PhD in Management?

Where I'm at

I don't know if you care, but here goes. This is an update on where I'm at, thanks to all your help.

My 10yr long term goal: tenured position in a business dept. (ideally).

My 5yr long term goal: start a PhD or DBA (limited residency, part time, external from the UK or DL from US)

My 1yr goals:

1- Research then select an area within business to study. The choice of Masters Degree needs to allow for 2 things:
* A better paying non-academic job (in case the PhD never materializes) AND
* A preparation for a PhD in a field I find interesting enough to research and teach, that is also in demand.

Fields I find interesting are (in order):
1- Behavioral Sci (Org Behavior / I-O psychology)
2- HR (HR Mgmt, Industrial/Labor Relations)
3- Entrepreneurship
4- Marketing
5- MIS

2- Contact 20+ Bus PhD departments in the US to ask about PT or limited residency PhDs. The 10 departments or so --all in states surrounding the state of MN where I live -- that I've contacted so far said NO.

3- Consider I-O psychology instead of a business field. Is an I-O PhD program found via DL or limited residency in the US. My chances of a tenure position with a PhD in I-O vs. a PhD in HR or Management? I-O demand vs. business PhD/DBA.. accreditation.. etc

4- Find an MBA or an MS, hone in on a specific DL or local PT schools.

5- Take the GMAT, apply and start the Masters program. Study for 3 yrs.

5.5 - Decide whether or not to do 2 MBAs with different concentrations.

It seems that I NEED the MS/MA-level of education. Even though some PhD programs could accept me without the MS they would require me to complete the course work anyway and since a DL Doctoral program is usually more costly than a DL MS program it is more financially affordable to get the MS/MBA done before looking for Doctoral programs. Plus there are so many choices for DL MS/MBA that I can study a field I like.

An AACSB MBA seems just fine when trying to get into a PhD program, at least one other member here mentioned that, I also asked a professor who had an MBA before going for his PhD, also there are a few professors that seemed to go the MBA route first. Having said this, an MS is also good because it gives you a major research project experience.

That's all for now. Feel free to provide any advice/feedback, I'm all ears.

 

Look at your long term goal then reconsider 5.5! Take a good MSc. in your business field of choice and get ready for the ph.d, the rest can come later

 

Actually, this is quite an issue in Canada. Generally speaking, coursework-only MBA's might not be ideal degrees to get into a doctoral program. Most doctoral programs require a master's degree with a research component such as offered in MSc or MA programs. If the MBA program has a research component, then it might be acceptable.

It really depends on the university. I think that DL institutions are more forgiving of the "research component", hence the apprehension of some academics to take DL doctorates seriously.

 

Thanks! I am looking now for a Dual MBA/MS. Most MBA's do not offer or allow for research, but a few said that I could take individual study credits and use them for a research project. I wonder if this is enough research experience.

 

Are you sure you want to do research? Do you know what it entails? It's a far cry from being a practitioner.

 

I think I will like research, that's why I want to do some research as part of the MBA, if I like it enough will consider a PhD

 

A MBA is a general practitioner degree. It is broad in scope, especially the core course work. By that I mean that the core courses at least touch on every aspect of business (operations, finance, accounting, management, marketing and economics). Beyond that you can select your electives to give you a concentration in a given area (my MBA electives focused heavily on marketing, but not exclusively).

In contrast, a MS degree is going to be deep in scope but not nearly as broad as the MBA. For instance, a MS in Marketing is probably going to be exclusively course work in marketing. It would make you a specialist as opposed to a generalist.

I have friends that have gotten into PhD programs at AACSB accredited schools with either degree. In fact, one of my good friends earned a MS in communications, then did a PhD in marketing and is now in a tenured track position at UMass-Boston. I have classmates from my MBA program that are currently in PhD programs at a number of AACSB programs. The two I stay in touch with are in PhD programs for accounting and management at B&M schools on the east coast. Their elective courses in the MBA program definitely reflected their interest to adcomm's from the PhD programs they are now in. For example, my friend in the PhD-Accounting program took all of her electives in finance and accounting.

I suppose what I am trying to say is that either degree, the MBA or the MS degree, will get you where you want to go. I don't think one holds a distinct advantage over the other. Just make sure that the master's program you choose, whether it is a MBA or a MS, is applicable to the focus you want to concentrate on in your doctoral studies.

 

Thanks. I agree with you.

I am considering sustainability as a concentration