The program is designed to be completed within four uninterrupted years, including summers, of full-time study and research. In a student's first year the student takes foundational courses including the departmental core, microeconomics and statistics. During this time students identify the area in which they wish to focus their education and research. During their first summer, students work on a research project in their chosen area under the supervision of a faculty member. A paper based on their research is completed by the end of the summer. In addition, at the end of the summer students take a qualifying exam in their area of specialization. There are five areas of specialization: decision processes (DP), information and decision technology (IDT), information, strategy and economics (ISE), operations management (OM) and operations research (OR)
Upon passing their qualifying exam, students develop a program of in-depth study and research organized around their research interests. Advanced courses help in the final choice of an area of specialization and a dissertation topic. During the summer between their second and third years, students write a research paper under the supervision of a faculty member. This paper provides an important transition between coursework and dissertation research, and often becomes a part of the dissertation.
In the third year a student finishes course work and begins the preparation of a dissertation proposal. This proposal provides some initial results and a specific plan for the completion of a dissertation. The formal defense of the dissertation proposal generally occurs at the end of the third year. After formal approval of the proposal, the student completes the dissertation. A student completes the program by successfully defending his or her dissertation.
Student Involvement in the Department
The department emphasizes student-faculty interaction. This includes student
participation in department seminars, faculty-student research collaboration, and
faculty-student teaching collaboration.
Formal Course Requirements
A total of twenty course credits are required for graduation. Up to eight appropriate graduate
course credits can be transferred from another graduate institution, after approval of the
student's advisor and of the PhD coordinator.
Core Courses
All students must choose three out of the following four departmental core courses. The four courses are:
- OPIM 900 - Foundations of Decision Processes and Behavioral Economics
- OPIM 940 - Operations Management
- OPIM 950 - Information and Decision Technology
- OPIM 960 - Information Strategy and Economics
Statistics
The Wharton School requires all PhD students to demonstrate proficiency in the material covered in one of several sequences of statistics courses offered by the University. The OPIM Department allows students to fulfill this requirement with one of the following course sequences: Statistics 520-512; Statistics 520-521; Statistics 550-551; or Economics 705-706. Students may demonstrate proficiency by either receiving a grade of B- or better in each course within a sequence, or by passing a waiver exam administered by the Economics or Statistics Departments, or by transferring a comparable graduate level course from another institution. Students may choose courses across sequences (e.g., 520 and 550) with permission from the PhD coordinator.
Teacher Development Program
The Wharton School requires all PhD students to complete the Teacher Development
Program (TDP). Students should complete this program before being admitted to
candidacy. Waivers of the TDP are granted under the following conditions: prior teaching
experience, recognized teaching awards, college-level education courses.
Summer Paper
Students must complete during their first summer a paper under the supervision of a
faculty advisor. Students should identify a faculty advisor and a topic for their summer
paper by the end of the second semester. At that time a short (one-page) summer paper
proposal should be signed by the student and the advisor and returned to the PhD
coordinator. Students should work closely with their advisor throughout the summer. A
completed paper must be submitted to the PhD coordinator at the end of the summer. Part of a student's qualifying exam performance depends on the quality of the student's summer paper. The goal is to write a publishable quality paper. It is recognized that this is an ambitious target for the first summer, but it is a feasible target - several students have indeed published their first summer paper.
Qualifying Exam
The Qualifying Exam consists of a written part and an oral part. The written portion of Qualifying Exam is taken at the start of the student's first summer. Each student takes a written exam in their chosen area of specialization (Decision Processes; Information and Decision Technology; Information, Strategy and Economics; Operations Management or Operations Research). Each specialization determines the format of their exam. The oral exam is scheduled at the end of the first summer and it gives the student the opportunity to present their summer research to the faculty. Students are notified of their results shortly after the oral exam.
The OPIM faculty evaluate students based on the quality of their summer paper and their performance on the written exam. A student receives a passing grade for the Qualifying Exam if the faculty determines that the student has sufficiently mastered the skills needed to continue progress towards a PhD in the chosen specialization. If the faculty determines that a student is missing some basic skills, the faculty can specify remedial steps the student must undertake to receive a passing grade. These steps typically include, but are not limited to, reworking responses on the exam, improving the summer paper and/or completing specific courses with a sufficient grade. The student must complete all conditions by May 31 of the student's second academic year.
If the faculty determine that the student is sufficiently far from meeting requirements (or if the student fails to meet all conditions by the May 31st deadline), then the student receives a failing grade and may no longer continue with the program.
Dissertation Proposal
The dissertational proposal is designed to provide a student with early and formal feedback from the faculty on the student's dissertation plans. The dissertation proposal defense should occur at the end of the student's third year, with the fourth year dedicated to the completion of the dissertation. The dissertation proposal should include preliminary results as well as a detailed plan for work that will be completed in the dissertation.
The final requirement in the program is the dissertation defense, which should occur around the end of the student's fourth year.
Sample Program Sequence
A. Decision Processes (DP)
- Year 1 Fall
ECON 701 - Microeconomics
OPIM 900 - Foundations of Decision Processes and Behavioral Economics
OPIM 960 - Research Seminar in ISE
- Year 1 Spring
ECON 682 - Game theory and applications
OPIM 904 - Experimental Economics
OPIM 940 - Introduction to Operations Management
- Year 1 Fall
ECON 680 - Microeconomics
OPIM 900 - Foundations of Decision Processes and Behavioral Economics
OPIM 960 - Research Seminar in ISE
- Year 1 Spring
ECON 682 - Game Theory and Applications
OPIM 940 - Introduction to Operations Management
MKTG 966 - Measurement and Data Analysis
STAT 511 - Statistics
- Year 1 Fall
ECON 680 - Microeconomics
OPIM 900 - Foundations of Decision Processes and Behavioral Economics
OPIM 960 - Research Seminar in ISE
- Year 1 Spring
MKTG 966 - Measurement and Data Analysis
OPIM 940 - Introduction to Operations Management
OPIM 961 - Research Seminar in ISE
STAT 511 - Statistics
- Year 1 Fall
ECON 701 - Microeconomics
OPIM 900 - Foundations of Decision Processes and Behavioral Economics
OPIM 960 - Research Seminar in ISE
STAT 510 - Probability - Year 1 Spring
OPIM 940 - Introduction to Operations Management
OPIM 930 - Stochastic Models
STAT 511 - Statistics
ECON 713 - Game Theory
- Year 1 Fall
ECON 701 - Microeconomics
OPIM 900 - Foundations of Decision Processes and Behavioral Economics
OPIM 960 - Research Seminar in ISE
STAT 550 - Mathematical Statistics - Year 1 Spring
OPIM 940 - Introduction to Operations Management
OPIM 910 - Concepts in Math Programming
STAT 551 - Introduction to Linear Statistical Models OPIM 913 - Advanced Linear Programming