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Management Information Systems

The Ph.D. program in Management Information Systems is NOW accepting applications for Fall 2012.

The MIS doctoral program will not accept applications in 2020.

Due to our large MIS PhD class enrollment in Fall 2019, we do not expect to be able to enroll students in Fall 2020.

“I am interested in information technology (IT) and its application in organizations. I have an interest in research, teaching about, and in helping to invent a future around, applications of IT.”

If that sounds like you, keep reading; this may be the first step towards an exciting and promising career!

Ph.D. versus MS

Deciding between getting a Ph.D. or an MS? (Note: a master's degree is not required in order to pursue a Ph.D.) Typical differences between working in academia with a Ph.D. versus working in industry with an MS:

• Individuals with a Ph.D. create knowledge; individuals with an MS apply knowledge (e.g., created by those with a Ph.D.).
• A Ph.D. enables an individual to choose and work in the areas and issues that pique his or her interest. An individual with an MS typically works on problems that are important to others (e.g., his or her supervisor).
• Individuals with a Ph.D. get paid for learning new things; individuals with an MS typically pay to learn new things (e.g., by taking advanced classes).
• Individuals with a Ph.D. have many more opportunities to teach undergraduate and/or graduate classes.

What is Management Information Systems?

MIS faculty teach and research about the application of information systems in organizations. This includes the study of social networks, cloud computing, IT consumerization, virtual reality, negotiation systems, collaboration technologies, office automation, electronic payments, strategic information systems, electronic commerce, collective intelligence, tele-medicine, electronic markets, social media, information requirements analysis, systems development methods, enterprise resource planning systems, systems implementation, adoption, and diffusion, mobile computing, and much more. The information technologies and systems we teach and research transform people’s lives, jobs and, for industry after industry, business models, products, supply chains, and distribution channels.

We are also interested in the implications of those technologies for people and society; personal privacy, infrastructure dependency, security, safeguarding of intellectual property, and IT-related stress all capture the interest of MIS faculty. So too do the political implementations of the internet, the evolution of the field, and IT in developing nations. And that’s just today! Ours is one of the most dynamic fields; the area your dissertation will focus on in several years may not have even been conceived of today.

In addition to furthering your knowledge about information systems, you will be given the opportunity to develop the research skills and mindset necessary to be a successful scholar. In our seminars, as well as those you will take in other disciplines, you will learn about research methods, data analysis approaches, and theories applicable to your research. You will also gain necessary teaching expertise and experience.

MIS Faculty Spotlight

Please follow the links below in order to get an idea of the depth and breadth of research being pursued by our MIS faculty.

*Faculty noted with an asterisk have been recognized as being in the top 3% of MIS researchers.

You are also most welcome to contact Randolph Cooper , the MIS Ph.D. coordinator. Before doing so please look over the materials on this web site. Many of your questions will be answered here.

Student Initial Placements

One hundred percent of our Ph.D. graduates who desired academic employment were placed in one of the following academic institutions.

Arizona State University Baylor College of Medicine Dankook University (South Korea) INCAE (Costa Rica) Iowa State University Kennesaw State University Louisiana State University Murray State University Ohio University Penn State University Southern University – New Orleans Texas Christian University Texas Southern University U. Tunku Abdul Rahman (Malaysia) University of Alaska – Anchorage

University of Central Missouri University of Colorado – Denver University of Georgia University of Houston University of Houston – Clear Lake University of Melbourne (Australia) University of Missouri – St. Louis University of Nevada – Reno University of North Florida University of Saint Thomas University of South Florida University of Southern Indiana University of Texas – San Antonio University of Tulsa University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee

Ph.D. Dissertation Topics

Rather than restrict our students’ research to specific topics in information systems, students have the freedom to explore topics in which they have strong interests. When these topics require expertise not available within our MIS faculty, we are happy to draw from other disciplines within the University of Houston as well as from other Universities in order to create appropriate dissertation committees. Below are some dissertation topics that have been explored by our past Ph.D. students.

