Degree Requirements: 60 Credit Hours

Program Mission Statement

The program’s intended outcomes are to provide students with:

1. Advanced understanding of the core areas of study within the field of supply chain management, including logistics and transportation
2. Advanced knowledge, skills, and values in at least one of the core areas (operations management, marketing, or information systems) for specialized roles within supply chain management
3. Advanced analytical and assessment skills
4. Advanced capability to develop, conduct, and manage applied research streams
5. Ethical decision-making and integrity
6. Professional and personal responsibility
7. Understanding of, and respect for, persons from diverse cultural, socioeconomic, educational, and professional backgrounds
8. Commitment to improving the economy, employment levels and competitiveness of the state of Georgia

Admission Requirements

Applicants to the PhD program must submit the following:

• Completed online graduate application form
• $50 application fee
• Official transcript(s) from colleges and universities attended, showing courses completed, grades earned, dates, and degree(s) awarded
• Three letters of recommendation. At least one letter must be from a graduate school faculty member.
• Official score from the GMAT taken in the last five years. An original copy of the test score, sent by the testing agency to the Office of Admissions, is required before final action will be taken on an application. A copy of the score provided to the student and subsequently forwarded is not acceptable for final admission decisions. The GRE will only be considered in exceptional cases.
• All international applicants, including resident and nonresident aliens, whose native language is not English, are required to submit official TOEFL scores taken within the year immediately preceding the requested semester of admission. An original copy of the test score, sent by the testing agency to the Office of Admissions, is required before final action is taken on an application. A copy of the score provided to the student and subsequently forwarded is not acceptable. International students that have a degree from a US university may have this requirement waived;
• Statement of purpose that includes a description of professional goals and a rationale for how the Ph.D. program will further the student’s career objectives.
• A current resume that includes, as a minimum, all academic programs, completed an employment history, and any professional certifications or other significant achievements and honors.
• Applicants whose submitted application packages merit closer consideration may be asked to participate in an interview and/or submit additional information before a final decision is reached concerning their acceptance.

Acceptance decisions will be made, subject to budgetary constraints, first within the Parker College of Business and ultimately at the College of Graduate Studies. After reviewing application materials, the Program Director may accept applicants who meet all of the following conditions:

• Successfully completed BBA or MBA from an AACSB-accredited program; an MBA is strongly preferred
• Scored at least a 550 on the GMAT or for exceptional cases where the GRE will be considered, the score must be above 1200
• If English is not the applicant’s native language, scored above 80 on TOEFL

The Program Director will submit all remaining applications, along with their recommendations, to the Ph.D. Advisory Committee for their decision. Once a decision has been made within the Parker College of Business, the Program Director will forward all applications to the College of Graduate Studies for final disposition.

Accepted applicants who have not completed an AACSB-accredited MBA or an appropriately-accredited Master’s Degree in a field closely related to Logistics/Supply Chain Management may be required to complete all specified prerequisite courses (or courses determined by the Program Director to be equivalent) with grades of “C” or better before taking appropriate doctoral-level courses.

Applicants who wish to apply for a graduate assistantship must also complete the Electronic Graduate Assistantship Application and submit it to the Jack N. Averitt College of Graduate Studies.

Program Requirements

Graduate Transfer or Transient Credit

The Parker College of Business accepts graduate transfer or transient credit only from AACSB accredited programs. A maximum of two courses not to exceed six (6) credits may be considered for graduate transfer or transient credit.

Coursework

Students will be required to complete the courses specified in the Program of Study shown below with an overall GPA of 3.0 or better. One time only, a student may receive a grade of “C”, but will be required to re-take the course and earn a “B” or better and will also have to still achieve a cumulative GPA of 3.0 by the time they’ve completed their coursework. More than one “C” or any grade lower than a “C” will be grounds for elimination from the program. Any prerequisite courses must be completed within one calendar year of the student’s acceptance into the program. All required coursework (i.e. core, research, and concentration courses) must be completed within three years of the time the student enters the program or completes prerequisite coursework, whichever is later. (Students in violation of policies on grades or time limits may submit a written appeal to the Ph.D. Advisory Committee via the Program Director, explaining why they believe their situation merits an exception to the policy.)

Comprehensive Examinations

Students will be required to pass one or more comprehensive examinations covering all coursework specified in the Program of Study before they may begin any dissertation activities (to include formation of the committee). The Program Director will be responsible for the creation, administration, and evaluation of these exams, although they may delegate associated tasks to other faculty members. At the discretion of the Program Director, all coursework may be covered by a single comprehensive exam or up to three separate exams may be given for the categories of core courses, research courses, and concentration courses, as differentiated in the Program of Study. Comprehensive exams may include both written and oral components and will be evaluated on a Pass/ Fail basis. The Program Director will notify students in writing of whether they have passed and, if not, what areas require further study. Students may re-take any comprehensive exam once, if needed. Failure to pass any comprehensive exam after two attempts will result in termination of the student’s enrollment in the program. When a student has completed all required comprehensive exams, they will be considered a candidate for the Ph.D.

