The program includes two streams: Operations Management (OM) and Statistics. The PhD (OM) program is intended to be taken as the follow-up part of the MPhil (OM) program.
Introductory Quantitative Requirement
Unless students have clearly demonstrated sufficient knowledge in the area, students entering the PhD program are required to take the following two mathematics-oriented courses in the first regular term of study. The credits earned from these two courses cannot be counted toward the degree requirements.
- ECON 5100 Mathematics for Business and Economics
- ISOM 5540 Introduction to Probability
Introductory Management Requirement (for 2023-24 intake and after)
Unless students have clearly demonstrated sufficient knowledge in management, students are required to take 4 credits of general-management courses chosen from the list below. These credits cannot be counted toward the degree requirements.
| COURSE CODE |
COURSE TITLE |
Credit(s) |
| ACCT 5150 |
Accounting Foundations |
2 |
| ECON 5250 |
Macroeconomic Theory I |
4 |
| FINA 5120 |
Corporate Finance |
2 |
| or FINA 5210 |
Investment Analysis |
2 |
| ISOM 5270 |
Big Data Analytics |
2 |
| MARK 5120 |
Marketing Strategy and Policy |
2 |
| or MIMT 5010 |
Market Research for Business Applications |
2 |
| or MIMT 5310 |
Understanding Consumers: A Strategic Approach |
2 |
| MIMT 5120 |
Strategic Management in Asia |
2 |
RPg Professional Development Requirement
Students are required to complete and pass PDEV 6770 Professional Development in Academia for Business in their first 1.5 years of study. Subject to prior approval of the Department Head and PG Coordinator, part-time students may be given extension to complete this course, and HKUST MPhil(OM) graduates who have taken and passed this course before may be exempted from this requirement. The 1 credit earned from this course cannot be counted toward the credit requirements.
Course Requirement
Students are required to take at least 32 credits. Students may need to take additional courses related to their research topics, as requested by their thesis supervisors.
Students who have taken the HKUST MPhil(OM) program will be granted credits transfer to the PhD program. Students who have taken an MPhil or equivalent in other universities may be granted credits transfer on a case-by-case basis. In such a case, the maximum number of credits transferable is 28.
Required Courses (15 credits for OM; 7 for Statistics)
| COURSE CODE |
COURSE TITLE |
| ISOM 5550 |
Statistical Methods for Business and Economics I |
| LANG 5002 |
Postgraduate English for Business and Social Science Studies |
| And any one of the following |
| ECON 5130 |
Microeconomic Analysis |
| ECON 5210 |
Microeconomic Theory I |
| ECON 5300 |
Econometrics |
| ISOM 5610 |
Introduction to Business Analytics |
| MGMT 7100 |
Behavioral Science |
| Additional required courses for OM stream |
| IEDA 5230 |
Deterministic Models in Operations Research |
| IEDA 5250 |
Stochastic Models in Operations Research |
| ISOM 5700 |
Operations Management |
Elective Courses (at least 14 credits for OM; at least 21 credits for Statistics)
| COURSE CODE |
COURSE TITLE |
| ECON 5130 |
Microeconomic Analysis |
| ECON 5140 |
Macroeconomic Analysis |
| ECON 5210 |
Microeconomic Theory I |
| ECON 5300 |
Econometrics |
| ISOM 5535 |
High Dimensional Statistics with Business Applications |
| ISOM 5610 |
Introduction to Business Analytics |
| ISOM 7500 |
OM Doctoral Seminar * |
| MARK 5410 |
Seminar in Quantitative Modeling |
| MARK 5520 |
Experimental Design and Analysis for Behavioral Research |
| MGMT 7100 |
Behavioral Science |
* Course can be repeated for up to 8 credits.
Cross-discipline Research Courses (at least 3 credits)
| COURSE CODE |
COURSE TITLE |
| Any one of the following |
| ECON 5140 |
Macroeconomic Analysis |
| MARK 5410 |
Seminar in Quantitative Modeling |
| MARK 5520 |
Experimental Design and Analysis for Behavioral Research |
PhD Qualifying Examination
All PhD Students must pass a qualifying examination.
Students admitted via the HKUST MPhil Program in Operations Management will take the qualifying examination in the Summer of the first year of MPhil study. Students who fail the qualifying examination can retake the examination once and must pass the examination no later than December of the second year of MPhil study.
Students admitted directly to the PhD program will take the qualifying examination in the Summer of the first year PhD study. Students who fail the qualifying examination in the first attempt can retake the examination once and must pass the examination no later than December of the second year of PhD study.
Research Paper Requirement
Students are required to submit a research paper by the Fall Term of the third year of study. Students admitted with an HKUST MPhil (OM) degree or equivalent will be exempted form this requirement.
Thesis Requirement
Students are required to register in ISOM 7990 Doctoral Thesis Research, and present and orally defend the PhD thesis.
