Ph.D. in Business Administration - Supply Chain and Information Systems

Program Overview

The goal of the Supply Chain and Information Systems (SC&IS) doctoral program is to develop outstanding scholars who will pursue distinguished careers in research and teaching at quality, research-oriented universities.

Supply Chain and Information Systems is a boundary-spanning primary field, which includes procurement management; inventory flow scheduling and control; logistics-production coordination; transportation and infrastructure; customer service and order fulfillment (including e-business) systems; distribution facilities management; information management requirements; cash flow interrelationships; reverse logistics; government regulatory and promotional impacts on supply chain processes; and strategic and organizational alternatives for management of supply chain processes. An information systems concentration provides a combination of contextual courses that build knowledge of modern information technologies and information systems analysis, design and implementation, and advanced seminars covering research topics in information systems.

From an interdisciplinary perspective, the diversity of processes within supply chain and information systems provides abundant opportunities for the application of a broad array of quantitative and qualitative research methods in complementary fields, such as statistics; operations research; industrial engineering; economics; financial management; risk management; and civil engineering. Students have access to internationally known research centers and laboratories such as the Center for Supply Chain Research, the Center for Digital Transformation, the Institute for the Study of Business Markets, and the Laboratory for Economic Management and Auctions, among others.

Admissions

Admission to the SC&IS doctoral program is highly competitive. Decisions are based on a combination of factors, including performance in previous academic programs, test scores (GMAT or GRE), letters of recommendation, previous business and professional experience, indicators of intellectual curiosity and initiative, and oral and written communication skills. All students admitted to the Ph.D. program in SC&IS are expected to have prerequisite competencies in the following areas: computing (general purpose programming); mathematics (linear algebra and calculus); and statistics (probability, descriptive statistics, hypothesis testing, analysis of variance, and regression).

Ideally, the applicant should also enter the program with master's degree-level course work in either business administration or a complementary discipline such as economics, industrial engineering, civil engineering (with a transportation focus), or geography. A strong academic foundation is essential for the demanding course work and research components of the program.

Applicants are strongly encouraged to submit evidence of previous research and writing if available. Every applicant is interviewed, either in person or by telephone, to assure excellence in spoken English skills.

Program Structure and Milestones

Candidates successfully completing the SC&IS Program receive a Ph.D. from the Smeal College of Business, and must satisfy general requirements of the Smeal Ph.D. program (e.g., English Language Requirement). The course work encompasses four areas: foundation, advanced, supporting field(s), and research methods.

Program Requirements

Total of 48 Prescribed Credits:

• Primary Field (18 credits total)
• • Intro to SC&IS (3 credits) taken in first or second semester
  • Principles of SC&IS (6 credits) taken in second year
  • At least 9 additional graduate credits selected in consultation with the doctoral committee or graduate adviser
    
• Supporting Field (12 credits)
  
• Research Methods (18 credits)
• Intro to Business Research (3 credits)
• Optimization (3 credits)
• Stochastic Processes (3 credits)
• Information Systems (3 credits)
• First course from either Behavioral or Economics research methods field (3 credits)
• Either the second course from Behavioral or Economics research methods field or
• Simulation or Graduate Business Statistics Methods or other graduate research methods coursework selected in consultation with the graduate advisor and/or doctoral committee (3 credits)

The specific milestones are as follows:

Candidacy Examination

A candidacy exam is taken near the beginning of the Ph.D. program and is required by the Graduate School. The purpose of the exam is to test the student's ability to execute a successful research program as part of the Ph.D. To that end, the Supply Chain and Information Systems Department administers the Ph.D. candidacy examination under the following policies:

• All SC&IS faculty who are members of the graduate faculty shall serve as the candidacy committee.
• A candidacy exam coordinator shall be responsible for all administrative aspects of preparing, administering, and grading the student's examination, along with communicating the results to the student.
• The exam will be given at the end of the summer following the completion of the student's first two semesters. For students who enter in other than the fall semester, or who require substantial remedial work prior to taking prescribed courses from the SC&IS Ph.D. curriculum, the graduate adviser may allow a one-year deferral for taking the exam.
• The format will be a one-week take-home examination.
• Each member of the candidacy committee shall be responsible for submitting one question for the exam.
• Questions submitted by the faculty will be based on coursework from the first year of the SC&IS Ph.D. program of study. The questions will test both the student's ability to understand the material and the student's ability to perform research.
• The candidacy exam coordinator shall have the right and responsibility to choose a subset of those questions submitted by the faculty to be used for the examination. The goal is to create a pool of questions of approximately equal rigor and difficulty, in addition to the appropriate depth and relevance.
• Each student will answer in writing four questions from the set of all questions. The questions are chosen at the student's discretion.
• Each student will make an oral presentation of his/her answers to the questions to the Candidacy Committee.
• A favorable vote of a simple majority of the Candidacy Committee is required to pass the exam.
• If a student does not pass the first exam, the Candidacy Committee will vote whether to offer a second chance to take the examination in the following December. If this second exam is needed, the original candidacy exam coordinator will serve as coordinator for this exam also. The December candidacy exam will follow the same format as the first candidacy exam.
• No student may take the candidacy exam more than twice.
• In all cases, students will be informed of the outcome of the exam within ten business days of completion of the exam.

