| Organizational Behavior |
The First Two YearsBusiness School Course Requirements• Students without an MBA must complete five one-term MBA electives courses. Students must complete each course in the upper fifty percent of the class. Students with an MBA must take one HBS general management elective.
Discipline Course Requirements PSYCHOLOGY TRACK • Contemporary Topics in Psychological Research (Psy 2010) • Research Methodology (Psy 2100) • Intermediate Quantitative Methods (Psy 1951) • Multivariate Analysis in Psychology (Psy 1952; this requirement may also be fulfilled with Applied Data Analysis [S-052, offered in the Graduate School of Education]) • Advanced Social Psychology (Psy 2500) • Two graduate-level psychology courses designated as Core seminars by the RTG in social psychology • One graduate-level sociology course
SOCIOLOGY TRACK • Two term-length courses on research methods (Soc 203a and 209, although substitutes are possible if approved by the Committee on Higher Degrees and the Program and Admissions Committee), and additional coursework may be recommended based on prior preparation • Two term-length graduate-level sociology electives • One term-length graduate-level psychology course
Research Experience• The first-year research participation requirement (psychology) or the research apprenticeship (sociology). Students are required to engage in research, under faculty supervision, soon after beginning PhD study in the discipline. • The second-year project in the discipline department. Both psychology and sociology require all students to submit a research paper by the end of the second year of study in the department. • The dissertation is the final research requirement.
Teaching Requirement• The student either will work with a member of the Harvard Business School faculty as a course assistant for a one-term MBA course, or with a faculty member of their department in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences as a course/teaching assistant for a one-term course.
Advising• The Policy and Admissions Committee designates faculty members at the Business School and the Faculty of Arts and Sciences as sponsors to each student upon entrance into the organizational behavior program. The sponsors, in conjunction with the PhD programs office, will assist the student in deciding which courses to take and how to fulfill various degree requirements. It is expected that students will establish relationships with other faculty members, and it is possible that the major academic advisory role may be assumed by different faculty members in the dissertation stage of a candidate’s program. However, students are strongly advised to consult with the sponsors and with the officers of the PhD programs during all stages of PhD work.
Examinations• The discipline examination (psychology). The research and teaching group (RTG) in social psychology does not require a discipline examination. In lieu of an examination, students must submit a progress report to the social psychology RTG at the end of their second year, and then undergo the second year evaluation by the faculty of that RTG. • Students who study with another RTG in psychology take the major examination offered by that RTG, following its procedures and on its schedule. No minor examination is required. • The discipline examination (sociology). The student takes the written examination offered by the department, following procedures and on the schedule set by the department. No oral examination is required. • The organizational behavior examination (both tracks). This examination completes the student’s preparation for work on the dissertation. It comes after all other program requirements have been completed and just before dissertation work begins. It provides an excellent occasion for the student to draw on all of his or her training to demonstrate readiness for first-rate conceptual and empirical work on organizational phenomena.
The DissertationProspectus• When the student has satisfactorily completed all other requirements, a dissertation prospectus is written and a prospectus committee is formed (consisting of at least three members; at least one must be from the Department of Psychology or the Department of Sociology, depending on the student’s track, and one must be from the Business School). When that committee feels that the prospectus is ready for formal review, the prospectus meeting is held. If the committee is satisfied that the student is ready to begin data collection, the members will approve the prospectus. The prospectus committee normally continues as the student’s dissertation committee once the prospectus is approved.
Dissertation• The dissertation provides an opportunity for students to demonstrate, in a work wholly their own, their ability to contribute creatively to the advancement of knowledge about organizational behavior. When the student and the dissertation committee agree that the dissertation is acceptable, a dissertation defense is scheduled. It is expected that a dissertation will be approved unanimously by the dissertation committee. If the committee should find itself deadlocked about the acceptability of a dissertation, it will inform the program and admissions committee about the extent and the basis of the disagreement, and this committee will then decide what steps to take to resolve the matter.
Normal Progress Toward the Degree• By the end of the first year, students should have completed the orientation program at Harvard Business School, most departmental courses, and the first-year research participation requirement. • By the end of the second year, students should have completed all departmental course requirements, some organizational behavior course requirements, some MBA courses (if required), and the second-year research project. • By the end of the third year, students should have completed the teaching requirement, all required courses and all examinations. The dissertation prospectus should also be approved by this time. • Students are expected to complete all degree requirements, including the dissertation, in five years. Students will be required to withdraw from the program if they have not completed the second-year research project or qualifying paper by the end of the third year, or if they have not completed the dissertation prospectus required by the end of the fifth year. |