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Hi, I am 46 years and want to apply for PhD in Strategy. I have had experience in Corporate Strategy as well as in academic think tank institutes. I have also worked with a top Strategy professor as part of the think tank group. Will my age be considered as a challenge in my PhD application? What would be the best way to overcome that? I am posting in this group to get more reliable advice. Officially no university can discriminate on age. I want to prepare an application that may address their concern, if any. Thank you, Regards Gowrishankar

Test Scores (GMAT/GRE): (Note: It often helps a lot more if you list the percentiles each of your raw/composite scores are associated with): QA 168 (97 percentile) VA 165 (98 percentile) Undegrad GPA: 8.5/10, Top 20% of class, Bachelors in Chemical Engineering (Top 10 Engineering College India) Graduate GPA: 7.1/10, Top 20% of class, MBA in Marketing and Operations (Top 5 B school from IndIa) Research Experience: Not much research experience from an academic standpoint, just general MBA assignments which involved secondary research. During my professional career I have been working with think tanks like the World Resources Institute and the UN Environment Programme on projects which required heavy primary and secondary research. Teaching Experience: None Work Experience: I have been working in strategy consulting with a Tier 2 consulting firm for the past two years in the Sustainability Services practice. My work has revolved around supporting non profit organisations (WWF, Red Cross Society, World Resources Institute) and multilateral institutions (UN agencies, EBRD) in various strategy projects. For example, one of my previous projects involved developing science based targets for business to reduce their impact on the ocean. The project that I am currently working on involves the largest assessment of palm oil buying companies and their impact on nature. These involve qualitative research and interviews, surveys etc. I am also proficient in data analysis and data visualization, at least at a level required for strategy projects- perhaps not at handling big data. Concentration Applying to: Strategy Number of programs planned to apply to: At least 8 Dream Schools: Yale, Michigan Ross, Duke Fuqua, USC Marshall, University of Minnesota- Carlson School of Business, University of North Carolina (Kenan Flagler), University of Washington (Foster), (still a WIP list) Letters of recommendation: Almost all from my MBA courses- will mostly be from professors and associate professors. Having little research experience, I'm expecting the letters of recommendations to be of a moderate strength. I will only be asking those professors for a recommendation in whose courses I have ranked among the top 5 scorers. Note: I have attached a one pager resume for more info. Other Questions: What made you want to pursue a PhD? I am deeply interested in how businesses can operate responsibly and partner with other stakeholders in the ecosystem like governments and communities to drive impact. I believe that businesses who are doing this at the moment will have a major first movers advantage going forward when regulations become more strict very rapidly and consumers become more aware of their environment. What businesses lack in this space is established research which proves this hypothesis and gives guidance on how to go about operating responsibly. Academia will have a big role to play here going forward and having worked with non profits for the past two years and being deeply aware of the situation around us, I want to be a part of that journey. Questions or concerns you have about your profile? 1. My major concerns are around graduate GPA which is not extraordinary- it might come to 3.4/3.5 after conversion to a 4 point scale using the conversion chart on the Columbia business school site. Given my overall profile and experience do I have a shot at any of the top 30 B schools for a PhD? 2. I am a complete novice to this- am I even targeting the right schools based on my profile? 3. I've been hearing that I should be applying as early as possible as early admissions are the only ones that are considered. Is this true? What is the optimum date by which I should be applying (given that deadlines are generally in December and I've been hearing people say that I should complete my applications in October) Any additional specific questions you may have: 4. Are there opportunities to undertake any remote part time research with professors in the US? I can't quit my job due to financial constraints. Given the COVID situation in India, it is extremely difficult to do that with professors here. I know this is a big ask but if anyone can share any input, I would be extremely grateful

