The doctoral program in Information Systems & Management at Carnegie Mellon University's Heinz College prepares students with a deep understanding of the technical and organizational aspects of information systems.
At Heinz, we live and work at the critical nexus of information technology and public policy. Our Ph.D. in Information Systems& Management was created to train scholars to conduct innovative research that cuts across disciplines in order to address significant challenges in IT theory, strategy, management, and design as it relates to business and policy settings.
Heinz College Ph.D. students enjoy close partnerships with faculty as they explore the complex and exciting interconnectedness of information systems, public policy, and management. Upon graduating, our Ph.D.s receive desirable placements at academic institutions, government agencies, and consulting firms.
KEY RESEARCH AREAS
Doctoral students take on a broad range of topics and problems, but some key areas of strength at Heinz College include:
- Economics of Digitization
As technologyenablesmost content to be digitized, it is also upending business models, competition, and policy needs. From electronic health records, to streaming music and videos, to online social networks, digitization is rapidly affecting every part of the user experience, generating new jobs,and displacing old ones. Our faculty is working on a variety of projects under this broad umbrella. Some major projects are examining the role of social networks, online piracy, digital distribution, impact of mobile, the role of online education, and so on. Faculty and students use variety of methods like field experiments, analytical and structural models to study these questions.
Michael D. Smith and Rahul Telang are world recognized experts on the media industry and copyright policies who also head the IDEA research center.
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Pedro Ferreira works on how people use technology in media and education, and is an expert on running randomized experiments.
Ramayya Krishnanapplies operations research tools to a variety of problems in this domain.
Our world-renowned faculty extensively works with both private firms and policy makers.
We have multiple research centers likeIDEA,LARC,andiLabwhich collect large quantities of data to examine these issues.
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Growth of big data has offered opportunities for development and application of novel statistical and computational methods for solving societal problems such as crime, policing, fraud detection, health care and more. To be able to use this data requires cutting edge work on developingnew methods and machine learning algorithms. Heinz College has some of the top faculty who work at the intersection of machine learning and public policy.
Some key faculty members working in this space are Leman Akoglu, George Chen, Jeremy Weiss, and David Choi. Each of them is working on problems that intersect the need to use Machine Learning method to solve critical societal problems.
We also offer a joint degree in Machine Learning and Public Policy.
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Data security and privacy has increasingly become a complex issue that goes beyond mere technology. Faculty at Heinz College are working on understanding users’ security and privacy decisions using economics, behavioral economics, and data analytics frameworks. Thisleading edge research is at the forefront of designing better tools and better regulations.
Alessandro Acquisti is an expert on economics of privacy and has done path-breaking work in this space.
Rahul Telang’s workillustrates that firms may not do enough to protect user data, and highlights how we should design our policies.
Leman Akoglu uses large-scale data to understand our security and privacy vulnerabilities.
This group also works closely with faculty from CyLab, an interdisciplinary research center. This work is highly influential, widely cited, and extensively funded.
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This group's research is motivated by information technology's important role in improving health care for patients, hospitals, and doctors. Technology is extensively used in detecting outbreaks, in providing superior quality of care at lower costs, and in prevention of medical errors.
Rema Padman studies IT adoption in hospitals and physical practices.
Rahul Telang studies the role of electronic health records.
Martin Gaynor is a world-renowned expert on health policy and examines how technology can help improve policy outcomes.
Amelia Haviland examines the role of insurance policies and how they affect patient welfare.
As in other domains, our work on health care and IT is highly influential and has led to significant publications and extensive funding.
Ph.D. Curriculum
The pre-dissertation stage of the Ph.D. in Information Systems& Management is structured around two sets of requirements: coursework and preliminary papers.
Coursework is designed to build methodological skills, modeling competence, and substantive depth.
Preliminary papers illustrate your ability to produce effective research that exhibits your readiness to begin the dissertation.
- Core Curriculum
- A three-semesterPh.D. Seminar Seriesfocusing on the research process
- Two semesters ofAdvanced Electives offering depth in specialized fields
- Quantitative Methods Clusterof courses in statistics, econometrics,and machine learning
- Two semesters of coursework inSocial and Policy Sciences
- Concentration Area Requirement, combining research and courses to support your research agenda and long-term professional objectives
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- Two semester-longTechnology Classes
- Research Requirements
Admission to candidacy means that all requirements of the Ph.D. program preliminary to the dissertation have been fulfilled. In addition to satisfying all coursework requirements, you must also meet the following research requirements:
- First- and second-year Research Papers meeting current Ph.D. requirements
- Dissertation focused on Information Systems topic as per judgment of Ph.D. committee
While fulfilling these requirements, you'll work closely with the faculty to develop individualized programs of study and research that meet your goals.
