Our programs are full-time degree programs which officially begin in August. Students are expected to complete their program in five years. Typically, the first two years are spent on coursework, at the end of which students take a field exam, and then another three years on dissertation research and writing.

The program requires a minimum of 13 semester-long doctoral courses. Students in the Management program are required to complete a year-long discipline sequence typically in microeconomics, psychology, or sociology. Students also complete courses in the areas of business management theory, research methods, academic field seminars, and two MBA elective curriculum courses. In addition to HBS courses, students may take courses at other Harvard Schools and MIT.

Students in Management begin research in their first year typically by working with a faculty member. By their third and fourth years, most students are launched on a solid research and publication stream. The dissertation may take the form of three publishable papers or one longer dissertation.

Recent examples of doctoral thesis research include: the role of social networks in promoting coordination and innovation within large, complex firms; the process through which professionals manage the boundaries between their work and non-work lives; and how a firm can be systematic in achieving a sustainable competitive advantage by leveraging its employees.