Test Scores (GMAT/GRE): GRE VA: 165 (98 percentile), QA: 168 (97 percentile) Undegrad GPA: 8.5/10 (Top 20% of class- Top 10 Indian Engineering College) Graduate GPA: 7.1/10 (Top 20% of class- Top 5 Indian B School) Research Experience: No publishing experience as such. During my professional career I have undertaken some secondary research for my consulting projects and primary research in the form of interviews and surveys, especially with think tanks like the World Resources Institute and the United Nations Environment Programme. Some of my MBA courses and business case competitions also required some basic secondary research. Teaching Experience: None Work Experience: I have a work experience of two and a half years in a Tier 2 strategy consulting organisation with their Sustainability Services practice. I have primarily worked with non profit organisations and multilateral organisations like WWF, The Nature Conservancy, Red Cross Society, UN agencies. I have supported various strategic projects with them. For example, I have worked with the UN Environment Programme to develop science based targets for businesses to reduce their impact on oceans and this involved a pair bit of literature based research. The current project I am working on is one of the world’s largest assessments of impact of 250+ consumer goods organisations on palm oil sustainability. This also involves literature review and surveying companies. Concentration Applying to: Strategy Number of programs planned to apply to: 6-8 Dream Schools: Yale, Michigan Ross, Duke Fuqua, USC Marshall, University of Washington Foster, University of Minnesota Carlson School Letters of recommendation: I will be asking for LORs from my MBA professors. It’s going to be of moderate strength since I don’t have any research experience to speak of but will only be asking those professors in whose courses I have ranked among the top 5 scorers. Note: I have also attached my resume for more information. Other Questions: What made you want to pursue a PhD? I have working on the topic of how businesses can operate responsibly and contribute positively to nature for the entirety of my professional career. Prior to that I have won several business case competitions on similar themes like sustainable agriculture. I believe there is scope for a great deal of innovation in this topic especially looking at how different stakeholders in the ecosystem can collaborate to drive change. Through my experience I realise that businesses who are now working on net positive value creation in the environment will have a first movers advantage when the regulations change. They will also have an effect on policy drivers. However in order to get there, businesses need guidance on how they can function responsibly while maintaining profitability. This is where academia will play a role going into the future because the ground is still nascent and it requires backing up with strong research. This is the journey I want to be a part of which is why the first step would be to apply for a strong PhD program in strategy, business environment and business economics. Questions or concerns you have about your profile? Given my overall MBA GPA isn’t extraordinary (may come to a 3.5 I guess, using the Columbia school chart of conversion) and I have no big research experience to speak of, do I have a shot at any of my dream schools or at least a top 30 college in the US? Does this forum have any suggestions on which schools I should be applying to? How does the GPA conversion work (from a 10 point scale to a 4 point scale)? What points should I stress upon in my SOP to give my application a push given my lack of research experience? Any additional specific questions you may have: Is there a possibility of getting part time remote research projects under professors in the US? Given the COVID situation in India, it’s not possible to do that here right now.

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Hi All, I am keen on pursuing a research career in the field of Strategy / Entrepreneurship I have close to 10 years of work experience in strategy consulting / corporate strategy; however, I do not have any academic research / teaching experience. GMAT Score: 690 (V38, Q47) - can retake Undergrad - BTech (GPA 4) [Top 10 College in India] MBA - Strategy & Finance - 3.1 CGPA [Top 10 College in India] Additional executive education programs from Oxford Work Experience - 10+ years ; Consulting (strategy, organization design), Corporate Strategy (Technology sector - MNC based out of India) Plan to apply to programs in Canada (Rotman, University of BC), Europe (HEC, LBS, INSEAD) and US (outside of Top 10) I am yet to firm up an exact area of research but would be keen to explore a topic in the area of non market strategy. A couple of queries: 1. Is it necessary to have academic references; I can get strong Industry references . 2. What (more) can I do to strengthen my application.

Out of curiosity: how hard are qualifying exams in Strategy/Strategic Management? What's the usual pass rate? I heard that sometimes qualifying exams act as another screnning/filter in some departments. I know that it depends a lot on the school, but I was wondering if you could kindly share of some your experience. Also another related question: after going through the websites of many Strategy phd programs, it seems like qualifying exams exist only in the US? Would you say that this is true? Thanks for reading and time!

Hi there, Can anyone recommend an admission consultant for for PhD in Business Administration/Management? It would be great if you could say what the consultant did for you - overall strategy, Statement of Purpose, Letters of Recommendations, etc. Thank you !

