At Case Western Reserve University’s Weatherhead School of Management, our PhD in Organizational Behavior (ORBH) program is structured to resonate with our department’s mission of developing world-class researchers interested in doing high-quality academic work of enduring consequence. Hence, our program and course requirements encourage continual development of reading, writing, research methods and statistical and relational skills to help you to effectively study and communicate your ideas.
We’ve designed our program for full-time, year-round engagement. Although you may take shorter or longer to complete the program, it is generally completed in four to five years. Coursework is completed in the first two years of the program, as follows.
Sample Curriculum
Wondering what your schedule will look like throughout our program as a doctorate student? Discover a sample coursework lineup to get a better idea of what your future at CWRU holds.
Year One
Fall Semester
- Organizational Behavior Research Seminar
- Organizational Behavior Dynamic Modules
- Research Design and Methods
- Advanced Statistics: Linear Models
Spring Semester
- Organizational Behavior Research Seminar
- Organizational Behavior Dynamic Modules
- Qualitative Research Methods
- Advanced Statistics: Multivariate Analysis
Summer Semester
- Advanced Statistics: Measurement Theory and Methods
Year Two
Fall Semester
- Organizational Behavior Research Seminar
- Organizational Behavior Dynamic Modules
- Advanced Statistics: Applied Multivariate Data Analysis
- Elective (recommended)
Spring Semester
- Organizational Behavior Research Seminar
- Organizational Behavior Dynamic Modules
- Elective/Independent Study (required)
- Elective in Advanced Statistics (recommended)
Seminars and Modules
Each semester during the first two years, you’ll participate in the ORBH Dynamic Modules which are a series of short courses, each meeting once a week for five weeks. These modules are designed to introduce the knowledge bases and key research of organizational behavior and related fields as well as share the current research interests of the department’s faculty.
You’ll also participate each semester in the ORBH Research Seminar which is designed to create and sustain an intellectually nourishing and appreciative learning space for the entire community. The seminar is organized and managed by the first year PhD students in close relationship with the course instructors, and is required for both the first and second year cohort groups.
The seminar sessions include gatherings of the department’s learning community of doctoral students and faculty. It provides a forum for discussion and advancement of ongoing research and scholarship through preparation and presentation of integrative scholarship papers, qualifying papers, dissertation proposals, and dissertation defenses.
Thus, the ORBH Research Seminar is a department-wide platform for developing productive and collaborative research relationships and for increasing collective knowledge of the current state of organizational behavior and related fields.
Research Requirements and Deliverables
Your coursework is delineated for the first two years of the PhD program, providing you with a strong theoretical foundation for conducting future research, including your integrative scholarship paper, qualifying paper and dissertation.
Integrative Scholarship Paper
At the end of the first year, you are required to complete an integrative scholarship paper that is a critical review and integration of the literature about a topic or problem of interest. It can be thought of as a report on the current state of the scholarly conversation about the topic, encompassing historical perspectives on the evolution of the scholarly conversation to date, an examination of how the topic is approached by different disciplines or schools of thought, theoretical propositions and suggestions for future research.
You’re expected to work with your faculty advisor, with support from other faculty and doctoral students, to submit your paper for consideration for conference presentation and journal publication during your second and subsequent years of the doctoral program.
Qualifying Paper
During the summer of your second year in the doctoral program, you’ll complete a qualifying paper. Generally, this is an initial empirical investigation or meta-analysis of the topic of choice. You’ll be expected to form a committee, headed by a faculty advisor of your own choosing and two other departmental faculty members who guide your research.
Often understood as a mini-thesis or pilot study, you’re expected to produce an in-depth analysis of the research question explored through a relevant method of inquiry. You’re also expected to submit your qualifying paper for consideration for conference presentation and journal publication during your third and subsequent years of the doctoral program.
Dissertation
Doctoral students undertake dissertation research after completion of their qualifying paper. You’ll form a committee, consisting of three departmental faculty members (one of whom will be the committee chair) and one faculty member from outside the department but within the university, to guide your research. An original and significant endeavor, the dissertation includes a detailed review of the chosen topic, relevant research questions, research methods, findings obtained, and an analysis of their implications.
Though all three deliverables (the ISP, qualifying paper, and dissertation) may optimally flow within a single stream of inquiry, you're free to choose a different topic of interest for each.