Other Links
Introduction
Admission
» Degree Requirements
» Required Examinations
» Ph.D Dissertations
» 2008-2009 Graduate
Catalog
» 2008-09 MSCI Graduate
Course Descriptions
Contact This Department
331 SMC, 916 Volunteer Blvd.
Knoxville, TN 37996-0532
Telephone
865- 974-4116
865- 974-2556
Fax
865- 974-8636
865- 974-2490
E-mail
jmoser@utk.edu
beckywalker@utk.edu
lbrewst2@utk.edu
Ph.D. in Management Science - Curriculum
Degree Requirements
A student's program of study is individually tailored to fit prior background as well as present goals. The Management Science Committee must approve individual student curricula. Students may enter the Ph.D. program either with or without a master's degree, and must accumulate 49 semester hours of coursework (not including master's thesis hours or Ph.D. dissertation hours) taken for graduate credit, of which at least 24 hours must be completed at the University of Tennessee. The courses listed below form a typical program for a Ph.D. candidate without prior graduate work.
Course Requirements:
| Courses | Hr |
| Mathematical Real Analysis (Math 445-46) | 6 |
| Numerical Analysis (Math 571-72) | 6 |
| Probability and Statistical Inference (Stat 563-564) | 6 |
| Management Science Methods (MS 531-32) | 6 |
| Computational Mathematical Programming (MS 533) | 3 |
| Application of Management Science Methods (MS 534) | 3 |
| Management Science Seminar (MS 691 or 692) | 1 |
| Concentration | |
| Four 600-level Management Science Courses and two additional 600-level courses (or equivalent graduate courses) subject to advisor's approval. | 18 |
| Total Minimum Hours | 49 |
Required Examinations
Qualifying Examination - All Ph.D. students must take a qualifying examination (on the course material from Management Science 531 and Management Science 532) at the beginning of the second year. However, Ph.D. students who have earned a Masters degree at the University of Tennessee Management Science Program are exempt from this requirement.
Comprehensive Examination - A Management Science Comprehensive Examination is normally after 2 years of study. The subject matter will be dealing with 600-level coursework. Ph.D. comprehensive examinations will be based on four 600-level courses, two of which must be from the Management Science 600-level courses. The student is also expected to be able to integrate such material beyond artificial course content boundaries and to extend knowledge beyond his/her prior exposure.
Upon completion of the comprehensive examination requirement, he or she will be admitted to the candidacy, and thus he or she will be referred to as Ph.D. candidate.
Ph.D. Dissertations
Once the student has determined an area for dissertation research, he or she forms a dissertation committee, which must include at least two members of the Management Science faculty. The committee will conduct a preliminary examination to provide a critical review of the student's proposed research and to assess the student's ability to complete the research. The student prepares for the preliminary examination by providing the committee with a written proposal which outlines the topic and proposed direction of the research. The student is required to present an oral defense of the proposed research to the dissertation committee.
The student must also complete 24 semester hours of Management Science 600: Doctoral Research and Dissertation, through which he or she is expected to make a significant contribution to the field. A final oral examination is conducted over the dissertation and such other segments of the program that the dissertation committee deems appropriate.