Hi guys, I was wondering if you would be so kind as to help me with the following question: What are the signs of the research topics that are "dead," i.e., not interested by editors and thus very unlikely to publish papers on? And what are the signs of those topics that are hot and "sexy" for editors? I've heard that, for example, strategic processes are not a topic interested by scholars anymore. Also, various aspects of corporate strategy, like acquisitions, are very well-studied, meaning that it'd be potentially much harder to publish something meaningful on them. How could I know if a certain research topic is interested by editors/scholars in strategy and that there's a gap (and thus opening room for publishing papers)? I'm interested in, or even fascinated by, many topics in the field, like corporate strategy, corporate governance, organizational structure, organizational design, market structure, market entry, competitive dynamics, RBV/KBV/dynamic capabilities, institutional theory, network theory, and so on. But just don't know which ones of these research interests are worth exploring further or are more "worth studying" than the others, i.e., can lead to research papers on good journals. Thx for reading and time!

Hi, I'm beginning to focus on applications for Fall 2021 and would really appreciate any insight! I'd love any advice on where I can improve my application/what programs to apply to. Thanks! Test Scores (GRE): 163Q, 158V ; retaking this again in a month - aiming for 167+Q Undergrad GPA: 3.3 (major GPA: 3.8); BS Econ/Math Graduate GPA: 3.5; MS Financial Engineering Research Experience: 1. decision theory research paper (submitting for publishing in 2 weeks with well-known professor in the field) 2. industry research for biggest bank in Europe where my strategies were implemented firm-wide 3. master’s thesis on optimizing factor-based investing strategy & building a model using Bloomberg Teaching Experience: N/A Work Experience: valuation analyst focusing on intellectual property at a litigation consulting firm - 1 year + various internships with banks Concentration Applying to: decision sciences/strategy Number of programs planned to apply to: ~10 Dream Schools: MIT, Duke, University of Michigan, Boston College, UCLA Other Questions: What made you want to pursue a PhD? Working on research papers in school, specifically in my PhD level decision sciences class. I really want to be a professor so I know this is something I need to do. I’ve done almost all of my research papers on sports in uni so I want to continue to work within applicable strategic theory and model building in the same industry/field. The paper I wrote now has a model I built from scratch using Bayesian probability updating and forecasting focusing on the NFL. Questions or concerns you have about your profile? I know my undergrad GPA isn’t great, but I put my major GPA to show that I did well in my major after I switched into it. I want to aim for a 167Q on my GRE. Also I recognize that there are probably a very tiny number of professors that do research on sports and decision theory, if any. I’ve been trying to be open minded when looking at research done at the schools, but I think that regardless I can fit in as there are professor’s who do focus more on applicable strategy versus just working on abstract theory. Any additional specific questions you may have: I’d really appreciate any advice or insight into where to aim in terms of schools as I don’t know anyone who applied to PhD programs so I am figuring it out on my own (first gen college student). I looked at the UT Dallas Ranking (is this the specific list everyone is referring to when they mention ranks??), but again I'm not too positive on where to aim. Thank you so so much in advance, any advice helps!

I'm reading some papers in the field. However, it seems like that in strategy the literature of corporate strategy is really well-studied, meaning that it apparently isn't a very publishable topic anymore. However, I'm just an undergrad who's obviously not an insider. Would you guys telling me a bit about whether corporate strategy is and will still be a hot topic in strategy for the next few decades (yes, I'm considering about focusing on this branch possibly..) Thx for reading and consideration!!

Hi all. I'm an undergrad student at a top 30 b-school interested in doing a phd in management. I'm interested in organizational-level issues. However, it seems like that there are two tracks (strategy and macro-ob) in the field. I'm reading some phd-level books and papers of strategy, but what about macro-ob? What are the key differences between the two? And how could I find relevant phd-level books and papers to see if that interests me? Thx for reading and consideration!

Hello Friends, I am from India and below are the required details. Requesting you to check and give a feedback. Thanking you in Advance. Test Scores (GMAT/GRE): GMAT Yet to Appear but i am Confident of Scoring between minimum 600 to 660 Points i.e between 70 to 80 % percentile. Undegrad GPA: 04 ,Engineering in Production From India Graduate GPA: 04 ,MBA in Marketing From India Research Experience: 0 Teaching Experience: 01 Articles,Whitepapers Published related to strategy & Marketing- 08 Nos Work Experience: 11.5 Years in Oil & Gas,Power & Automobile Sector in functions like B2B Sales & Marketing,Strategy & Supply Chain.also from last 9 months self employed, entrepreneur. Concentration Applying to: PHD in Strategy, Entrepreneurship or Marketing. Number of programs planned to apply to: 5 to 10. Dream Schools: Rank Between 50th to 150 th Fully funded in English language anywhere in the world. Other Questions: What made you want to pursue a PhD? My rick works experience has made me inclined to carry out research work, proof is my original work articles published. PHD will help me understand, study how to carry out research & other PHD subjects under guidance of expert faculty, subsequently to be eligible as a faculty to teach management subjects & also to carry out research related to Strategy by working closely with the industry specially Small Scale Industry. Questions or concerns you have about your profile? Yes Yes i have a very strong statement of purpose & also will get strong letter of recommendation from my Faculty & Industry professionals Any additional specific questions you may have: Yes Pls provide 3-4 colleges names ? which i can target and improve my chances of getting admitted considering my above profile & gmat score. Thanking you in Advance. Regards, Sandesh Musale