RESEARCH AT THE LEADING EDGE

Where You Get Your Ph.D. Matters. Get Yours at a Global Center of Innovation.

Ph.D. Studies at Heinz College

You have the vision. You have the drive. What you need now is a doctoral program that will challenge and support you on your path to a career as a researcher, educator, and expert.

Heinz College is a graduate school without boundaries.

Distinguished by the interdisciplinary model of Heinz College and Carnegie Mellon University, our Ph.D. programs prepare graduates to lead change in their chosen fields through meaningful collaborations and hands-on work with our renowned and extremely accessible faculty. 

Heinz College features the unique co-location of two schools: The School of Information Systems and Management and The School of Public Policy and Management; however, below that larger structure, we are a college without departments and their characteristic silos. Our faculty, students, and research centers thrive by working together to solve problems across subjects, disciplines, and business verticals.

In the Heinz Ph.D. program, you will conduct innovative research to address increasingly complex challenges facing society, whether those challenges are technical, organizational, political, economic, social, or—as is often the case—some combination thereof.

Heinz College Is The #1 Analytics Education Program And Has Been #1 In Information And Technology Management Since 2001

Decorated faculty & research centers, here, you will work with award-winning thought leaders and boundary-busting research centers.

Truly Interdisciplinary

Matthew Eisenberg chose Heinz College for his research for the promise of interdisciplinary collaboration—like bringing machine learning to health economics.

Recent Best Paper Awards From Our Faculty

Alessandro Acquisti — Management Science, Best Paper

George Chen —  AAAI Workshop on AI for Behavior Change, Best Paper

Akshaya Jha — United States Association for Energy Economics, Young Professional Research Award and Best Paper

Ramayya Krishnan & Beibei Li — Information Systems Research, Best Paper Finalist

Rema Padman — Association of Information Systems, SIGHealth section, Best Paper

Alessandro Acquisti —  Information Systems Research, Best Paper

Leman Akoglu —   SIAM International Conference on Data Mining (SDM), Best Paper

George Chen —  INFORMS Data Mining and Decisions Analytics Workshop, Best paper (theoretical track)

Beibei Li   — International Conference on Information Systems (ICIS), Best Paper

Beibei Li  —  Workshop on Information Technologies and Systems (WITS), Best Paper  

Ananya Sen  —  Workshop on Information Systems and Economics, Best Paper

Zhe Zhang  —  ACM, Best Doctoral Dissertation Runner-Up

Alessandro Acquisti  —  Management Information Systems Quarterly, Best Paper

Leman Akoglu  —  ECML PKDD, Best Paper

Martin Gaynor  —  National Institute of Health Care Management Research, Best Paper

Recent Ph.D. Accolades

David Adler  was selected as the 2019-2020 recipient of the Institute for Regulatory Law & Economics Graduate Fellowship.

Nate Breg was selected to receive one of the Center for Machine Learning and Health 2020 Fellowships in Digital Health .

Maria Caballero  was selected to participate in the Western Economic Association International’s Graduate Student Workshop, held at the association's  95th Annual Conference .

William Herlands  was named a finalist for the  Schmidt Science Fellows .  

Mikaela Meyer has been selected for the American Statistical Association’s 2020 Gertrude Cox Scholarship Award .

Ph.D. in Information Systems & Management

Gain a deep understanding of the technical and organizational aspects of information systems

Key research areas in Information Systems & Management include: Economics of Digitization | Machine Learning & Large-Scale Data Analytics | Information Security & Privacy | Health Care & IT

Ph.D. in Public Policy & Management

Apply a rigorous scientific approach to social, organizational, economic, and management problems in an increasingly connected world

Key research areas in Public Policy & Management include: Crime & Drug Policy | Energy & Environmental Policy | Health Economics & Policy | Labor Economics | Management Science

Joint Ph.D. Programs

Heinz College offers joint Public Policy Ph.D. programs in cooperation with other CMU departments

Explore joint degree programs with CMU’s Tepper School of Business, School of Computer Science, and the College of Engineering

PhD In Management Information Systems

Program Overview

The PhD in Business Administration with a focus in Management Information Systems is a five-year full-time program. Consistently ranked among the best information systems PhD programs worldwide, the program is known for its cutting-edge research and support from actively publishing faculty.

