Organizations and Social Change (OSC)

The Organizations and Social Change program track is designed for students who are interested in pursuing a full-time doctoral program specializing in areas such as:

• social responsibility and sustainability
• social entrepreneurship
• sustainable economic development
• stakeholder engagement in corporate governance
• contemporary human resource management, such as diversity and contingent labor
• cultural and economic impacts of globalization
• transnational identities of consumers and employees
• gender equality and organizations
• multi-sector partnerships for poverty alleviation and development

Prospective students with prior degrees in management, sociology, economics, political science or other relevant areas are encouraged to apply. Most successful applicants have a master’s degree. Prior research experience (e.g., data analysis, literature reviews, academic writing) is highly recommended. Support of up to $25,000 is available for admitted students without other sources of funding.

Applicants need to submit a current résumé or CV, a statement of purpose, three letters of recommendation, official transcripts of all prior academic work, a writing sample, official GMAT or GRE scores, and, if appropriate an official TOEFL or IELTS score. Provide these materials directly to the Graduate Admissions Office. 

Statement of Purpose:
With your application, please submit a statement of purpose, including a mini-research proposal, on an OSC topic that reflects the goals of the program. Your mini- proposal should be about 5 pages long, and it should include the following elements:

• Why do you want to study for a PhD in Organizations and Social Change
• A specific research topic/problem and its significance;
• A compelling research question;
• A review of previous work relevant to the research question, i.e. what we know so far;
• The methods you propose (data collection, analytical techniques) to answer your research question;
• A summary of expected results/outcomes, and their potential significance

Note that you are not committing to a PhD topic at this point; your goal is to demonstrate your current thinking and capabilities in research.  The mini-proposal will help us determine some of your potential interests and your aptitude for doing research. 

Writing Sample:
Please submit with your application one or two selected samples of prior academic writings. Such writings could include course papers from your Master’s program, research papers, conference papers, or other types of manuscripts. Length is not important, but these typically range between 2,000 and 10,000 words. Please select papers that are written by you (solo-authored), and which best showcase your ability to tackle a relevant research topic by using or developing analytical frameworks or theories, referencing other people’s work, and using empirical evidence (if applicable).

The OSC PhD track will prepare students to pursue academic and research careers and have a broader impact on the world by engaging with the media and organizational practice. Students will learn how to:

• apply theoretical frameworks to understand business and organizational practices, as well as their economic, social, cultural, environmental, and political impacts
• conduct qualitative and quantitative research and identify problems and solutions
• critique policy and articulate recommendations on issues at the interface of business, government, and critical social issues; and
• translate research into more practice-oriented articles, media coverage, and organizational interventions

OSC Student Achievements

The OSC track involves close, apprentice-like working relationships with faculty members, and students are introduced early to academic research and publishing. Current and former PhD students of the OSC track regularly publish in highly regarded journals, typically together with faculty, and have been involved in impactful community projects and action-oriented research.

Faculty of the OSC track possess international reputations in their fields and are actively engaged in academic and practice-oriented research, and publishing in highly regarded outlets. Their expertise in organizations and social change brings them into close contact with business, entrepreneurs, government agencies, and nonprofits.

The research interests of our faculty include (but are not limited to):

• how current business-society interactions challenge existing management and organization theories
• how companies, communities, and industries strategize for climate change adaptation and mitigation
• new trends in the workplace relating to diversity, inequality, and employee involvement
• the causes, characteristics, and consequences of employee ownership for workers, firms, and society
• how social movements influence corporate behavior and the diffusion of new corporate practices
• development of labor and sustainability standards, local geographic clusters and global production networks, and local/global governance processes
• the dynamics and implications of socio-economic crises, financialization, and inequality
• how entrepreneurs and established firms work to address local and global challenges through their missions, business models, products, and strategies
• diversity and inclusion in entrepreneurship ecosystems, and drivers of inclusive economic development and growth
• using organization and network theory to understand the emergence, operation, evolution, and sustainability of creative geographic clusters and project networks

Students in the OSC track will be positioned to pursue academic careers at universities and research institutions. Our program graduates have successfully published in highly regarded academic journals and found excellent academic positions at institutions in North America and Europe. Graduates of the OSC Track have been hired as faculty in a range of great universities (in alphabetical order):

• Bentley University, Massachusetts
• Fairfield University, Connecticut 
• Northeastern University, Massachusetts 
• Southampton University, UK 
• Birmingham University, UK
• Ohio State University, Ohio
• University of San Diego, CA 

The OSC PhD degree has qualified students for faculty positions in various departments, including entrepreneurship, strategy, management, and public affairs. They teach courses in organization theory, strategy, business and society, sustainability, business ethics, and international business. Several graduates have taken leadership positions in nonprofit organizations, research centers, and consulting.

Typical Program of Study

Year 1 - Fall

BUSADM 700 Business in Context: Markets, Technologies, Societies
BUSADM 750 Foundations of Organization Theory
BUSADM 770 Introduction to Research Methods for Social Sciences
Elective: Methods or Theory class

Year 1 - Spring

BUSADM 751 Contemporary Organization Theory
BUSADM 754 Organizations and Social Change
BUSADM 771 Practice of Research on Management

Comprehensive Exams (integrated with coursework)

Summer – supervised project in the area of research

Year 2 – Fall

BUSADM 775 Teaching and Professional Development
2 Electives, including at least 1 methods

Year 2 – Spring

BUSADM 891 Dissertation Proposal Course (includes Comprehensive Exam component)
BUSADM 896 Independent Study with Advisor
Elective – methods
Elective - other

Year 3 – Fall

BUSADM 899 Dissertation Research (12 credits)

Other goals:

• Form dissertation committee
• Defend dissertation proposal
• Begin dissertation work

Year 3 – Spring

CAS 600 Program Fee
Continue work on dissertation

Summer – Enter the job market

Year 4

CAS 600 Program Fee
Complete and defend dissertation