Skip to Main Content
HBS Home
  • About
  • Academic Programs
  • Alumni
  • Faculty & Research
  • Baker Library
  • Giving
  • Harvard Business Review
  • Initiatives
  • News
  • Recruit
  • Map / Directions
Doctoral Programs
  • Introduce Yourself
  • Apply
  • Students on the Job Market
  • For Alumni
  • Overview
  • PHD Programs
  • Research Community
  • Admissions & Financial Support
  • Placement
  • …→
  • Harvard Business School→
  • Doctoral Programs→
  • PhD Programs
    • PhD Programs
    • Accounting & Management
    • Business Economics
    • Health Policy (Management)
    • Management
    • Marketing
    • Organizational Behavior
    • Strategy
    • Technology & Operations Management
    →
  • Technology & Operations Management
    • Technology & Operations Management
    • Program Requirements
    →

Technology & Operations Management

Technology & Operations Management

  • Program Requirements
The doctoral program in Technology & Operations Management prepares students to conduct important research on a broad range of issues in operations and innovation.
Students in the Technology & Operations Management are trained in various disciplinary areas including operations research, operations management, economics, engineering, and organizational behavior. Doctoral students' research addresses managerially-relevant problems, integrating discipline-based theory with rigorous research methods. Many faculty and doctoral students work in collaboration with industry partners, giving them a unique perspective on academic research and the ability to test their ideas in the field.

Curriculum & Coursework

Our programs are full-time degree programs which officially begin in August. Students are expected to complete their program in five years. Students typically spend their first two years on course work, at the end of which they 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 Technology & Operations Management program complete courses in the areas of business management theory, economic theory, quantitative 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.

Research & Dissertation

Students in TOM often begin research in the summer preceding their first year by working with a TOM faculty member. Over the first two years in the program, students are encouraged to explore their research interests as they complete relevant coursework. During their third year, students begin working on their dissertation research, typically developing three publishable papers by the end of the program.

Examples of doctoral thesis topics include: Examining how employee non-compete agreements affect entrepreneurship and job mobility; Improving retailers' sales forecasting using cost-of-sales, inventory levels, and gross margins; How familiarity among team members fosters organizational capabilities among teams; The implications of operations management for investors; and How firms influence service quality, and how service quality affects performance.

Program Requirements

Profiles

Nathan Craig

Technology & Operations Management

Michelle Shell, DBA 2020

Technology & Operations Management

Kala Viswanathan

Technology & Operations Management
“My professors are incredibly generous with their time, and the other members of my cohort are consistently engaged and curious.”
Kala Viswanathan
“My professors are incredibly generous with their time, and the other members of my cohort are consistently engaged and curious.”
Kala Viswanathan

Current HBS Faculty

  • Iavor I. Bojinov
  • Ryan W. Buell
  • Prithwiraj Choudhury
  • Thomas R. Eisenmann
  • Chiara Farronato
  • Kris Johnson Ferreira
  • Frances X. Frei
  • Shane M. Greenstein
  • Janice H. Hammond
  • Robert S. Huckman
  • Marco Iansiti
  • Rebecca A. Karp
  • Karim R. Lakhani
  • Himabindu Lakkaraju
  • Jacqueline Ng Lane
  • Josh Lerner
  • Michael Lingzhi Li
  • Alan D. MacCormack
  • Rory M. McDonald
  • Edward McFowland III
  • Antonio Moreno
  • Kyle R. Myers
  • Frank Nagle
  • Seth Neel
  • Elisabeth C. Paulson
  • Gary P. Pisano
  • Ananth Raman
  • Sam Ransbotham
  • Maria P. Roche
  • William A. Sahlman
  • Michelle A. Shell
  • Willy C. Shih
  • Ariel D. Stern
  • Stefan H. Thomke
  • Michael W. Toffel
  • Peter Tufano
Current HBS Faculty
  • Iavor I. Bojinov
  • Ryan W. Buell
  • Prithwiraj Choudhury
  • Thomas R. Eisenmann
  • Chiara Farronato
  • Kris Johnson Ferreira
  • Frances X. Frei
  • Shane M. Greenstein
  • Janice H. Hammond
  • Robert S. Huckman
  • Marco Iansiti
  • Rebecca A. Karp
  • Karim R. Lakhani
  • Himabindu Lakkaraju
  • Jacqueline Ng Lane
  • Josh Lerner
  • Michael Lingzhi Li
  • Alan D. MacCormack
  • Rory M. McDonald
  • Edward McFowland III
  • Antonio Moreno
  • Kyle R. Myers
  • Frank Nagle
  • Seth Neel
  • Elisabeth C. Paulson
  • Gary P. Pisano
  • Ananth Raman
  • Sam Ransbotham
  • Maria P. Roche
  • William A. Sahlman
  • Michelle A. Shell
  • Willy C. Shih
  • Ariel D. Stern
  • Stefan H. Thomke
  • Michael W. Toffel
  • Peter Tufano
Close