The program prepares future information systems academics by providing strong foundations in a broad range of methods spanning psychometrics, econometrics, computational, design, and qualitative and by providing a strong emphasis in theory development to address important business and societal problems.

Given that information systems are ubiquitous and influence every aspect of life — individuals’ personal and work life, their transactions and interactions, organizational processes, outcomes, and interorganizational relationships, online platforms, markets, governments and society — the information systems field is broad and interdisciplinary and affords research opportunities across a diverse range of topics.

The research approach in the program is problem-focused, theory-based, and method-inclusive (i.e., all methods are welcome and no one single method is favored). Our PhD program provides you with significant individual flexibility, while at the same time ensuring you acquire the necessary conceptual and methodological skills to become a scholarly leader in our field.

Priority deadline: January 4

Applications after January 4 will also be considered until spots are filled

• C.Herman and Mary Virginia Terry Distinguished Chair of Business Administration, UGA Distinguished Research Professor and Professor , Department of Management Information Systems

Why a PhD in MIS?

There are five compelling reasons to join our program:

Research Productivity

We are among the most research-productive groups, consistently ranked in the top 10 or top 15 departments worldwide in publications in the top two IS journals ( MIS Quarterly and Information Systems Research ). Further, several of our faculty have won multiple research grants and awards for outstanding research.

Internationally Renowned Faculty

Our faculty includes a former president of the Association for Information Systems (Richard Watson), two Leo Award winners — the highest award in the field (Richard Watson and Elena Karahanna) — and three AIS Fellows (Richard Watson, Hugh Watson and Elena Karahanna).

Editorial Appointments

Our faculty includes current and former senior editors at MIS Quarterly , Information Systems Research , and the Journal of the Association for Information Systems , associate editors at MIS Quarterly , Information Systems Research , Management Science , and the Journal of the Association for Information Systems , and editorial board members of the Journal of Management Information Systems and Strategic Management Journal , among others.

Weekly Research Seminars

In these weekly seminars top scholars from around the world present and discuss their research. The PhD students have the opportunity to interact and discuss their research with these scholars in a meeting after the seminar.

Student Focus

Our culture is collaborative and supportive and one in which we view our students as junior colleagues. Students are provided extensive mentoring, support, and personal attention given our one-to-one faculty-student ratio. Evidence of the quality of mentoring is the outstanding placement of doctoral students and the plethora of journal papers co-authored with our faculty (over 100 publications in the past 10 years). Students can work with multiple faculty, not just their dissertation chair as they develop as scholars.

Typical Course Sequence

• MIST 9700 : IS Research Fundamentals
• MIST 9770 : Research Methods
• MIST 9760 : Foundational IS Theories and Emerging IS Phenomena
• MIST 9780 : Workshop & MTP
• Multivariate Statistics
• MIST 9750 : User Behavior and Technology Innovation 1
• MIST 9777 : Big Data Research Methods
• MGMT 9620 : Econometrics for Strategic Management
• GRSC 7770 : Teaching Seminar
• MIST 8990 : Directed Study
• First Year Exam (May)
• First Year Summer Paper due (beginning of Fall Semester)
• MIST 9790 : Combining Machine Learning and Econometrics
• MGMT 9610 : Introduction to SEM
• MIST 9710 : Digital Strategy and Digital Innovation 1
• MIST 9740 : Qualitative Research Methods
• Research Methods Elective
• Written & Oral Prelims
• Second Year Summer Paper due (beginning of Fall Semester)
• MIST 9000 : Doctoral Research
• Dissertation Proposal Defense
• MIST 9300 : Doctoral Dissertation 
• MIST 9300 : Doctoral Dissertation
• MIST 9300 : Doctoral Dissertation
• Dissertation Defense 2
• MIST 9750 and MIST 9710 are offered every other year. Some incoming PhD student cohorts will take MIST 9750 in their first year and MIST 9710 in their second year and others will take MIST 9750 in their second year and MIST 9710 in their first year.  ↩︎
• Dissertation defense occurs in the spring of their fifth year.  ↩︎

