Major Areas of Specialization

For administrative purposes, the University of Washington Business School Ph.D. Program is associated with five academic departments. Each Ph.D. student is associated with the department that offers his or her major area of specialization. Because there is limited number of teaching assistantships available, admission decisions tend to be department oriented.

Each academic department and the Ph.D. Program Office jointly administer Ph.D. students in Business Administration guided by the UW Graduate School Instructions, Policies and Procedures for Graduate Students and the UW Foster School of Business Ph.D. Program Policies and Procedures.

The Ph.D. Program in Business Administration offers these major areas of specialization:

Autonomy, Passion and Creativity
When workers have autonomy in their job, passion grows—and passion fuels creativity. Read new research by co-author Xiao-Ping Chen, management professor, and Foster PhD student Dong Liu.

Movie Reviews on Social Networks
Do you follow your friends or the crowd when it comes to movie reviews? New research by a Foster PhD student Young Jin Lee and information systems Professor Yong Tan studies online herding.

Christina Fong, assistant professor of management

Emotional Leaders
Is positivity or sincerity more effective? Learn about new research by Foster PhD student Marion Eberly and assistant professor of management Christina Fong. Mid-career professionals: Take a survey as part of this ongoing study on the effectiveness of emotions in leadership.