I am always heartened by all of the optimism and excitement that so many on this forum show every year around this time. I was in your shoes 6 years ago, trying to suss out how management (STR/OB) academia actually worked. I relied on posts on Urch, even though I was highly intertwined with management academia prior to my PhD. Looking back, I had both good and bad times in my program. Upon graduation, I'll start as a data scientist at a financial institution. Here's my retrospective take for folks considering this path (starting with a healthy dose of tough love). This career path is much more challenging and less appealing than most prospective students realize. First, the norm for program length has decidedly gone from 5 to 6 years at high-ranked R1s over my time in the program, and I imagine that 6 years of PhD + postdoc may become the norm by the time you graduate. Nowadays, when going into this profession, you have to be willing to move across the country, delay having a family (if you want one), and delay solid financial stability for 7-8 years. Moreover, you must be *uncommonly certain* that these preferences won't change as you grow older. For most people, they will. When I began, I thought that I'd be happy as a professor at any institution and any location as long as I was doing research work that engaged my mind and was useful in some way. Through the six years of my PhD, I got married, had a kid, and watched from afar as my partner's parents began to develop health issues. In short, my preferences changed pretty dramatically. If you do well on the academic job market, you'll get a handful of flyouts, one or two offers from schools from anywhere across the US/world. It's rare that the schools that give you offers will jive super well with your preferences. For example, many top schools (e.g., Berkeley) are located in HCOL areas with wildly expensive property values, so many new Haas faculty live in subsidized apartments for a good chunk of time pre-tenure. While our field is doing better than most PhD fields on many dimensions, you're still doing a PhD and that comes with challenges. There will be constant, low-level stress that you're not doing enough to hit the moving target of getting a job, huge cultural pressure from professors to stay in academia at all costs, and (at least at my school) you will quickly lose contact with students who drop out and professors who don't get tenure. Unlike most private sector jobs, it's very hard to "turn off" at the end of the day or over the weekend. This combination of factors generally leads to mental health challenges. I'd estimate about 50%+ of the folks in my highly visible R1 program periodically experienced mental health issues due to these pressures (including myself). There's a good chance that you would face similar issues too. Usually, these issues manifest in moderate to severe depressive episodes that span 2-6 months, often crop up around the start of the 3rd year, and reappear every so often thereafter. The PhDs in my group were uncommonly open about these issues, and I'm very thankful that I had a supportive network when I struggled. In general, this is a big issue among PhDs that research is just beginning to address (New study says graduate students' mental health is a "crisis"). On a systemic level, remember that advice and opinions from professors reflect survivorship bias (i.e., you don't hear from the folks that aren't in academia anymore). There's not much (if any) positive growth in b-school enrollments any more, especially compared to the growth period 1980-2010. Tenure lines in STR/OB, while still relatively commonplace compared to other PhD fields, are slowly shrinking at many schools as older professors retire and are replaced by cheaper adjuncts. I've gotten the sense that year-over-year demand for rookie PhDs in management academia has marginally but noticeably slowed over my time in the program, while tenure requirements are also getting marginally but noticeably tougher. I'd guess that around 25% of graduating PhDs in STR/OB don't stay on the academic track (at least at highly visible R1 schools, which is my reference set). Some of these "leavers" can't get an academic job they like, and some realize that they don't want to continue to make sacrifices that the academic arena requires. To add a silver lining, however, I'm happy I did a PhD. I recognize that I was privileged enough to not worry too much about providing financially for a family, parents, etc. I was also well-connected and "culturally ingratiated" in academia prior to starting my PhD; there are huge barriers to entry in this field for those without cultural or financial capital. I learned a lot about myself, managing my time, how to do good research, and the ability and necessity to set my own course in work and life. Unlike some horror stories online, I loved the other folks in my cohort and program, and our culture was quite cordial. If I had to do it again, I probably would, but I would have tried to graduate ASAP, learned as many practical stats/metrics/coding tools as possible, and spent less time worrying about management theory (which oftentimes isn't geared towards actual managers and sometimes, in my opinion, verges on fluffy and poorly-developed philosophical rambling). If you're in any way put off by this message, you should consider similar jobs that require brainpower and research skills (data science, statisticians, UX, etc.). These jobs will give you a good salary, are less competitive, are more location-flexible, allow you to gain marketable skills more rapidly, and don't require a long, low-paid training period. If you want to teach, an alternative is to get a masters and adjunct on the side so that you can align incentives with university administration, who generally want to minimize expensive tenure lines subject to constraints from accreditation bodies (AACSB). The PhD journey is wickedly tough. Experiences and outcomes differ (wildly and often randomly) from person to person. For the vast majority of folks that think they'd be interested in this path, they should take a hard look at their preferences, desires, and life goals. If you're not at least 90% sold on this path, you should consider something like what I prescribe above. However, if you are part of that 10% that could only see yourself as a full-time business school researcher, then you should go for it. Good luck!