Our PhD graduates are placed in top research universities around the world.

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• Department of Management Information Systems

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PhD in Information Systems

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The PhD program in information systems (IS) prepares students for an academic career of scholarly research and university-level teaching.

From studying human-computer interaction, online reviews and social media design, to IS implementations and strategy, doctoral students explore real-world IS problems using a variety of methods, including surveys, experiments, archival data analysis , and analytics.

Message from the Coordinator

The Information Systems (IS) PhD takes a theory-inspired and practice-engaged approach to research, in order to understand how individuals, organizations and communities develop, design, use, and are affected by, information systems. We want our doctoral students to investigate relevant and interesting IS phenomena grounded in the IS discipline, and be intellectually curious, rigorous, critical and creative in their approach to research problems and research designs.

Research in our program targets the intersection of (1) implementation, design, and use of information systems, and (2) business and societal domains of their application, to produce research that can make a difference to theory, and practice and/or policy making. Our faculty’s research encompasses on a variety of technologies (e.g., ranking algorithms, social media and AI applications), domains of application (e.g., online communities and algorithmic work), and methods (experiments, secondary data analysis, surveys) . Our course work focuses on a strong theoretical and methodological foundation in the IS discipline, combined with an understanding of how IS are applied to the pressing issues of our time. We investigate research problems that can make a difference to organizations and/or society, bringing to bear methods that combine the power of different kinds of data. Our goal is to develop outstanding researchers and teachers who will make substantive contributions to scholarship and knowledge creation, and to place them in academic research institutions.

Our doctoral program is successful because it offers:

• World-class faculty who actively research, publish and shape-steer the scholarship in the top IS journals
• Collaborative and creative intellectual community that supports doctoral student scholarly development
• Comprehensive, rigorous and relevant coursework that equips students with the theories, concepts and methods needed to investigate IS problems
• Individual attention from multiple faculty members to support students in early research endeavors and multiple publication opportunities
• Preparation for the IS academic job market
• Exposure to the IS research community from around the world through support for traveling to international conferences (AMCIS, ICIS, HICSS, ECIS, etc.) and on-campus research talks

We welcome applications from individuals who have a strong academic record, are eager to investigate, why and how IS are developed, deployed and used, and aim to pursue a scholarly career in academia. Relevant industry experience can be an advantage, but it is not a must.

Monideepa Tarafdar Charles J. Dockendorff Endowed Professor and PhD Coordinator in Information Systems

The PhD program in information systems (IS) prepares students for an academic career of scholarly research and university-level teaching. From studying human-computer interaction, online reviews and social media design, to IS implementations and strategy, doctoral students explore real-world IS problems using a variety of methods, including surveys, experiments, archival data analysis, and analytics.

Teaching instruction is provided, and students are provided with teaching opportunities to support their development as world class business instructors.

Our program offers access to a unique group of world-class faculty who conduct research in the following areas:

• Human-computer interaction; decision support systems and online decision-making
• Website design and signaling; Online consumer impulsiveness; B2C electronic commerce strategy
• Social media affordances; online reviews; ranking algorithms
• Societal impacts such as social media driven online activism and social protest
• Algorithms, AI, bias and transparency
• IS use and post-adoptive cognitions, emotions, and behaviors (both negative and positive)
• Big data analytics use and strategy
• IS and wellbeing
• Healthcare systems implementation and use

Students generally complete a PhD in Information Systems within 4-5 years, beginning their studies in the fall semester. Students must take 45 credits of coursework, building foundational knowledge in information Systems and Research Methods before taking minor and elective courses. The program includes a first year core exam (summer paper); a comprehensive examination generally taken after completing the second year; a 3-course teaching requirement and a dissertation.

