When I was considering leaving my financial analyst job at a phone company to pursue a PhD in business, Robert Frost’s famous poem kept driving my decision: “Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.” Indeed, the pursuit of a PhD represents a wholly different experience than earning any other degree.
PhD studies involve much more than just “taking more classes.” During their five-year journey, students transition from receivers of knowledge to creators and disseminators of knowledge. Following two years of coursework in advanced statistics, research methods, and disciplinary theory, students spend the bulk of their remaining three years conducting research and learning how to publish academic papers.
We strive to have all our students graduate with at least one research paper published in a peer-reviewed academic journal. We encourage multiple research projects; in fact, we provide fellowships to reward students for presenting multiple papers at multiple conferences over multiple years. Students fine-tune their oral presentation skills by joining peer presentation sessions every semester and receiving feedback. Ideally, students graduate with a great head start on their publishing career with accepted publications and a solid research pipeline in place.
The Carson PhD provides some of the best teacher training available in the country for future professors. All students take a three-credit course on management teaching during their second year. They attend several teaching workshops provided by both the PhD program and the Carson College. And in addition to working in traditional teaching assistant roles, students serve as the sole instructor for at least one course during their studies. Such experiences have helped many of our graduates secure attractive university faculty positions.
While the PhD degree opens opportunities in industry and government, the vast majority of our graduates enter academia right after college as assistant professors. Such positions typically provide 6-figure salaries and 3–4 months of vacation time, along with tremendous freedom and responsibility to shape the professor’s own teaching style and research agenda.
The PhD represents much more than a degree attained. It evolves into a lifestyle that becomes part of the owner’s identity. “Less traveled?” Certainly. “Made all the difference?” For me…absolutely.
Chuck Munson,
PhD Program Director
Chuck Munson, professor of operations management, is the PhD program director. During his 29 years on faculty in the college, he has regularly been a Dean’s Excellence Fellow for outstanding research, teaching, and service as well as a recipient of WSU’s highest teaching award. Prior to becoming director, Munson served as the PhD coordinator for the operations and management science program for many years.