Organizational Behavior and Management Ph.D. Concentration: Overview
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Potential Areas of Professional Employment
Students in this concentration are preparing for higher and postsecondary education careers such as: a) executive level positions in college and university management; b) teaching and research in the area of organizational dynamics in postsecondary education; c) training and development in profit or non-profit organizations; and/or d) management consulting. Students who focus in Organizational Behavior and Management often pursue careers in administration, including academic affairs, administration and finance, planning, institutional advancement, student affairs, or external relations. Others pursue faculty positions in a higher education program or positions in a research center or organization.
Individuals interested in training and development or consulting careers will transfer skills in organizational strategy and functioning, management and governance, planning and resource allocation, human resource management, and institutional research/assessment in the postsecondary sector to a diverse array of business-related venues.
Organization of Courses in the Concentration
Courses in the concentration are grouped into three categories: 1) those devoted to consideration of the external context or environment in which postsecondary education institutions operate; 2) those that span boundaries between institutions and the external environment; 3) and those that focus on the internal contexts of postsecondary education. All address the competencies that practitioners need to successfully manage and lead institutions. Students in this concentration are required to take three advanced courses, at least one from each of the external context, boundary spanning, and internal context categories.
Gateway Course:
Recommended for all Organizational Behavior and Management concentrators, this Gateway course (or its equivalent) is a prerequisite for other courses in this area and should be taken in the first year.
EDUC 761, Postsecondary Institutions as Complex Organizations
Examines colleges, universities, and other formal postsecondary educational institutions as complex social organizations through the application of basic concepts of organizational theory. Discussion focuses on individual, group, organizational, and interorganizational-level variables and approaches to analyzing colleges and universities as complex social organizations.
Concentration Courses
External Context Courses (minimum of 3 credits)
Courses pertaining to the external context or environments in which postsecondary education institutions operate. Examples of courses that reflect this perspective include:
EDUC 759, Higher Education and Society
EDUC 871, National Economic and Financial Issues in Postsecondary Education
EDUC 872, State Government and Higher Education
EDUC 874, Law and Higher Education
Boundary Spanning Courses (minimum of 3 credits)
These courses span boundaries between institutions and the external environment. Examples of courses that reflect this perspective include:
EDUC 875, Managing Change and Quality in Higher Educational Institutions
EDUC 877. Dynamics of Organizational Strategy
EDUC 880, Case Studies in Higher Education Management
EDUC 868, Philosophy of Academic Leadership
Internal Context Courses (minimum of 3 credits)
These courses focus on the internal contexts of postsecondary education. Examples of courses that reflect this perspective include:
EDUC 763, Financial Management and Strategy in Postsecondary Education
EDUC 860, Technology in Higher Education
EDUC 861, Human Resource Development in Postsecondary Education
EDUC 863, Planning, Analysis and Institutional Research
Students planning to focus in this area should also take the following:
- ADDITIONAL CONCENTRATION AND ELECTIVE COURSES: Selected courses should be consistent with the student’s particular interest in the Organizational Behavior and Management concentration, with approval of the student’s advisor.
- COGNATE COURSES: These should reflect a student’s interest in Organizational Behavior and Management and provide an in-depth focus on some aspect of organizational and management dynamics. Selection of cognate courses should be discussed with the student’s advisor early in his/her program.
- EDUC 767, Research Practicum in Higher and Continuing Education (minimum of 3 credits). A student’s practicum should focus on a research project related to the Organizational Behavior and Management concentration.
GRADUATES' CAPABILITIES
Faculty associated with the Organizational Behavior and Management concentration seek to develop important leadership capacities in students. Students completing a Ph.D. in Organizational Behavior and Management will:
- make a significant positive difference in the organizations they lead or contribute to our scholarly understanding of these organizations;
- understand postsecondary education institutions as complex organizations--their socio-political, economic, and global context as well as their internal dynamics and functioning;
- possess leadership skills that are conceptually grounded as well as refined and relevant to practice;
- have a professional bearing and ethical understanding that distinguishes them in the organizations they lead, the community, and the profession as a whole;
- possess a strategic perspective – a capacity to see the larger picture--that enables them to effectively understand postsecondary education, to anticipate change, and to inspire others to higher performance; and
- possess superior analytical and critical thinking skills that enable them to lead and guide organizations through change by simultaneously visualizing postsecondary education and the organization from inside and outside.
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