Research in information systems draws from a number of fields including psychology, sociology, human-computer interaction, computer science, marketing, management and sociology.  Topics of study include:

• Theories and concepts in the IS discipline
• Research methods (experiments, surveys, big data analysis, statistics, econometrics)
• Domains in the IS discipline (e.g. Human-computer interaction, post adoptive use, negative psychological, behavioral and societal effects of IS, algorithmic work, artificial intelligence and related concepts, social media driven phenomenon and online communities)
• Theories in psychology, management and sociology

YEAR 1: Coursework, including core courses; Core exam (summer paper)

YEAR 2: Coursework, including core courses, research electives and minor area courses; Comprehensive exam

YEAR 3: Development of dissertation proposal; Teaching; Additional coursework as needed;

YEAR 4-5: Dissertation; Teaching

IS Doctoral Candidates

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Program Overview

The PhD concentration in Management Information Systems (MIS) is designed for higher caliber students who seek academic careers in MIS or managerial positions in modern corporations. Recent MIS graduates have been placed as assistant professors in prestigious institutions such as Virginia Tech and Clemson University.

The graduate coordinator works closely with each student to design the PhD course work to fit the student's individual needs. This customization permits each candidate to take full advantage of prior training and special interests. Students take a variety of courses, including Business Analytics, Database Management, Systems Analysis and Design, Business Strategy, Statistics and Econometrics and Research Methodology.

The MIS faculty publishes state-of-the-art research in leading academic journals, such as MIS Quarterly, Information Systems Research, Management Science, Journal of Management Information Systems, and Journal of the Association for Information Systems. Some are serving on the editorial boards of premier journals such has ISR and JAIS. Many have received external grants from leading corporations such as FedEx and national agencies such as NIH, Department of Homeland Security and Department of Commerce.

The graduate faculty members are easily accessible and work closely with the PhD students in their research and instructional activities. Under the guidance of our faculty, our PhD graduates have published papers on premier journals such as MISQ, Journal of Operations Management and Information and Management based on their dissertation work.

• ECON 8811 - Econometrics II
• SCMS 8530 - Survey of Statistical Techniques
• SCMS 8540 – Multivariate Methods
• MGMT 8921 - Management Research
• MIS 8710 - Research Seminar in IS I
• MIS 8720 - Research Seminar in IS II
• MIS 8730 - Theory building in IS
• MIS 8605 - Business database systems
• MIS 8620 - Business machine learning I
• MIS 8640 - Information systems mgmt/plan
• MIS 8670 - Information security mgmt
• MIS 8610 - System analysis and design
• Dissertation Semester 5
• Dissertation Semester 6
• Dissertation Semester 7 (6 credit hours)
• Dissertation Semester 8

Additional Graduate Level Coursework - 15 credit hours

TOTAL = 72 credit hours needed to obtain a PhD in Management Information Systems *brochure says 60 hours

Program Coordinator

Review the Admission Requirements  for the PhD program and apply today! Apply Now >

PhD in Management Information Systems

Research in Information Systems and Technological Progress

The UIC Business PhD program in Management Information Systems educates and trains future scholars to establish successful careers as productive researchers, scientists and scholars at leading universities and research institutions. Our program stresses technical, economic and organizational/management aspects of information systems.

A STEM Degree Program

The PhD in Management Information Systems is approved as a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) Designated Degree Program. Under the Optional Practical Training program, international students who graduate from the program are able to remain in the United States and receive training through work experience for up to 12 months, and can remain for an additional 24 months on an OPT STEM extension.