Current Technology & Operations Management Students

  • Ryan Allen
  • Maya Balakrishnan
  • Justine Boudou
  • Matthew DosSantos DiSorbo
  • Natalie Epstein
  • Jeffrey Fossett
  • Paul Hamilton
  • 'Leke Jegede
  • Caleb Kwon
  • Omar Olivarez
  • Ashley Palmarozzo
  • Paige Tsai
  • Ehsan Valavi
  • Kala Viswanathan
  • Daniel Yue
  • Miaomiao Zhang
Current Technology & Operations Management Students
  • Ryan Allen
  • Maya Balakrishnan
  • Justine Boudou
  • Matthew DosSantos DiSorbo
  • Natalie Epstein
  • Jeffrey Fossett
  • Paul Hamilton
  • 'Leke Jegede
  • Caleb Kwon
  • Omar Olivarez
  • Ashley Palmarozzo
  • Paige Tsai
  • Ehsan Valavi
  • Kala Viswanathan
  • Daniel Yue
  • Miaomiao Zhang
Close

Current HBS Faculty & Students by Interest

Environment
  • Michael W. Toffel
  • Peter Tufano
Health care quality
  • Robert S. Huckman
  • Ariel D. Stern
Innovation
  • Iavor I. Bojinov
  • Chiara Farronato
  • Marco Iansiti
  • Rebecca A. Karp
  • Josh Lerner
  • Alan D. MacCormack
  • Kyle R. Myers
  • Maria P. Roche
  • William A. Sahlman
  • Ariel D. Stern
  • Stefan H. Thomke
Operations management
  • Janice H. Hammond
  • Michael Lingzhi Li
  • Antonio Moreno
  • Elisabeth C. Paulson
  • Ananth Raman
  • Stefan H. Thomke
  • Michael W. Toffel
Operations strategy
  • Kris Johnson Ferreira
  • Robert S. Huckman
  • Marco Iansiti
  • Gary P. Pisano
Product development
  • Marco Iansiti
  • Alan D. MacCormack
  • Gary P. Pisano
  • Stefan H. Thomke
Service management
  • Ryan W. Buell
  • Frances X. Frei
  • Michelle A. Shell
Supply chain management
  • Janice H. Hammond
  • Ananth Raman
  • Willy C. Shih
  • Michael W. Toffel
Technology strategy
  • Thomas R. Eisenmann
  • Shane M. Greenstein
  • Karim R. Lakhani
  • Kyle R. Myers
  • Gary P. Pisano
  • Sam Ransbotham
  • Willy C. Shih
Current HBS Faculty & Students by Interest
Environment
  • Michael W. Toffel
  • Peter Tufano
Health care quality
  • Robert S. Huckman
  • Ariel D. Stern
Innovation
  • Iavor I. Bojinov
  • Chiara Farronato
  • Marco Iansiti
  • Rebecca A. Karp
  • Josh Lerner
  • Alan D. MacCormack
  • Kyle R. Myers
  • Maria P. Roche
  • William A. Sahlman
  • Ariel D. Stern
  • Stefan H. Thomke
Operations management
  • Janice H. Hammond
  • Michael Lingzhi Li
  • Antonio Moreno
  • Elisabeth C. Paulson
  • Ananth Raman
  • Stefan H. Thomke
  • Michael W. Toffel
Operations strategy
  • Kris Johnson Ferreira
  • Robert S. Huckman
  • Marco Iansiti
  • Gary P. Pisano
Product development
  • Marco Iansiti
  • Alan D. MacCormack
  • Gary P. Pisano
  • Stefan H. Thomke
Service management
  • Ryan W. Buell
  • Frances X. Frei
  • Michelle A. Shell
Supply chain management
  • Janice H. Hammond
  • Ananth Raman
  • Willy C. Shih
  • Michael W. Toffel
Technology strategy
  • Thomas R. Eisenmann
  • Shane M. Greenstein
  • Karim R. Lakhani
  • Kyle R. Myers
  • Gary P. Pisano
  • Sam Ransbotham
  • Willy C. Shih
Close

Recent Placement

Tommy Pan Fang, 2022

Rice University, Jones Graduate School of Business

Michelle Shell, 2020

Boston University, Questrom School of Business

Maria Ibanez, 2018

Northwestern University, Kellogg School of Management

Grace Gu, 2020

Boston College, Carroll School of Management

Ohchan Kwon, 2019

Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), Department of Information Systems, Business Statistics and Operations Management

Raha Imanirad, 2020

York University, Schulich School of Business

Karthik Balasubramanian, 2018

Howard University, School of Business

Tommy Pan Fang, 2022

Rice University, Jones Graduate School of Business

Grace Gu, 2020

Boston College, Carroll School of Management

Raha Imanirad, 2020

York University, Schulich School of Business

Michelle Shell, 2020

Boston University, Questrom School of Business

Ohchan Kwon, 2019

Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), Department of Information Systems, Business Statistics and Operations Management

Karthik Balasubramanian, 2018

Howard University, School of Business

Maria Ibanez, 2018

Northwestern University, Kellogg School of Management
See All Placement
ǁ
Campus Map
Doctoral Programs
Harvard Business School
Wyss House
Boston, MA 02163
Phone: 1.617.495.6101
Email: doctoralprograms+hbs.edu
Registrar: docreg+hbs.edu
→Map & Directions
→More Contact Information
  • Make a Gift
  • Site Map
  • Jobs
  • Harvard University
  • Trademarks
  • Policies
  • Accessibility
  • Digital Accessibility
Copyright © President & Fellows of Harvard College