How often does this happen? I see this in the placement record of top schools.

Hi all, I'm wondering whether it would be possible for a PhD student to switch between Quant, CB and Strategy? I'm planning to apply to CB track, as my profile is not quant-heavy enough for Quant and I have research experience in Psychology. However, recently I've become interested in some quant methods such as Machine Learning, structural models... If I get admitted to a program, would it be feasible for me to switch to Quant or Strategy?

Test Scores: GRE 166(90%)Q, 154(V) Undergrad: engineering from top univ in my continent (grades are ok) Master: MS Econ from top univ in mu continent (grades are ok) Real analysis course (+B), seems to be important in econ programs but not in b-school. Research Exp: 2 years RA in econ, 3 refered pub (2 in national journals, 1 top 5 in applied econ subfield). Attended conferences and awards for master thesis Teaching Exp: Both TA and lecturer. Work Experience: several years in a policy agency related with my research interest + 1 year finance quant in banking risk management Research interest: innovation econ, productivity, operations strategy, internationlization Concentration Applying to: Strategy, operations and innovation economics (I fell my interests are in the intersection of these 3 topics. Considering my backgroun (UG engineer + MS economics), I would prefer to attend a Strategic management program. N programs planned to apply to: 10 The program I am interested are those with high ranking in OM and strategy Dream Schools: wharthon strategy/operations, MIT Innov and entrep management program Second Schools: UCLA Strategy, Michigan Strategy, Minesota Strategy, Toronto strategy, Olin OM, Carey OM, Marshall OM, Texas OM, Ohio OM, Indiana OM, Duke Strategy Questions or concerns you have about your profile? At this moment I am in a top50 econ program but I am not really interested in the research the faculty is doing here. I would prefer to be in a department where my work experience were valuable. I started talking with some b-school faculties here to try to transfer in the same univ, but they told me to apply to other places, too. Also I am not doing really good in my coursework. I passed, but my classmates have econ undergrad + ms econ finished last year. I finished my studies 6 years ago. I mean, some of them have about 8 metrics courses and I am just now learning instrumental variable. What made you want to pursue a PhD? My work was mainly about writing policy documents and I felt I wanted to get the metrics training to do research in the field. A phd seems to be the natural next step. The thing is that I am interested in doing research with real solutions to actual problems related with topics in the operations in the corporate strategy. I also can finish the econ program here and try to get a minor in strategy. But I would like to go to the business jobmarket in strategy. The problem is that I am not in a top program thus that could complivate things to get a job in a b-school. What do you recomend me?

Hey guys, I'm interested in studying incentives and its effects and how they affect strategy using experimental/empirical methods. There are a few professors in strategy and managerial accounting that work in this. How do I choose which one to apply a PhD for? What are the factors that I must take into account?