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• Current PhD Students Learn more about the program and see whether you would be a good fit here at UIC by reading about our current students’ backgrounds and research interests.
• Program Faculty Read about faculty areas of research and teaching focus.

Important Dates Heading link Copy link

The application deadline for this program is January 15.

Admission Heading link Copy link

Admission is competitive and applicants are considered on an individual basis. The college considers applications for full time degree seeking status for the Fall term only. The deadline to submit the application, fee and required materials is January 15. Please see the admissions section of our catalog for application requirements

Requirements and Dissertation Heading link Copy link

Requirements.

Breadth Requirement

Two introductory courses in any two functional areas of business, for example:

• Operations management (IDS 532)
• Accounting (ACTG 500)
• Economics (ECON 520,521)
• Finance (FIN 500)
• Marketing (MKTG 500)
• Management (MGMT 541)

These courses will not count towards the 64 semester hours required for entrants with a master’s degree.

Technical Requirements

• Data Structures and Operating Systems (IDS 401)
• Business Systems Analysis & Design (IDS 405)
• Business Database Design (IDS 410)

Each course may be waived based on equivalent prior coursework or appropriate work experience in the technical area. These courses will not count towards the 64 semester hours requirement for entrants with a master’s degree.

Basic Competency

• Advanced database management (IDS 520)
• Distributed processing and telecommunication systems (IDS 521)
• Enterprise application infrastructure (IDS 517)

Each course may be waived based on equivalent prior coursework or appropriate work experience in the technical area.

Research Methods: 3-4 courses (12-16 semester hours) including statistical methods in research, behavioral research methods overview, quantitative methods in research and additional courses to be decided in consultation with the director of the PhD program.

MIS Specialization: Minimum of six courses (24 credit hours) including two IDS research seminars (IDS 529), three specialized courses in areas of individual interest, IS research topics (IDS 525), and an additional courses in consultation with the director of the PhD program.

Additional doctoral-level course work, including dissertation: at least 8 courses (32 semester hours minimum.

IDS 599: PhD Thesis Research or additional doctoral-level course work chosen with the consent of the PhD coordinator and in consultation with the dissertation adviser. A maximum of 32 semester hours of thesis research can count toward the degree.

Annual Evaluation The student will write a research paper each year beginning the first summer in the program and continuing until the preliminary evaluation. An assessment of the summer paper will be conducted at the beginning of the fall semester each year that the student is in the program, except the first year. The evaluation will be conducted by a three-member faculty committee, which will include the PhD director as the chairperson, the student’s mentor and an MIS faculty member who has taught the student during that year.

Preliminary Examination The preliminary examination is normally taken upon successful completion of the required course work. In exceptional cases, the examination may be taken earlier upon recommendation of the MIS director of doctoral studies and the student’s PhD adviser. The Graduate College requires that “the preliminary examination may not be given before one calendar year of residence nor later than one calendar year before defense of the dissertation.”

The preliminary examination consists of an oral examination on the dissertation proposal and related material. The examination may cover any issues relevant to the topic addressed in the proposal and PhD common core and basic knowledge in the field of specialization related to the proposal.

For a full list of degree requirements, click here for the UIC Catalog .

Dissertation

A dissertation, which makes an original contribution to knowledge in MIS, is required and must be defended. Dissertations may address theoretical or applied problems. In most cases, a minimum of 24 semester hours will be required to prepare a dissertation acceptable to the committee. Up to 32 semester hours of credit can be awarded for successful completion of a dissertation.

Explore the UIC Catalog

Placements heading link copy link, 2023 placements.

