Students studying in Winter Garden
PhD in Strategy

Over the course of the five-year doctoral program focused on strategy, you’ll explore how companies develop and sustain competitive advantage as you prepare for a faculty position at a top university. Gain interdisciplinary insights to enhance your research, working collaboratively with renowned faculty within Ross and across the University of Michigan. 
 

Cha Li
At Ross, I was not only equipped with the methodological skills needed to carry out high-quality research, but was also encouraged to pursue big questions in my field. The easy access to top-tier faculty members in other disciplines, including economics, sociology, political science, complex systems, etc. helped add to the depth and breadth of my thinking. Additionally, I benefited greatly from the efficient teaching training at Ross, which allowed me to accomplish my teaching responsibilities and still focus on research as I transitioned into my faculty position.

Strategy PhD Students

PhD students in the Michigan Ross Strategy Area are trained in rich, interdisciplinary theories and rigorous empirical methods for understanding why businesses behave as they do and what the consequences of those behaviors are for society.

 

Strategy PhD Program Structure

As a PhD student in strategy, you will take two years, or four to five terms, to complete the 16 to 20 course requirements. Courses, some of which are taken outside Michigan Ross, include: 

  • Economics, organizational theory, psychology, sociology, or decision science (5–6 courses) 
  • Methods (5–6 courses) 
  • Strategy applications (6 doctoral seminars, plus seminars in related areas) 

 

You are expected to complete a research paper by your third year in the program. 
 

You are expected to take a Preliminary Exam by the end of the summer of your second year. You will qualify for candidacy after you have successfully completed all coursework, passed the Preliminary Exam, and completed your research paper. The remainder of the program is devoted to the dissertation.

For detailed information about the Strategy Area's Program Structure, please refer to Strategy Area PhD guidelines.

Strategy PhD Faculty

Michigan Ross strategy faculty include some of the world's foremost business thinkers and innovative practitioners who focus on issues of importance to global business strategy. 
 

Associate Professor of Strategy
Strategy Faculty Doctoral Coordinator
Professor of Strategy
Michael R. and Mary Kay Hallman Fellow
A.F. Thurnau Professor
Gerald and Esther Carey Professor of Business Administration
Professor of Management & Organizations
Professor of Strategy
Harvey C. Fruehauf Professor of Business Administration
Professor of Strategy
Co-Director of ICOS

Learn more about the faculty and research contributions of the strategy area at Michigan Ross.

Recent Strategy Placements

Reuben Hurst, 2023    
University of Maryland

Diana Jue-Rajasingh, 2023    
Rice University

Mana Heshmati, 2023    
University of Washington

Christine Choi, 2022
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Raji Kunapuli, 2021
Southwestern University

Cha Li, 2021
University of Texas at Austin

Harsh Ketkar, 2020    
Bocconi University

Saerom (Ronnie) Lee, 2020
University of Pennsylvania

Casidhe Horan, 2018
London Business School

Gareth Keeves, 2018    
Startup founder & CEO; University of Michigan (lecturer) 

Sara Ryoo, 2018
SUNY Binghamton

Guy Shani, 2017
Michigan State

Heewon Chae, 2016
Arizona State

Gainluigi Giustiziero, 2015
SKEMA Business School

Heeyon Kim, 2014
National University of Singapore

Year

Name

Initial Placement

 2013

John Chen

University of Florida

2013

Na-Eun Cho

Clarkson University

2012

Pranav Garg

Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore

2012

Sun Hyun Park

University of Southern California

2011

Bo Kyung Kim

Southern Methodist University

2011

Vivek Tandon

National University of Singapore

2010

David Benson

Brigham Young University 

2009

David Zhu

Arizona State University

2008

Anne Bowers (Fleischer)

University of Toronto

2008

Aradhana Roy

Industry placement

2007

Benjamin Cole

New York University (visiting)

2006

Francisco Polidoro Jr.

University of Texas at Austin

2006

Puay Khoon (PK) Toh

University of Minnesota

2005

Zheng (Jane) Zhao

University of Kansas

2004

Aldas Kriauciunas

Purdue University

2004

Alexander Sleptsov

Tulane University

2003

Charles Williams

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

2003

Anne Parmigiani

University of Oregon

2003

Nandini Lahiri

Indian School of Business

2002

Samina Karim

Boston University

2001

Bradley Killaly

University of California, Irvine

2001

Karen Schnatterly

University of Minnesota

2001

Glenn Hoetker

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

2001

Daniel Byrd

Stanford University

2001

Juan Alcacer

New York University

2000

Glen Dowell

University of Notre Dame

 

Current Strategy PhD Students

Join the next generation of scholars preparing to solve the complex issues facing the strategy field.

jain-eklovya

Eklovya Jain 
eklovya@umich.edu

trissanne-keen

Trissanne Keen 
tlkeen@umich.edu

kyle-mcclullers

Kyle McCullers 
kylemcc@umich.edu

Brenda Myung

Brenda Myung 
bmyung@umich.edu

aseem-sinha

Aseem Sinha 
aseems@umich.edu

akshaya-varghese

Akshaya Varghese 
akshaya@umich.edu

Alice Wang

Alice (Can) Wang 
canwang@umich.edu

Featured Alumni
Alumni
PhD
Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management, Cornell University
One of today’s foremost scholars in the strategy field, Gautam Ahuja not only graduated from Michigan Ross, he also taught here for 16 years.

Read more

Alumni
PhD
Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto
Having an eclectic background, including the performing arts and public relations, was part of what led Anne Bowers to pursue her PhD at Michigan Ross.

Read more

Alumni
PhD
Harvard Business School
The University of Michigan is known for its interdisciplinary focus and a breadth of excellence across academic subjects. While he was studying strategy as a Michigan Ross PhD student, Juan Alcacer...

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