Strategy

Description

The doctoral program in Strategy provides students with the multi-disciplinary training required to examine such questions. Students in the Strategy doctoral program work closely with faculty in the Strategy Unit, among faculty in departments across the University.

Examples of recent and current thesis research include:

• The relationship between non-market experience and the use and outcome of patent strategies by pharmaceutical firms
• The antecedents and consequences of corporate strategy decision-making, specifically focusing on divestitures and governance
• The impact of religion on individual financial choices and institutional structures
• Innovation in emerging markets; the causal effect of incentive policy reform, expatriates and social relationships on innovation
• In addition to the DBA in Strategy, the Strategy unit offers a Ph.D. in Business Economics, which is designed to attract students interested in pursuing research using a purely economics-based methodology

Students in the program are expected to master graduate-level microeconomic theory and econometrics. In addition, they are expected to devote substantial time to mastering one additional complementary discipline, such as psychology, sociology, or political science, and developing expertise in research methodologies suited to their particular interests, such as qualitative analysis, designing effective fieldwork, and analysis of survey data.

Contents

Each of the five DBA programs require a minimum of 13 semester long doctoral courses. Students in the Strategy program complete courses in the areas of business management theory, economic theory, quantitative research methods, academic field seminars, and the Business Education for Scholars and Teachers (BEST) Series. In addition to HBS courses, students may take courses at other Harvard Schools and MIT.

Many of these topics can best be addressed by drawing on both microeconomics, the foundation that has traditionally been used to study strategy, and on other complementary disciplines. For example, work on how managers perceive their strategic choices requires delving into the broad literature on cognition, which itself draws on psychology and the behavioral sciences. Work on non-market strategy and the regulatory environment of the firm might well draw on political science and law.

Requirements

REQUIRED APPLICATION MATERIALS

• Completed online application form
• Resume
• Statement of Purpose
• Transcripts for all college/university degrees and courses:

Self-reported transcripts are accepted for both DBA programsand PhD programs. Applicants must upload copies of his/her transcripts to the online application system. Hard copy transcripts will only be required if admitted to a program, prior to enrollment. GSAS no longer requires hard copy transcripts to be submitted for PhD Programs (Business Economics, Health Policy Management, and Organizational Behavior) at the application stage. Similarly, DBA programs only require electronic copies at the application stage.

• Current GMAT or GRE scores (see details below)
• TOEFL scores (non-native English speakers see details below)
• Three letters of recommendation (at least one from an academic source). Recommendation letters must be submitted online through the online application system. Hard copy recommendation letters will not be accepted.
• $105 application fee via credit card

Funding

All incoming students, regardless of need and background, are awarded a fellowship which includes tuition, single-person health fees, and a living stipend ($39,600 for 2014-2015).

Although there is no formal commitment, it is expected that a similar level of financial aid will be awarded for up to five years. All financial aid awards are contingent upon a student's satisfactory academic progress.