• Tengteng Ma, University of South Florida
• Moh Hosseinioun, Postdoc, Northwestern University

2022 Placements

• Ramah Al Balawi, Baruch College at CUNY

2021 Placements

• Keran Zhao, T. Bauer College of Business, University of Houston
• Atiya Avery, Auburn University
• Ecem Basak, Baruch College, City University of New York

2020 Placements

• Pankhuri Malhotra, Michael F. Price College of Business, The University of Oklahoma
• Cheng Chen, Lubar School of Business, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

2018 Placements

• Pouya Rahmati, Deloitte, University of Georgia (Prior)
• Minghong Xu, Practice at Carey Business School, Johns Hopkins
• Atiya Avery, University of Alabama in Huntsville
• Amer Aljarallah, King Saud University
• Sridhar R. Papagari Sangareddy, Centers for Disease Control
• Mohan Thirumalai, University of Alabama at Birmingham
• Ivan Alfaro, Wellspring
• Ferdi Eruysal, Texas A&M
• Melike Findikogu, Technion – Israel Institute of Technology
• Doug Lundquist, UIC
• Mauricio Vasquez, University of Puerto Rico
• Poornima Krishnan, Instructor, North Central College / Research Analyst, Sullivan, Cotter & Associates
• Sanjeev Jha, University of New Hampshire
• Ariel Lapaz, Departamento de Control de Gestion y Sistemas de Informacion, Chile
• Chen Ye, Virginia State University
• Christina Outlay, DePaul University
• Darrin Thomas, Morningstar Inc.
• Dong Back Sen, University of Groningen, Netherlands
• Kirill Yurov, Northeastern Illinois University
• Kurian Tharakkunel, Rowan University, NJ
• Chei Sian Lee, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
• Kevin Desouza, University of Washington
• Yifeng Zhang, University of Illinois at Springfield
• John Warren, University of Texas at San Antonio
• James Watson, CEO, Doculabs, Chicago
• Kumar Mehta, University of Connecticut

Department of Technology, Operations, and Statistics | Doctoral Program in Information Systems

Doctoral program in information systems.

Authoritative curriculum information can be found exclusively in the University Bulletin. All other content, including this page, is for informational purpose only. You can find the curriculum for this program on this page of the Bulletin.

• Overview of the Doctoral Program in Information Systems

Program Requirements

Doctoral Courses

• Doctoral Students and their Research
• Information Systems Faculty

Overview of the IS Doctoral Program

Mission: To educate and train scholars who will produce first-rate IS research and who will succeed as faculty members in first-rate universities. We offer tracks in technical perspectives on IS, economic perspectives on IS, and organizational/management perspectives on IS. Admissions and performance: We enroll an average of three students each year out of more than 100 highly qualified applicants. Students enrolling typically have GMATS over 700 or GREs over 1400. International students typically have TOEFLs higher than 640. Our students are highly competitive within Stern and nationally. Recently our students have received school-wide awards as "outstanding doctoral students." They have won acceptance at doctoral consortia sponsored by the Academy of Management and the International Conference on Information Systems. And they have won national dissertation research competitions.

Advising and evaluation: The IS doctoral program faculty director advises all first-year doctoral students. During the first year students have many opportunities to get to know the research interests of all departmental faculty. By the beginning of the second year, students have selected a concentration advisor who will guide them through the comprehensive exam process and up to the thesis stage. By the middle of the third year students will have selected a thesis advisor. Each year every student submits a statement of intellectual progress to his/her advisor. All faculty meet to review the progress of all students in a day-long meeting each year. At this time, the student's intellectual progress is reviewed and plans for the following year are considered. The results of this review include a formal letter to the student assessing the previous year's work and offering guidance for the following year's work. All students take a comprehensive written and oral exam at the end of the second year. Students defend their thesis proposal by March of their fourth year and defend their completed dissertation at the end of the fourth year or during the fifth year.

Research and interaction with faculty: The heart of the IS doctoral program is immersion in a community of researchers. Every student has a formal research apprenticeship with one or more faculty members each year. Every student participates in formal and informal research seminars each week with departmental faculty and visitors. Every student presents research in progress and works toward producing publishable papers, usually with a faculty co-author. Students learn to be researchers by doing research. They learn to be research colleagues by working with others and critiquing their research.