Please help improve my understanding of rankings of management departments. I have taken a first pass by using UTD's ranking based on research productivity in the following journals between 2010-2019: AOMjournal, ManSci, AOMreview, Admin Sci Quarterly, OrgSci, SMJ. I have a number of questions related to this ranking: 1. Does this ranking align with your own perceptions of relative department quality? 2. UTD's list of top 20 departments includes many places with non-top 20 MBAs. For example, USC, Penn State, Toronto are all top 10 in the UTD list. They outrank Stanford, Columbia, and Northwestern. Why doesn't faculty productivity align with MBA rankings? Do Stanford, Columbia, and Northwestern just not have faculty who are active in management scholarship? 3. Does the UTD ranking align well with phd program quality and job market placements in management academia? i.e., should management/strategy/ob phds from USC, Penn State, Toronto expect similar or better job market prospects than graduates of similar fields from Stanford, Columbia, and Northwestern? I am ultimately trying to get a sense for how people perceive these different departments. I would appreciate any comments that would help me add some context to the UTD rankings. [TABLE=class: outer_border, width: 400] [TR] [TH=class: header headerSortDown]Rank[/TH] [TH=class: header, width: 55%, align: left]University[/TH] [/TR] [TR] [TD=align: center]1[/TD] [TD]UPenn Wharton[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD=align: center]2[/TD] [TD]INSEAD[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD=align: center]3[/TD] [TD]Harvard Business School[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD=align: center]4[/TD] [TD]University of Michigan Ross[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD=align: center]5[/TD] [TD]New York University Stern[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD=align: center]6[/TD] [TD]University of Minnesota Carlson[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD=align: center]7[/TD] [TD]University of Toronto Rotman[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD=align: center]8[/TD] [TD]USC Marshall[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD=align: center]9[/TD] [TD]MIT Sloan[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD=align: center]10[/TD] [TD]Penn State University Smeal[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD=align: center]11[/TD] [TD]Maryland Robert H. Smith[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD=align: center]12[/TD] [TD]Stanford University GSB[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD=align: center]13[/TD] [TD]London Business School[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD=align: center]14[/TD] [TD]UT Austin McCombs[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD=align: center]15[/TD] [TD]Duke University Fuqua[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD=align: center]16[/TD] [TD]Columbia Business School[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD=align: center]17[/TD] [TD]Arizona State W.P. Carey[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD=align: center]18[/TD] [TD]Washington University Olin[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD=align: center]19[/TD] [TD]Northwestern Kellogg[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD=align: center]20[/TD] [TD]UT Dallas Naveen Jindal[/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE]

I am hoping to draw on urch's collective wisdom to construct a Top10 or Top20 list of strategy phd programs that are more quantitative/econ-heavy in nature. I was able to find three strong programs, based on a review of course requirements for students, faculty research, and job market placements: UCLA Strategy Toronto Rotman Strategic Management Duke Fuqua Strategy Can I get your opinion on the three programs above? Would you say all of them are Top10 among strategy programs that take a quant/econ approach? How do they fare among strategy programs more generally? I have only identified three programs so far. Can you help me expand this list? I would like to end up with a Top10 or Top20 list if possible.

Would a senior PhD member be open to evaluate my profile (applying for the role of PhD in Strategy Management at top US Business Schools)? --Aman

Would Kellogg's PhD in MECS (Managerial Economics and Strategy) be a good fit for someone interested in empirical research in incentives, strategy, and innovation? Given that NW only allows one application per cycle, would someone with these interests be better off applying to the econ or MECS program? The only MECS-related threads I could find on URCH are from 2010 or earlier, and they give the impression that MECS is heavily focused on theory. However, the MECS website doesn't state theory as its sole focus-it says students can work with both the MEDS and M&S faculty. There is also a fair number of current students doing applied work. Can someone please help resolve the discrepancy between what was written in URCH about MECS' theory focus and what is posted in MECS' current website?

