Course of study

Full time course work: Your first year will be spent on course work. A typical full-time load involves three or four courses per term with a minimum twelve courses to complete. Each course requires three hours of in-class instruction, per week plus intensive preparation and study time for each class. Students must be residents of the Calgary area during this time. Students without prior graduate degrees may require an extra year of course work.

Summer research project: Between your first and second year, you will conduct a research project for course credit during the spring and summer sessions. Guided by your supervisor, you will design and implement a research project proposal. No two projects are the same but all involve a proposal, qualitative or quantitative research, a final paper submitted for internal publication and a presentation to faculty and fellow PhD students.

Full-time course work: Your second year will be spent on course work. A typical full-time load involves three or four courses per term with a minimum twelve courses to complete. Each course requires three hours of in-class instruction, per week plus intensive preparation and study time for each class. Students must be residents of the Calgary area during this time. Students without prior graduate degrees may require an extra year of course work.

Candidacy preparation and proposal: Once course work is complete, you will prepare for candidacy exams which are to be completed by the 28^th month in the program (or 36^th month for students without prior graduate degrees). At the same time, you will finalize your supervisory committee and proposal for your doctoral research.

Candidacy exams: Once course work is complete, you will prepare for your candidacy exams. The candidacy exams must be completed by your 28^th month in the program (or 36^th month for students without a prior graduate degree). Typical candidacy exams involve a take-home written exam (based on questions from your committee) followed by an oral exam (a three hour defense of your knowledge on your topic and your field). You can find detailed information at the Grad Studies website. Importantly, there are different norms between fields so it is important to seek the guidance and approval of your supervisor.

Research & dissertation: After passing candidacy examinations, you will be re-classed from the status of “PhD student” to “PhD candidate”, and eligible to teach as an instructor. At this time, you will be working on your doctoral research and begin writing your dissertation under the guidance of your supervisor.

Doctoral defense: As you work toward completing your dissertation on your doctoral research, you will prepare for your defense. Similar to the oral examination during candidacy, your doctoral defense will entail an oral examination by a committee, except this time, the topic is your submitted dissertation on your doctoral research and relevant questions on your field of expertise. You can find detailed information at the Grad Studies website. 

Importantly, there are different norms between fields so it is important to seek the guidance and approval of your supervisor.

Graduation: With your doctoral defense behind you, you will submit your dissertation and apply for graduation. Detailed instructions can be found at the Grad Studies website. This is the final milestone on your journey to becoming a doctor of philosophy!

Areas of study
You will select a major from one of the established areas of Haskayne (most likely the area of your supervisor). although you may also select a minor, many students fill their minor requirement with courses that supplement their learning needs, such as courses on research methods. Your supervisor and the director of the program will assist you in course selection. Students must take three to five half courses in the selected major. Major areas include:  

For more information about each of these areas of interest, see the graduate studies calendar.

You are required to complete, at minimum, twelve courses (each requiring 3 hours per week of in-class instruction plus preparation/study time). All students are required to take a core group of required courses in order to gain a broad academic grounding in research methods, management education/pedagogy and the business environment. These include at least two, half courses in research methods (e.g. statistics, qualitative methods). Other required courses include:

For course descriptions, see the academic calendar at the graduate studies website.

The business school supports the efforts of students wishing to combine a doctoral program in management with doctoral studies in another discipline. these joint programs are individually tailored to meet student interests and needs. Students in cross-disciplinary programs must be highly qualified because it is difficult to meet the standards of two specializations.