Placement record: In the past ten years, our graduates have accepted faculty positions at such schools as University of California at Berkeley, Hong Kong University of Science & Technology, University of Maryland, University of Minnesota, University of Texas at Austin, the University of British Columbia, National University of Singapore, The Wharton School and the University of Cambridge, UK.   Please click on the links on the right to learn how to apply, to attend an information session, and to contact the Stern School Doctoral Office. 

Natalia Levina Coordinator, Information Systems Doctoral Program IOMS Department

Back-to-Top

All students take a common core of courses during their first year which provides an overview of the major research areas in IS and the fundamental knowledge necessary for specialized course work in the second year. In the second year students take specialized course work in one of three concentrations: technical perspectives, economic perspectives, behavioral/managerial perspectives.  

Mandatory Breadth Courses (3)

• Behavioral Research Methods
• Micro-economics
• Technical Foundations
• Each student is required to take 1 Probability and 1 Statistics course, from a list of approved courses.
• Technical Research in IS
• Economics Research in IS
• Behavioral/Managerial Research in IS
• Research Apprenticeship

YEAR TWO - Each student chooses one concentration track

Technical Track:

• A programming requirement, may be satisfied in a variety of ways
• Honors Analysis of Algorithms
• Artificial Intelligence
• Optimization
• Database Systems
• Machine Learning/Data Mining
• Other courses based on student's interest
• Research apprenticeship

Economics Track:

• Mathematical Methods for Economists
• Econometrics
• Game Theory
• Students will take elective courses in the Stern Economics Department, at the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, in Operations Management, Statistics, or at Courant as specified in consultation with the advisor

Behavioral/Managerial Track:

• Any two of the following four Stern Management Department Courses
• Organizational Behavior
• Managerial Cognition
• Organizational Theory
• At least one research methods or statistics course beyond the first year courses.
• Students may take doctoral level courses in Psychology, Sociology, Political Science, Public Policy, History, Education, or Law.
• Electives in the area of interest
• Thesis research
• Teaching apprenticeship (in year 3 or 4)
• Teaching one course (in year 3 or 4)
• INFO-GB.3345 (B20.3345)  Doctoral Seminar in Digital Economics  (offered in Spr 2012) This course introduces students to scientific paradigms and research perspectives related to the economics of information technologies. Topics in 2012 include information goods, piracy, digital rights management, network economics, sponsored search auctions, user-generated content, contagion in networks, technological innovation, IT productivity, the digital commons and online privacy.  
• INFO-GB.3382 (B20.3382)  Research Seminar on IT and Organizations: Social Perspectives (offered in Spr 2012) The course introduces students to sociological and organizational literature on the role of Information Technology in organizations and society.  
• INFO-GB.3383 (B20.3383)  Networks, Crowds & Markets   
• INFO-GB.3386 (B20.3386)  Technical Foundations of IS  
• INFO-GB.3355 (B20.3355)  Behavioral Research Methods  
• INFO-GB.3391 (B20.3391)  Research Seminar in Data Science   (offered in Spr 2012) In this course we will take a deep dive into selected topics in data science. The focus will be two-fold. First, we will read textbook segments, classic papers, and new research, with the goal of understanding research in data science. Second, we will study the actual practical application of data science methods to extract knowledge from large-scale data. We will cover topics such as machine learning, data mining, information retrieval, text classification, sentiment analysis, similarity analysis, network analysis, graphical models, Bayesian models, topic models, model evaluation, crowd-sourcing and micro-outsourcing, massive-scale data processing, reducing data for analytic purposes, and more. The selection of which topics are covered in a particular semester will be based on: (i) the current research and business environments, (ii) the research interests of the IS faculty, and (iii) the interests of the students in that semester. We also will discuss applications that are of current interest, such as recommender systems, social-network marketing, online advertising, Mechanical Turking, and more.

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