Doctoral Program PHD

Getting a PhD is a life-changing opportunity — for the right kind of person. The PhD Program at Columbia Business School takes full commitment. It is full-time only, with no part-time course of study offered. The average program completion time is five years.

For those people willing to commit, a PhD from Columbia Business School offers what very few people in the world are offered — a chance to further the field of business itself. Create new models. Provide new insights. Discover more efficient processes. Impact business by teaching thousands of business students a better way to do things.

The PhD program focuses on training students in the design and execution of original research. The goal of the program is to develop intellectual leaders in their chosen fields of study. Columbia PhD graduates have influenced all fields of business, from consumer psychology and demand behavior to organizational and managerial supply-side issues.

Successful doctoral applicants must display a strong interest in research, as well as three personal characteristics: analytic competence (strong mathematical skills and the ability to think logically and clearly), a vigorous work ethic and intellectual initiative. Many have backgrounds in business or economics, but others have degrees in such diverse fields as the physical sciences, engineering, mathematics, sociology and psychology.

Columbia PhD students develop close working relationships with faculty members through a hands-on, learning-by-doing, mentoring approach to education. By promoting interaction between students and faculty in the research process, the program allows students to make significant contributions to the overall research activity of the school.

Most Columbia PhD graduates assume academic posts at leading colleges and universities where research is an integral part of a successful career. Others hold research-oriented positions in business or government.