WPI Business School Creates Executive PhD Program

“The Business School continually aspires to meet the needs of today’s highly dynamic world, in which social justice and diversity continue to emerge as critical factors in a company’s vision,” said Debora Jackson, Dean of The Business School. “The Executive PhD program will ensure leadership professionals have the critical skills necessary to make meaningful contributions in the ever-changing global business landscape.”

The program helps experienced executives advance their own careers, become thought leaders, and make scholarly contributions through which they can have a greater impact on their fields. The executives’ research can also benefit junior colleagues by giving them another tool to increase their occupational knowledge and help grow their careers. The first classes for the new PhD will be held in fall 2022 and students will be able to choose from one of three concentrations: Entrepreneurship, Information Technology, or Operations Management.

The program is geared toward senior leaders in an organization, such as those in the C-suite or adjacent to it, who have at least 15 years of experience; it is designed in a way that allows students to remain in their current professional roles while working toward their PhD.

“The Executive PhD program can help executives be a force of positivity and support social justice goals. Executives interested in this program are not participating because they want another degree, they’re participating because they want to make the world better in some way, and this program can provide a mechanism for giving back,” said WPI Business School Professor and Department Head Diane Strong.

Executive PhD students go on their academic journeys as a unit, moving through the program together. Once the students reach the stage where they conduct their own research, they will be guided by a faculty advisor while also continuing to collaborate on projects, formally and informally, with their cohort. The relationships developed among the members of the cohort are intended to carry over into their professional network, where their influence and impact will continue to grow.

Jackson said that obtaining her own doctorate has had an immeasurable effect on her life, and she hopes the Executive PhD can have the same effect for business leaders. “Being in an executive leadership position and having an impact on others is humbling and amazing," she said, "and it comes with a responsibility to make a difference. We want this program to prepare these students to truly fulfill that responsibility.”