Operations management research involves the systematic and scientific study and potential improvement of how business, government and non-profit organizations manufacture products and provide services that contribute to the well-being of society. The field encompasses a varied set of contexts, such as manufacturing, supply chains, energy, healthcare, and technology management and related processes, including strategic design, tactical planning and operational execution. The major concentration in operations management of the Ph.D. in Business at Rice University prepares students to investigate fundamental questions about these contexts and processes. The distinguishing features of this concentration are its rigorous theoretical and methodological training, and the interplay between the development of innovative theory and methodology and their application to a broad set of relevant contexts.
The main goal of the operations management major concentration of the Ph.D. at Rice Business is to train students to do excellent research and to become operations management scholars in top research-focused academic institutions. We do not aim to train practitioners or send our graduates into industry. Accordingly, the operations management major concentration will enhance the reputation of Rice Business and Rice University by placing graduates in top research-oriented universities, in particular business schools at such institutions.
