Doctoral Program in Operations Management

Graduate and Professional Admissions  |  PhD Application Requirements

The Operations and Business Analytics Department at the Ohio State’s Fisher College of Business prides itself on the development of leading scholars in the field of operations management. The PhD program offered through this department is one of the oldest programs in the world and has produced several eminent scholars in the discipline. A major strength of this program is the consistency of placement of the graduating students in top research schools and high research productivity.

Like our faculty, many alumni have had very productive research careers, publishing regularly in top-tier journals, holding editorial and leadership positions at top journals, and earning fellowships at the most prestigious societies in our field. Several of them have gone to serve as administrators and deans in their institutions.

PhD Alumni

PhD Candidates

Alumni at Institutions across the United States

A key component of our success is our long-standing reputation as producers of rigorous problem-driven empirical research aimed at generating insights, often by working directly with industries and organizations.

Our Ph.D. program is designed to provide our students with the capabilities and motivation to publish in leading academic and practitioner journals for years to come, not just earning jobs at top research schools but earning tenure at them as well. As such, we place a strong emphasis not only on research methods but also on learning directly from our productive faculty regarding the art and science of research.

The department also works closely with industry-academic centers, such as our own department’s Center for Operational Excellence, the Risk Institute and the National Center for the Middle Market, to form strong collaborations with well-known organizations within and outside Ohio. Our faculty also partner with several leading organizations both within and outside Ohio to conduct grounded research.

While our focus is on empirical research, we do believe that all faculty performing research in OM need to have some understanding of operations research methods. As such, our program includes some exposure to analytical methods. Students wishing to pursue mathematical modeling approaches to their research may receive training not only from our faculty that do perform such research, but also from other departments across campus.

PhD Brochure 

Current Academic Year PhD Course Offerings

For inquiries about the content of the program, contact the departmental Ph.D. program chair: Nathan Craig, at craig.186@osu.edu.

To begin the application process to the operations management Ph.D. program, please visit the PhD Programs page (apply at the “application requirements” link). Applications open in August 3, and close January 1. Please see Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for additional details.

To view the Curriculum and Program Requirements, please click here.

To view the Informational Brochure for Operations Management, please click here.