After the student passes the candidacy exam but before taking the comprehensive exam, the student completes the following requirements intended to enhance his or her professional development:

• The candidate will conduct a synopsis and critique of a selected research area or of selected research papers. The candidate will work with faculty to determine the research topic or selection of papers.
• The candidate will develop a research proposal based on the above synopsis and critique.
• The candidate will develop a working paper and present it to the faculty. (This is a Smeal College requirement for English language standards).
• The candidate will co-author, with a faculty member or members, a paper for presentation at a major professional conference or submission to a journal.
• The candidate, in consultation with the SC&IS graduate adviser, will select a doctoral committee.

Comprehensive Examination

After the candidate completes the required course work and the above requirements, a comprehensive examination is administered. The comprehensive examination includes both written and oral components. The written component covers the material covered in the candidate's courses plus the developmental work listed above. The oral component may also cover these areas and may also serve as a forum for the candidate to present a dissertation proposal.

Doctoral Dissertation Defense

After the candidate has completed his or her dissertation, the candidate will orally defend the dissertation before the dissertation committee and anyone else who wishes to attend.

Graduate Assistantship

Students admitted to the doctoral program in supply chain and information systems typically receive a graduate assistantship that includes a full tuition waiver and a monthly stipend. Continuation of the assistantship is subject to satisfactory progress in the program and is made available for a period of four academic years. Most assistantships are funded from budgetary resources within the Department of Supply Chain and Information Systems. However, in some instances, they are provided as part of the student's participation in externally funded research projects directed by individual faculty members, either independently or through various on-campus research centers and institutes. Also, a limited number of competitive scholarships and fellowships are sometimes available.

Assistantship assignments span research and teaching and play an integral role in the professional development process of the doctoral program. For a portion of the four years in the doctoral program, the student is assigned as a research assistant to a faculty member in the department. This relationship is intended to provide direct involvement in the design and conduct of research projects, and in submission of the results of such projects for presentation at major professional meetings, and publication in top-tier journals. The relationship serves as a vehicle for acquiring proficiency in research skills and methods through hands-on experience. Co-authored papers that win acceptance for presentation at professional meetings, and publication in quality journals, are beneficial for the career progress of both the student and the faculty member.

In addition to involvement in research, the graduate assistant is expected to gain experience through involvement in teaching assistantship activities. Initially, the student assists a faculty member with course development and instructional delivery. After obtaining sufficient skill, the student may be provided with the opportunity to teach his/her own course.

Academic Resources

Departmental Activities

Doctoral students develop familiarity with departmental faculty members and their research areas through various organized events as well as through formal contact. The department sponsors colloquia featuring presentations by both Penn State faculty members and invited outside speakers. In addition, the department holds social events that enable students to mix with faculty in an informal setting.

Libraries

Penn State has an extensive collection of materials housed in the main library, Pattee. The Paterno wing of the main library houses the Schreyer Business Library, which provides convenient access to books, periodicals, and other resources within a pleasant setting. Most bibliographic databases and other key reference resources are accessible online to all members of the Penn State University community.

Other academic resources of particular usefulness to Logistics doctoral students include the Center for Supply Chain Research, the Center for Digital Transformation, and the Pennsylvania Transportation Institute. These on-campus research units contain specialty-working collections of reference materials, and serve as administrative vehicles for the conduct of funded research projects. They also sponsor research colloquia.

Computing Facilities

Penn State is committed to maintaining a cutting-edge computing environment. All SC&IS Ph.D. students are given office computers with online access. Through a recently completed licensing agreement, most Microsoft software products are freely available to all Penn State community members. SC&IS servers, as well as student computer labs located throughout the University Park campus, are stocked with additional specialty software.

Graduate Life

The Graduate Student Association helps students navigate graduate life and coordinates social events. The Smeal College Doctoral Students Association does the same at the college level. A variety of housing options are available.

The State College Community

Like most Big Ten college towns, State College provides a wide variety of restaurants, cafes, movie theaters, and shopping establishments.

The University attracts a wide variety of high quality art and performance entertainment. A current calendar is posted at http://www.psu.edu/ur/arts.html. Every July, State College hosts a nationally known Arts Festival.

The University maintains high quality physical fitness facilities, including two indoor pools and one outdoor pool, three weight rooms, two indoor running tracks and two golf courses. These facilities are available to all students for modest fees.

State College has a network of bicycle and walking paths. The region is located at the edge of the Appalachian mountain range, and presents many memorable hiking and mountain biking opportunities.

The Centre Daily Times, the local newspaper, includes the Centre Region Guide with detailed information on topics ranging from recycling, taxes, voter registration, sports and outdoors, and entertainment.

How to apply

Click the here for application instructions.

For more information

Dr. Elena Katok

Calvin E. and Pamela T. Zimmerman Endowed Fellow
and Professor of Supply Chain Management
Supply Chain and Information Systems (SC&IS)

Smeal College of Business
The Pennsylvania State University
465 Business Building
University Park, PA 16802-3606

Telephone: 814-863-2180
Fax: 814-863-7067
E-mail: exk106@psu.edu