IROM Ph.D. Program
Overview
The Doctoral Program in Information, Risk, & Operations Management (IROM) at the University of Texas is designed to prepare students for a professional career in research and teaching in leading schools of business administration and for high-level positions in business and government. With over fifty faculty members, IROM has one of the largest and most diverse faculties in the country and ranks third nationwide, according to the latest U.S. News and World Report survey.
The Department offers three doctoral program concentrations: Information Systems (IS), Risk Analysis and Decision Making (RADM), and Supply Chain and Operations Management (SCOM). Each of the concentrations has specific course requirements. Within that framework, each student's course of study is designed to accommodate his or her individual background, experiences and objectives. Although each concentration has a unique structure, students are encouraged to interact with faculty and students from both areas on a regular basis. Student development is assessed in terms of competence in theory, practice and research skills essential to the advancement of knowledge in his or her chosen area. The Departmental course offerings for graduate students are structured as small seminar courses, usually five to ten students, providing in-depth study and close faculty contact.
Each doctoral student is assigned a Faculty Adviser upon entering the Program. The Adviser helps the student plan out his or her course of study. In addition, the Adviser provides specific advice about faculty, courses and research. Often the Faculty Adviser becomes the student's dissertation supervisor once he or she has advanced to candidacy.
Areas of Specialization
The primary areas of specialization offered in this IROM doctoral program are IS, RADM and SCOM, but students may take courses and select doctoral committee members from a broad interdisciplinary spectrum as well. Recent IROM graduates have developed programs of study that tie into such non-business disciplines as computer science, mathematics, psychology, communications, and engineering. Major topics in the IS area include virtual work arrangements, electronic commerce, the business value of information technology, and strategic information systems. Major topics in the RADM area include decision analysis, quantitative finance, and risk management. Research areas in decision analysis include both normative and descriptive work on decision making under risk and with conflicting objectives. Quantitative finance includes research related to financial engineering, real options, and numerical methods for solving financial models. Risk management is concerned with insurance and other approaches to managing financial, international, and corporate risks.
Faculty
The IROM Department has and outstanding group of faculty. Many of its members have achieved international recognition for their contributions in both theoretical and applied research. Honors bestowed on the faculty include the John von Neumann Theory Prize, jointly awarded by the Operations Research Society of America (ORSA) and The Institute of Management Science (TIMS); the DPMA Foundation is Educator Award; the Halmstead Prize in Actuarial Science; the Marvin Bower Fellowship at Harvard University; and honorary doctorates awarded by Carnegie Mellon University and Ohio State University. One IROM faculty member is past president of TIMS, and a number of faculty members have held and continue to hold significant editorial positions with leading journals in the fields or operations research, management science, information systems and statistics. Faculty members have also served in significant advisory positions for federal research agencies, including the National Science Foundation, the National Research Council, and the Department of Energy.
Student Placement
Recent IROM graduates have taken positions as assistant professors with The University of Washington, The University of Nevada, The University of Indiana, The University of Maryland, The Southern Methodist University, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, and the Bank of America.
Contact Information
Phone : (512) 471-3322
Fax : (512) 471-0587
E-mail : iromphd@mccombs.utexas.edu
Application Deadline
January 5
