The Shidler College of Business

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Information Technology Management

Information Technology Management PhD Program

ITM Requirements for Ph.D. Students

Besides meeting University and College requirements for the Ph.D. in Business Administration, each ITM Ph.D. student must meet the following milestones: (1) successfully complete the first-year peer-reviewed publication requirement (at least one conference paper), (2) pass the second-year comprehensive examinations, and (3) defend their dissertation proposals and final dissertations. In addition, Ph.D. students are expected to instruct undergraduate-level ITM coursework. Finally, ITM Ph.D. students are strongly encouraged to participate actively in the ITM community. Presenting, discussing, and reviewing papers in conferences, including Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS), are ways that students can help serve our community.

All students must take ITM 704 Doctoral Seminar in Information Systems and CIS 703 Communication/Information Research Methods. Students are expected to fully immerse themselves in research, working closely with faculty supervisors.

Recommended Schedule for ITM Ph.D. students:

Download recommended schedule

Fall
Spring

First Year

  • BUS 705; and
  • Two regular courses
    • CIS 703; and
    • PhD level course(s) in statistics

First Year

  • BUS 705; and
  • Two regular courses
    • ITM 704; and
    • PhD level course(s) in statistics

Qualifying exam or equivalent

Second Year

  • BUS 705; and
  • Two regular courses; or
    • PhD level course(s) in statistics, research methods, economics, or econometrics
  • BUS 699

Second Year

  • BUS 705; and
  • Two regular courses; or
    • PhD level course(s) in statistics, research methods, economics, or econometrics
  • BUS 699

Comprehensive Exam or equivalent

Third Year

  • Two regular courses; or
    • PhD level course(s) in statistics, research methods, economics, or econometrics
  • ITM 799

Third Year

  • Two regular courses; or
    • PhD level course(s) in statistics, research methods, economics, or econometrics
  • ITM 799

Dissertation Proposal Defense

Fourth Year

  • BUS 800

Fourth Year

  • BUS 800

Dissertation Defense

Additional Program Notes

  1. BUS 705 is required for 6 credits over the first two years. It can be taken as 2 credits in Fall and 1 credit in Spring, or vice versa.
  2. Required Courses in Specialty Area: Students are required to take ITM 704 and CIS 703.
  3. Other Coursework Requirements: In addition to the required course in their specialization, students are required to take four graduate-level courses in statistics.
  4. Coursework for Full-time Status:
    1. Before completing the comprehensive exam, students who have already taken all required courses can register for BUS 699 (up to 6 credits) to maintain full-time status.
    2. After the comprehensive exam, students can take ITM 799 (up to 6 credits).
  5. After Dissertation Proposal: After successfully defending the dissertation proposal, students must enroll in BUS 800 (1 credit per semester) until the dissertation is completed.
  6. Advising and Class Selection: Students are encouraged to consult their PhD Coordinator and advisor regarding course selection prior to enrollment.
  7. Credit Requirements (more information):
    1. A minimum of 44 credits must be completed in a timely manner to fulfill graduation requirements.
    2. Full-time load: 8 credits per semester (6 credits for students with GA-ship).
    3. International students must maintain full-time status (8 credits) unless they have prior approval from the ISS to take a reduced load.
    4. Half-time load: 4 credits per semester.

Examination

To assess whether students possess the necessary knowledge in their research area to progress successfully in the PhD program, the comprehensive examination consists of two distinct take-home components, administered in the first and second years.

First-Year Examination:

Publishable paper is used in lieu of the first-year exam.

Second-Year Examination:

The second-year exam is divided into two components.

The first component assesses the candidate’s ability to critically analyze an academic manuscript. Each student will be provided with a paper submitted to the Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS) and will have one week to complete a comprehensive review. Detailed guidelines for conducting manuscript reviews will be supplied, and the final submission should be a three-page, single-spaced review. This exercise is designed to evaluate the student's critical thinking skills and understanding of academic rigor.

The second component evaluates the candidate’s ability to conduct a thematic literature review aligned with their future dissertation research. Candidates are afforded the flexibility to select a topic of personal research interest. The task requires the preparation of a 20-page, double-spaced literature review, which will serve as the foundational framework for the dissertation. This review should demonstrate the candidate’s ability to synthesize existing literature, justify the relevance and significance of the chosen topic, and critically examine the current state of research in the field, highlighting both achievements and gaps.