The two required core courses are General Economic Theory: Microeconomics, and Policy Modeling (or Mathematical Models for Management). Each student will also be required to complete a two-term sequence in a social science (e.g., Economics, Psychology) and a two-term sequence in empirical methods.

Beyond the core, the course requirements have been left flexible. The program has been designed to enable a student to concentrate in any of a number of traditional or innovative areas of the management process. The depth requirement consists of five courses selected by the student in consultation with the Director of Graduate Studies and faculty members in the relevant area. This in-depth study is designed to focus the student on a particular research paradigm and to prepare him/her for the dissertation.

Finally, the breadth requirement consists of two courses that are outside of the student's research paradigm. At least one of these courses must be from an applied area of management different from the student's own depth area. The purpose of the breadth requirement is to introduce the student to related areas of inquiry into management that provide alternate points of view on his/her own research.

Two electives make up the rest of the student's schedule.

A typical program in each of the three specializations is described below.

Pre-Dissertation Research
Each student must prepare an original paper during his/her first summer and submit it to the faculty at the beginning of the third semester in residence. The purpose of this paper is to introduce the student to the process of research at an early stage in his/her academic development.

A second-year research paper must be submitted to the faculty by November 1 of the student's fifth semester in residence.

Admission to Candidacy
Admission to Ph.D. candidacy is based on a faculty review of the student's performance in the entire academic program. This review is conducted after the student has successfully completed the requirements above and submitted a dissertation proposal. Completion of these requirements does not guarantee admission to candidacy. A primary input to the admission to candidacy is the qualification examination. This examination is administered by the relevant faculty members in the student's area of specialization. It is usually taken between the second and third years in the program.

The Dissertation
The dissertation is the culmination of the student's work in the program. The student works with one or more faculty members in developing an idea for the dissertation, prepares and defends a formal prospectus for the work, and forms a committee (typically of three faculty members) to advise and monitor the work. After the dissertation has been approved by the advisory committee, the student presents and defends the work in a seminar open to everyone in the program. The Dean of the Graduate School then appoints a committee of readers to assess the quality of the dissertation; final approval is provided by the Graduate School faculty after reports from the dissertation readers have been reviewed.