Hi All, I wanted to understand how different is the selection process & research for Business PhD in Managerial Economics versus getting into an Econ PhD. Need a better understanding for a couple of reasons: 1. Though my core interest in Developmental Econ & Public Policy, my profile won't get me into a Top 30 in Econ program. Going through research areas of profs and PhD students at Kellogg/Ross/Harvard - it aligns pretty well with what I would like to do (A lot of interesting areas with respect to institutions, countries, political science, decision making and more).For e.g: At Northwestern, there is Phd in Developmental Economics, and the MECS program at Kellogg lists Developmental Economics as an active research area. Same for Michigan Ross 2. How/what can I do improve my profile to get an admit - I don't want this to become a profile evaluation but want tips what one should do to get into such a program, I currently have: MBA from IIMA (top B-school in India) - I was in the top 15% of the batch but no masters/bachelors in Econ A grades in Economics related courses (except in Macroeconomics - I & never took Econometrics course) A good reco from a Harvard Econ Phd - did a Developmental Econ project under her in IIMA Planning to take RAship under an Econ prof for 18 months (10 months when I apply to colleges for Fall 2020) No other significant research credentials - one paper during undergrad in a low impact journal & currently in Digital Sales for a Technology firm for last 3 years Do courses from Coursera built credibility Explaining my maths courses becomes a little tricky coz it doesn't neatly map into the US system, but let me take a hack at it. At undergrad, three math courses (6 months each) - Calculus, Engineering Mathematics - II & III; This broadly covers Calculus - I & II, Linear Algebra, Polar Coordinates & a little bit of Statistics - Top 2 grades in all of them (the equivalent of As). At postgrad, three courses of Statistics - Probability & Statistics I, II, III - A in two of them, B in one of them. And there were quite a few math-based courses such as Decision Making, Labour Markets, Business Research Methods, Impact Evaluation Thanks. Your inputs will be helpful as I'm planning to apply next year (not this season)

Hi All, I wanted to understand how different is the selection process & research for Business PhD in Managerial Economics versus getting into an Econ PhD. Need a better understanding for a couple of reasons: 1. Though my core interest in Developmental Econ & Public Policy, my profile won't get me into a Top 30 (or 50 School). Going through research areas of profs and PhD students at Kellogg/Ross/Harvard - it aligns pretty well with what I would like to do (A lot of interesting areas with respect to institutions, countries, political science, decision making and more). For e.g: At Northwestern, there is Phd in Developmental Economics, and the MECS program at Kellogg lists Developmental Economics as an active research area. 2. How/what can I do improve my profile to get an admit - I don't want this to become a profile evaluation but want tips what one should do to get into such a program, I currently have: MBA from IIMA (top B-school in India) - I was in the top 15% of the batch but no masters/bachelors in Econ A grades in Economics related courses (except in Macroeconomics - I & never took Econometrics course) A good reco from a Harvard Econ Phd - did a Developmental Econ project under her in IIMA Planning to take RAship under an Econ prof for 18 months (10 months when I apply to colleges for Fall 2020) No other significant research credentials - one paper during undergrad in a low impact journal & currently in Digital Sales for a Technology firm for last 3 years Do courses from Coursera built credibility Thanks. Your inputs will be helpful as I'm planning to apply next year (not this season) P.S: Apologies if I'm breaking any posting guidelines - Did read through them and didn't find anything out of place here. Also, not a lot of information on Business Economics & Strategy programs (neither here nor in the PhD in Econ sub forum)

Hello Friends, I am from India and below are the required details.Requesting you to check and give a feedback. Thanking you in Advance. Test Scores (GMAT/GRE): (Note: It often helps a lot more if you list the percentiles each of your raw/composite scores are associated with)- GMAT Yet to Appear but I am Confident of Scoring between minimum 600 to 650 Points. Undegrad GPA: 04 ,Engineering in Production From India Graduate GPA: 04 ,MBA in Marketing From India Research Experience: 0 Teaching Experience: 0 Work Experience: 10 Years in Oil & Gas,Power & Automobile Sector in Sales & Supply Chain Functions Concentration Applying to: PHD in Strategy or Marketing Number of programs planned to apply to: 03 Dream Schools: Harvard, Insead, Stanford, MIT Sloan or any other top 50 Colleges. Other Questions: What made you want to pursue a PhD? Join Education Field as a Faculty and also to carry out research related to Strategy. Questions or concerns you have about your profile? No Any additional specific questions you may have: No Regards, Sandesh Musale

Hi all, I will be applying to business schools this year in strategy. I am deciding which test - between GRE and GMAT - I should choose. As I am not a native English speaker, I am not confident that I would get a good score, say, 4.5 in AWA in GRE. However, I heard that PhD committee in strategy values the score in writing very much. If this is the case, would GMAT be more suitable for my profile? I appreciate everyone for your comments.