Doctorate in Technology Management, Ph.D.

Course Curriculum for Ph.D. in Technology Management

A PSU is multi-year project and many steps that follow the general degree requirements by PSU's Graduate School . Coursework is the beginning and ensures that students have the necessary qualifications to do independent research. The Ph.D. in Technology Management requires the successful completion of the equivalent of at least 60 credits of coursework beyond the Bachelors degree. These credits fall into three categories: 

CORE (at least 20 credits)

Select five courses from the list below and a minimum of one per group.

Group 1

• ETM 520: Management of Engineering
• ETM 549: Management of Technological Innovation

Group 2

• ETM 545: Project Management
• ETM 555: Technology Marketing

Group 3

• ETM 526: Strategic Management of Technology
• ETM 527: Competitive Strategies in Technology Management

Group 4

• ETM 531: Technology Assessment and Acquisition
• ETM 533: Technology Transfer

Specialization (at least 20 credits)

Specialization courses cover theory and practices of the proposed research area. They are focused on specific managerial problems, industries, application domain, organization types, or other aspects of technology management.

Methodology (at least 20 credits)

Methodology courses cover with fundamentals and practice of the research process and give students the ability to select and apply the research methods that are appropriate for their research areas.

Qualifying courses

Refer to the Bulletin for a listing of qualifying ETM courses and courses from other programs. Additional courses, not listed in the bulletin, and credits earned in other graduate programs can be applied with advisor approval.

Steps after the Completion of Coursework

1. Earn 12 credits of independent study credits. Projects are supervised by the ETM faculty and must be deemed at the level of acceptable papers for a national or international conference on Engineering and Technology Management;
2. Successful completion of a comprehensive examination to demonstrate mastery of the Engineering and Technology Management field, including the defense of the research paper described above;
3. Selection of the dissertation advisor from the ETM faculty and formation of the Ph.D. committee including one member appointed by the Dean of Graduate Studies;
4. Development of the dissertation proposal and its approval by the Ph.D. committee resulting in the advancement to Ph.D. candidacy
5. Preparation of at least one publishable paper for a research journal or recognized refereed technical conference proceedings based upon the dissertation research;
6. Defense of the dissertation
7. Publication of the accepted thesis. 

Refer to the Bulletin and the Graduate School for further details about this process or contact an advisor.