The Global Executive Track is an extremely rigorous program. During the first two years, the normal course load each winter and fall semester will include three separate courses:

1. A core course on various aspects of taking an idea for a product or service from a concept to a sustainable business. Click HERE for more information.
   
2. A course on globalization of engineering and manufacturing in a particular region or country, such as India or Western Europe. Click HERE for more information.
   
3. A technical course, such as Advanced Engineering Statistics, Decision and Risk Analysis, or Deterministic Optimization. Click HERE to see a sample Timeline.
   

 

Between class meetings, for just the core courses, learning partners will typically read 150 or more pages of conceptual material, read and respond in writing to a Harvard Business School type case study, read several state-of-the-art journal articles, and participate in discussion questions posted online. Attendance in class is mandatory and critical to the shared learning of the cohort.

For more information, see our informative video HERE! 

 

Engineering Statistics and Deterministic Optimization are fundamental skills necessary for the completion of any Industrial Engineering degree. All learning partners must be familiar with current practices in both of these technical fields. Learning partners will have the option of demonstrating knowledge in these fields by successfully passing an examination designed specifically designed for the Global Executive Track Ph.D. Otherwise, learning partners will be required to take a course in each area.

As a doctoral student you are expected to develop knowledge that will be shared with others. Before the end of the third year, learning partners will draw on their years of managerial experience and new learning to develop and present two new case studies. As learning partners work on their dissertations, they will also be strongly encouraged to submit two journal articles during the writing process.

The Global Executive Track Ph.D. offers courses geared toward helping learning partners improve research and writing skills:

• Literature Review (1 credit)
• Qualitative Research Design and Methods (3 credits)
• Quantitative Research Design and Methods (3 credits)

• Develop library search skills for identifying key authors, articles, journals, books, dissertations, case studies, conferences, web sites, professional associations, and NSF funding for a scholarly area of interest.
• Become proficient in creating an Endnote bibliography.
• Identify gaps in the scientific knowledge worthwhile to pursue for your own doctoral studies.
• Determine with whom you would like to have a scholarly dialogue related to your topic of interest.

These courses are designed to help students differentiate between the fundamentals of qualitative and quantitative research. Topics covered in these courses include: research objectives, the role of the researcher, sample selection, data collection, analysis and measurement. The goal of these courses is to prepare students to write scholarly articles for conferences and publication.