Dissertation

Following successful completion of all required comprehensive exams, candidates will formulate an appropriate dissertation topic that is likely to produce high-quality research publications. The candidate will then contact potential committee members to ascertain their suitability and willingness to serve on a Dissertation Committee for that topic. (The size and composition of the committee, as well as eligibility requirements for committee chairs and members will be defined in a Parker College of Business Policy statement that is consistent with the College of Graduate Studies dissertation committee and appointment policy and will be made available to candidates by the Program Director no later than the time they are notified of having passed their comprehensive exams.) As soon as verbal commitments have been obtained, the candidate will submit the proposed dissertation topic and committee composition in writing to the Program Director. The Director will review the proposal for compliance with program and college policies, inform the student of any needed changes, and ultimately approve the proposal. Students must register for Dissertation (LSCM 9999), Dissertation credit hour during each semester the dissertation is in progress, earning a minimum of 18 credit hours of Dissertation by the end of their program. Furthermore, the students must register continuously in Dissertation (LSCM 9999) until the Dissertation is successfully defended. As soon as the Dissertation Committee Chair considers the intended research to be sufficiently developed, the student will conduct a formal defense of their dissertation proposal, supported by substantial preliminary research. As a minimum, the proposal will include a detailed description of the proposed research objectives, methodology, and value. It must also include a thorough literature review showing how the proposal relates to previously published research and a timeline for the project’s completion. The Committee chair will notify the candidate in writing of the committee’s assessment, to include any changes or additional tasks that need to be accomplished and whether another proposal defense will be needed. No earlier than the following semester and no later than two years from the semester in which the proposal was successfully defended, the candidate must conduct a formal defense of the completed dissertation. The Committee chair will notify the candidate in writing of whether the final defense was successful and what additional actions the Committee requires (to include the possibility of another formal defense). The candidate is responsible for submitting the completed dissertation in electronic format style consistent with that required by the Parker College of Business dissertation publication and consistent with the required College of Graduate Studies front-matter style per the College of Graduate Studies Electronic Thesis and Dissertation (ETD) policy.

Leave of Absence

If it is necessary to interrupt progress toward the degree, the student may petition for a non-medical leave of absence of up to one year. The petition must be submitted at least one month before the effective date of leave. The major professor, the department chair, and the Dean of the College of Graduate Studies must grant approval. The Graduate Studies Dean will establish the conditions of the leave. An extension of a leave of absence beyond one year may be granted by the Dean of the College of Graduate Studies upon recommendation of the student’s dissertation committee. Students approved for a leave of absence are not required to be registered during the approved leave period and the leave time does not count in the degree time limit. Students seeking a Medical Leave of Absence may apply for Medical Leave as outlined under the Hardship Withdrawal section.

Time Limits

• Completion of all prerequisite coursework must be completed no later than one year from acceptance into program
• Completion of all required coursework beyond prerequisites (i.e. core, research, and concentration courses) must be completed no later than three years from acceptance into program or completion of prerequisite coursework, whichever is later
• Successful completion of comprehensive exam(s) must be completed no later than two semesters from completion of required coursework
• Approval of dissertation topic and committee must be completed no later than two semesters from completion of comprehensive exams
• Successful defense of dissertation proposal must be completed no later than two semesters from topic/committee approval or three semesters from completion of comprehensive exams, whichever is sooner
• Successful final defense of dissertation must be completed no later than two years from successful proposal defense
• Satisfaction of all requirements for submission of completed dissertation must be completed no later than one semester from successful final dissertation defense
• Completion of all program requirements, to include coursework, practicum, and dissertation must be completed no later than seven years from beginning of required coursework beyond prerequisites

NOTES:

1. Students in violation of policies on grades or time limits may submit a written appeal to the Ph.D. Advisory Committee via the Program Director, explaining why they believe their situation merits an exception to the policy.
2. Enrollment and participation are expected to be continuous from a student’s acceptance into the program. A student who needs to be excused from enrollment for one semester due to unusual circumstances should submit a written request and explanation to the Program Director. The Director may grant one such excusal, but anything more will require consideration by the Parker College of Business Graduate Curriculum and Programs Committee.

Annual Reviews

At the conclusion of each Spring semester, the Program Director will solicit feedback from all faculty who’ve had any significant professional interaction with any of the program’s students during the preceding year. Combining this feedback with their direct observations, the Director will accomplish a written review of each student’s performance during the preceding year. The review will culminate with a recommendation as to whether the student should be retained in the program. Students will be given the option of offering a written response within three workdays. If, after considering any written response, the Program Director still believes a student should be eliminated from the program, and they will submit the recommendation (with all supporting materials) for a decision by the Ph.D. Advisory Committee. At the same time, the Director will submit key data for all students enrolled in the program to that committee for review. As a minimum, the data for each student will include a list of all courses taken, all grades earned, and the start and completion date for each major stage of the program, i.e. prerequisite coursework, required coursework, comprehensive exams, dissertation topic/committee approval, proposal defense, final defense, and submission of completed dissertation. Based on this data, the Director will ask the committee to consider the elimination of all students in violation of any program policy on grades or time limits, including any appeals submitted by those students.

Program of Study: Ph.D. in Logistics and Supply Chain Management Degree

A student admitted to the College of Graduate Studies as a prospective candidate for the Ph.D. in Logistics and Supply Chain Management degree must present evidence of satisfactory completion (a grade of “C” or better) of the following “Prerequisite” course content in Business or graduate equivalents, unless a waiver is obtained from the Ph.D. Program Director.

Program of Study