Organizational Behavior Requirements: PhD Program: Stanford GSB

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PhD Students

Organizational Behavior Requirements 2008-2009

I. Preparation in Quantitative Methods

As preparation for the general program requirement, some OB students, depending on previous preparation, find it useful to complete preparatory coursework in the summer prior to the first year (or in the first year). If you think you might not be prepared for the general program courses, you should ask questions of advanced OB students or the doctoral liaison.

II. General Program Requirement (GPR)¹

All students are encouraged to fulfill the General Program Requirement during their first year of study, unless extensive remedial preparation in quantitative methods is necessary. Each course must be passed with a grade of LP or better.

Note: Any changes to the General Program Requirement (GPR) or Field Course Requirement (FCR) will be "grandfathered" Students are responsible for fulfilling the requirements in place at the time they entered the Program.

Course No.	Course Title	Possible Substitutes
MGTECON 600 or ECON 202	Microeconomic Analysis I or Core Economics I	ECON 151	Economic Analysis I, or
		MGTECON 200	Economic Analysis and Policy, and either
		ECON 149	Modern Firm in Theory and Practice,or
		HRMGT 302	Human Resources
MGTECON 603or ECON 270	Econometric Methods or Intermediate Econometrics I	MGTECON 604	Econometric Methods II, or
		ECON 271	Intermediate Econometrics II, or
		MGTECON 605	Econometric Methods III, or
		ECON 272	Intermediate Econometrics III or
		SOC 382 PSYCH 252 SOC 383 PSYCH 253 GSBGEN 641 GSBGEN 640	Either: Sociological Methodology II: General Linear Model, or Statistical Methods for Behavioral and Social Sciences Plus One advanced statistics course that focuses on methods beyond the general linear model, for example: Sociological Methodology III: Advanced Models for Discrete Outcomes, or Statistical Theory, Models, and Methodology, or Behavioral Research in Marketing or Multivariate Data Analysis (added 11/04)
		POLISCI 350 A POLISCI 350 B	Or thesequence of: Political Methodology I and Political Methodology II
GSBGEN 698		Practicum in Teaching
GSBGEN 699		Practicum in Research

¹ In rare cases, the director of the PhD Program may waive a general program requirement for a student based on similar PhD-level coursework completed elsewhere. The four required courses listed below fulfill the OB students' breadth requirement of the GPR in Organizational Behavior.

III. Field Course Requirement

(Revised March '2000-01)

The following courses are required of each student. Each course must be passed with a grade of LP or better.

1st year students must take:

Number	Course Name
OB 671	Social Psychology of Organizations, and
OB 672	Organization and Environment

In addition, students take either:

Number	Course Name
OB 673	Perspectives on the Social Psychology of Organizations*, or
OB 674	Perspectives on Organization and Environment*

*This courses vary from year to year, featuring different faculty teaching on advanced research topics in social psychology.

See also below¹.

3rd year students must take:

Number	Course Name
OB 673	Perspectives on the Social Psychology of Organizations*, or
OB 674	Perspectives on Organization and Environment*

*This course varies from year to year, featuring different faculty teaching on advanced research topics in social psychology.

¹During either 1st or 2nd Year, students must take:

Number	Course Name
OB 670	Designing Organizational Research or
OB 675	Micro Methods (added April 04-05) and
OB 676	Social and Political Processes in Organizations

In addition, there are numerous other courses that students may find useful, including:

Number	Course Name
SOC 261	Organizational Ecology
SOC 360	Foundations of Organizational Sociology
SOC 366	Workshop on Organizational Ecology
SOC 370A	Sociological Theory
PSYCH 212	Social Psychology
PSYCH 254	Principles of Personality Change
PSYCH 256	Misunderstanding, Conflict and Dispute Resolution
OB 674	Seminar: The Employment Relationship
OB 686	Behavioral Organization Theory
MKTG 642	Behavioral Research in Marketing: Conceptual Foundations
GSBGEN 646	Behavioral Decision Theory
STRAT 690	Research Topics in Strategy and Organizations

Additional training in research methods directly relevant to organizational behavior is provided by:

Number	Course Name
OB 640	Multivariate Analysis
SOC 382, 383, and 384	Research Design and Analysis
PSYCH 273	Research Design and Procedure
MKTG 641	Behavioral Research in Marketing: Methodology

Other methods courses which may be of interest are offered by the Department of Statistics.

There are many other courses taken by PhD Students that are offered in departments outside the GSB, such as Computer Science, Economics, Management Science and Engineering, Mathematics, Political Science, Psychology, Sociology, and Statistics. Descriptions of these course offerings can be found in the Stanford Bulletin, published by the Registrar's Office (650-725-1879).

IV. Research Paper Requirement

By the end of the winter quarter in the 2nd year, each student is required to submit a research paper prepared with the collaboration of a faculty advisor. Students will present this research paper in the OB seminar in the spring quarter. This paper is a key way that the OB faculty will track the progress of students in their second year and will play a major role in the student's second year evaluation.

V. First-Year Field Examination

The Organizational Behavior field examination is comprehensive, drawing on the broad range of theory and research within the purview of Organizational Behavior Specifically, the scope of the field examination includes all areas covered by the two first-year field requirement courses (OB 671 and OB 672). Students are expected to have an in-depth understanding of scholarship in Organizational Behavior, however, which often means covering more material than can be assigned in the two first-year field requirement courses. For this reason, first-year students typically augment their coursework by studying independently in preparation for the field exam, gaining greater depth in the various research areas identified in their two first-year field requirement courses.

In the examination, students are expected to show an understanding of existing literatures, and to address linkages and controversies among the various literatures. The examination assesses a student's ability to recognize similarities, differences, and relationships among different strands of Organizational Behavior scholarship, and to identify important research problems, issues, and prospects. Typically questions will also require that a student demonstrate the ability to design research that would address important research problems.

The examination is given to students as they finish their first year of study, approximately on July 1. Students are given one full day to complete the examination in an open-book, open-note format.

VI. Research Seminar Requirement

Students are required to attend regularly one of the research seminars coordinated by the OB faculty.

VII. Advancement to Candidacy

Advancement to candidacy will require successfully passing the general program requirement, first-and-second year field course requirements, research paper requirement, and first-year field exam. Students are encouraged to advance to candidacy at the end of their second year.

VIII. Supplementary Requirements

Students are urged to attend the workshops and colloquia offered by the Stanford Center for Organizational Research.

IX. Dissertation Research

Usually during the third year an OB student presents the proposal for the thesis to the dissertation reading committee for approval. (An informal presentation is also made to the OB faculty and doctoral students.) Once these requirements have been met, the student can take the University oral examination and complete the thesis.

PhD Program