Impact Business Practices and Innovations
Get Your PhD in Strategy and Entrepreneurship
Learn how strategy is effective at the firm and individual level.
At Olin, we believe that great strategy PhD candidates have a fundamental drive to impact business practice. Our students, like our faculty, have diverse undergraduate training, including economics, chemistry, engineering and mathematics. We strongly promote interdisciplinary and collaborative research among doctoral students and faculty, be it across business disciplines or other schools at Washington University.
As a student in our program, you study strategy at both the firm and individual levels. That includes examining how organizations create and capture value, which arises from differing strategies, organizational designs and environmental conditions. While firm performance is observed at the market level, the microfoundations of this performance lie in the behavior and organization of individuals and resources within the firm. The organization of these factors influences performance in innovation, firm structure and human productivity.
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PhD Strategy & Entrepreneurship
At WashU Olin, we believe that great strategy PhD candidates have a fundamental drive to impact business practice.
Strategy and Entrepreneurship Faculty and Research
Strategy and Entrepreneurship faculty members are dedicated to delivering a program that prepares you for a productive and meaningful academic career. You work closely with faculty from the very beginning of the program, collaborating to help you to gain practical experience in the design and execution of research projects and in the communication of research findings. Recent research projects have examined the impacts of CEOs with differing backgrounds on firm innovation; the effects of corporate wellness programs on firm productivity; how firms respond to innovation "shocks"; how firms operate in violent environments; and how firms profit from repeated exchange relationships.
Published Works
The Strategy area’s research has been published in a wide range of leading journals, including:
- Academy of Management Journal
- Academy of Management Review
- Administrative Science Quarterly
- American Economic Review
- Management Science
- Organization Science
- Psychological Science
- Review of Economic Studies
- Review of Financial Studies
- Strategic Management Journal
Read about collaborative research by Strategy and Entrepreneurship faculty and PhD students.
The Koch Center for Family Enterprise
The Koch Center for Family Enterprise brings leading edge research to family enterprise, connecting leaders to the resources they need to succeed.
Learn more about the Koch CenterStrategy and Entrepreneurship Curriculum
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Prework
Prior to the first year—mandatory attendance at math camp (offered through the Economics department)
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First Year
Recommended Course Sequence
First Semester
- Mentored Teaching Experience
- MEC 8610 Microeconomics I (3 credits)
- MGT 8201/8200 – Empirical Methods in Business: Part A or B (3 credits)
- Olin PhD Strategy courses
Second Semester
- MEC 8615 Microeconomics II (3 credits)
- POLSCI 5063 – Causal Inference (3 credits)
- Olin PhD Strategy courses
The order of classes may change due to availability, and classes may be substituted with approval. A communications course (that focuses on oral communication) is also recommended during the first two years. When the student takes the course is determined by the student and his/her advisor.
Research
- Attend Strategy Seminars and Brown Bags.
- Begin research collaborations. Reach out and schedule 30-minute meetings with each assistant, associate, and full professor in the strategy area to discuss what they are working on and what you are interested in.
Milestones/Hurdles
- In the summer after the first year, students must meet with the faculty coordinator to discuss progress and complete a progress report to be submitted to the PhD Office by August 1st after the first year.
- In August after the first year, students must attend an RA/TA orientation offered by The Teaching Center. This is required before submitting any RA/TA hours.
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Second Year
Courses
First Semester
- MGT 8201/8200 - Empirical Methods in Business: Part A or B (3 credits)
- Electives (directed readings, independent studies)
- Olin PhD Strategy courses
Second Semester
- Electives (directed readings, independent studies)
- Olin PhD Strategy courses
Research
- Attend Strategy Seminars and Brown Bags
- Continue research collaborations. Reach out and schedule 30-minute meetings with each assistant, associate, and full professor in the strategy area to discuss what they are working on and what you are interested in.
Milestones/Hurdles
- Field statement papers are due four weeks after the final day of exams in the spring semester.
- Field exam must be completed eight weeks after the final day of exams in the spring semester.
- Begin work on second year summer paper: due by January 10th of the third year.
- Students must present original research ideas for 15 minutes in the strategy brown bag series sometime during the second year. Empirical results are not required.
- In the summer, students must meet with the faculty coordinator to discuss progress and complete a progress report to be submitted to the PhD Office by August 1st
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Third Year
Courses
- Mentored Teaching Experience
- Electives (directed readings, independent studies)
- MGT 8660 Seminar in Presentation Skills (fall semester, required)
Research
- Attend Strategy seminars.
- Paper presentations (brown bag seminars and conferences).
- Dissertation research
- Communication Course, required
Milestones/Hurdles
- Second year summer papers are due by Jan 10th of the third year.
- Students must present their second-year summer paper for 30 minutes in the Strategy Brown Bag series sometime during the third year.
- In the summer, students must meet with the faculty coordinator to discuss progress and complete a progress report to be submitted to the PhD office by August 1.
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Fourth Year
Courses
- Mentored Teaching Experience
- Electives (directed readings, independent studies)
Research
- Attend Strategy seminars.
- Paper presentations (brown bag seminars and conferences)
- Dissertation research
Milestones/Hurdles
- Students must present for 60 minutes in the strategy brown bag series. Students can present on the same project as they did in a previous year, but significant progress (i.e. new data, new results, or new hypotheses) must be shown.
- Dissertation Proposal—Students must be able to assemble a Research Advisory Committee for the proposal of their dissertation and must submit a Title, Scope and Procedure Form as the committee’s approval of the proposed dissertation by June 30th after the fourth year.
- In the summer, students must meet with the faculty coordinator to discuss progress and complete a progress report to be submitted to the PhD office by August 1.
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Fifth Year
Courses:
- Dissertation Course (12 credits – 6 each semester)
Research
- Attend Strategy Seminars and brown bags
- Dissertation research
Milestones/Hurdles
- Intent to Graduate (complete form online)
- Job market and placement
- Oral defense of dissertation
- Submission of Examination Approval Form which signifies committee’s approval
- Upload of final, approved Dissertation
- Submission of Documented Teaching Requirements to PhD office
- Students must present for 60 minutes in the strategy brown bag series. You can present on the same topic as previously, but significant progress (i.e. new data, new results, or new hypotheses) must be shown.
- Course Descriptions
Full-Time Strategy & Entrepreneurship Faculty Members
Contact Us
Doctoral Programs
Campus Box 1133-124-05
One Brookings Drive
St. Louis, MO 63130-4899
Office Hours:
Monday–Friday 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.