions like the University of California-Berkeley, the University of Michigan, the University of North Carolina, the University of Virginia, and the University of Texas.

PhD students work with faculty on all phases of the research process—from idea generation and study design to data analysis and writing. The culture is collegial and informal, with students viewed as colleagues and coauthors. Moreover, students are encouraged to work with multiple faculty, not just their chosen advisor or dissertation chair.  

Current Organizational Behavior students:

Current Strategy & Entrepreneurship students:

Apply to the PhD Program

Contacts

PhD Coordinator (for Organizational Behavior)
Jessica Rodell

PhD Coordinator (for Strategy & Entrepreneurship)
Scott Graffin

Departments and Program Offices

UGA Resources

Additional Information

Concentrations

Management PhDs choose one of the following concentrations:

  • Organizational Behavior
  • Strategy & Entrepreneurship

Organizational Behavior research focuses on understanding employee attitudes, emotions, and behaviors, in an effort to improve the work experience. This research draws largely from industrial, organizational, and social psychology. Strategy & Entrepreneurship research explores sources of competitive advantage and firm success - both for large publicly traded companies and newly formed ventures. This research builds on work in sociology, social psychology, and economics.

Typical Course Sequence

Year 1
Year 2
  • Fall
  • MGMT 9510 Strategic Management III (Corporate strategy & competition)
  • MGMT 9830 Job Behaviors
  • MGMT 9870 Job Motivation
  • MGMT 9610 Structural Equation Modeling (SEM)
  • Spring
  • MGMT 9860 Meso Organizational Behavior
  • MGMT 9520 Strategic Management IV (Status, reputation, and social evaluations of firms and executives)
  • MGMT 9620 Econometrics for Strategic Management
Years 3 - 5

Year 3

  • Assuming the passing of comprehensive exams, acceptable departmental evaluations, and the approval of the Associate Dean, PhD students are put on a five year track. Year 3 is then focused on continuing to make progress on existing research projects while beginning lead-authored work.

Year 4

  • Year 4 is then focused on existing research projects before turning attention to the Dissertation Proposal.

Year 5

  • Year 5 is then focused on interviews in the academic job market before completing the final Dissertation Defense.

Placements

Despite a challenging job market influenced by the fallout from COVID-19, each of our 2021 graduates has secured a tenure track position at a top research-focused insitution. 

Placement of 2021 PhD graduates:

  • Arizona State University (Rachel Burgess, Organizational Behavior)
  • University of South Carolina (Edwyna Hill, Organizational Behavior)
  • Pennsylvania State Univeristy (Eric Lee, Strategy & Entrepreneurship)

Our program has a consistent history of placing students at top universities:

  • Texas A&M University (Tyler Sabey, 2020 Organizational Behavior)
  • University of Nebraska (Rob Campbell, 2019 Strategy & Entrepreneurship)
  • Pepperdine University (Cole Short, 2019 Strategy & Entrepreneurship)
  • University of Oregon (Kate Zipay, 2018 Organizational Behavior)
  • University of Virginia (Abbie Oliver, 2018 Strategy & Entrepreneurship) 
  • University of Notre Dame (Tim Hubbard, 2017 Strategy & Entrepreneurship )
  • Indiana University (Ryan Outlaw, 2016 Organizational Behavior)
  • University of Illinois-Chicago (John Lynch, 2016 Organizational Behavior)
  • Arizona State University (Michael Baer, 2015 Organizational Behavior)
  • Oklahoma State University (Jason Kiley, 2015 Strategy & Entrepreneurship)
  • Pennsylvania State University (Jonathan Bundy, 2014 Strategy & Entrepreneurship)

Our students received offers and/or campus visits from a number of schools, including University of North Carolina, University of Pennsylvania (Wharton), University of Virginia (Darden & McIntire), University of Washington, Pennsylvania State University, Boston College, Indiana University, University of Oregon, University of Arizona, Washington University in St. Louis, London Business School, and Imperial College London.