phd in organizational behavior online

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In the field of organizational behavior we research fundamental questions about the behavior of individuals, groups and organizations, from both psychological and sociological perspectives.

A distinguishing feature of Stanford’s PhD Program in organizational behavior is the broad interdisciplinary training it provides. Our students benefit from their interactions with scholars from many disciplines within the Graduate School of Business, as well as from Stanford University’s long-standing strength in the study of psychology, organizations, and economic sociology. The program is broken down into two broad subareas: Macro Organizational Behavior and Micro Organizational Behavior .

Cross-registration in courses, access to faculty, and participation in colloquia are available in other Stanford departments, such as sociology and psychology . Strong relations with these departments mean that students can build their careers on the foundation of strong disciplinary training in psychology and sociology, respectively.

A small number of students are accepted into the program each year, with a total of about 20 organizational behavior students in residence.

The doctoral program places a heavy emphasis on training students through active engagement in the process of doing research. In addition to formal seminars with invited presenters, our faculty and students exchange research ideas and advice at informal weekly lunches and lab meetings. Students work as research assistants and are expected to conduct independent research early in the program.

Macro Organizational Behavior: Organizational Theory and Economic Sociology

The Macro OB track is dedicated to training students who will be leading researchers in the fields of organizational theory and economic sociology. Our faculty members are among the foremost scholars who bring a sociological approach to the study of organizations and markets.

The training provides a deep grounding in the study of:

Organizations as social systems
The dynamics of change in organizations
Industries and markets
The relationships between organizations and their environments

Faculty study a range of topics, such as:

The role of identity and categories in organizational processes
Organizational culture and its dynamics
Change in cultural categories and markets
Social movements and their influence on firms and markets
Firm strategies and the effects of long-run histories of strategic interaction
The impact of workforce demographic change and labor market inequality
Organizational learning processes
Social networks
Entrepreneurship and firm formation processes

Micro Organizational Behavior

The study of how individuals and groups affect and are affected by organizational context. Drawing primarily on psychological approaches to social science questions, this area includes such topics as:

Decision-making
Moral judgment
Social norms
Negotiation and bargaining
Cooperation and altruism
Group processes
Stereotyping and injustice
Personality
Power, status and influence

There is also a formal institutional link between the behavioral side of marketing and the micro side of organizational behavior, which is called the Behavioral Interest Group. The Stanford GSB Behavioral Lab links members of this group. This lab supports work across field boundaries among those with behavioral interests.

Preparation and Qualifications

All students are required to have, or to obtain during their first year, mathematical skills at the level of one course each of calculus and linear algebra, probability, and mathematical statistics.

Macro Organizational Behavior Faculty

William p. barnett, robert a. burgelman, glenn r. carroll, julien clement, amir goldberg, helena miton, hayagreeva rao, sarah a. soule, jesper b. sørensen, micro organizational behavior faculty, justin m. berg, jennifer eberhardt, francis j. flynn, michele j. gelfand, deborah h. gruenfeld, michal kosinski, brian s. lowery, ashley martin, david melnikoff, dale t. miller, benoît monin, charles a. o’reilly, jeffrey pfeffer, emeriti faculty, michael t. hannan, roderick m. kramer, joanne martin, margaret ann neale, jerry i. porras, recent publications in organizational behavior, social norm change: drivers and consequences, bayesianism and wishful thinking are compatible, changes in social norms during the early stages of the covid-19 pandemic across 43 countries, recent insights by stanford business, to discover breakthrough ideas, look to the outsiders, so crazy, it might just work: how foolishness feeds innovation, how to get beyond talk of “culture change” and make it happen.

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PhD in Organizational Behavior

Organizational behavior.

Our Organizational Behavior (OB) PhD Program prepares you to conduct high-impact research on a broad range of topics critical to businesses and managers. Since 2018, our students have secured job placements at many top research schools.

Our faculty have expertise in a wide range of research areas such as leadership (including ethical leadership), emotions, team dynamics, decision-making, motivation, power and influence, negotiations, employee well-being, creativity, voice, and cross-cultural issues. They use cutting-edge methodological approaches including lab experiments, experience sampling, meta-analyses and qualitative interviews.

Through your coursework and research alongside innovative, supportive and passionate faculty, you will learn the necessary skills to become a high-quality researcher and faculty member at a top research university.

While direct research experience is not required, familiarity with academic research in organizational behavior or psychology is a plus to ensure you are prepared for the rigors of conducting research.

We do not narrow our search to students who graduated from a “top” university or have achieved a specific score on a standardized test. We take a holistic approach. We aim to admit students who demonstrate passion for exploring organizational questions and the motivation to put in the work to learn the complex skills and methodological approaches needed to become a high-quality scholar.

We have found the most successful students are self-directed, enjoy problem-solving and are unafraid – if not excited – about digging into some of the most complex challenges facing organizations.

We look for students who are friendly, collaborative and seek a welcoming and intellectually stimulating academic environment.

We welcome potential applicants from all experiences and backgrounds. The UNC Kenan-Flagler OB PhD Program prides itself on a diverse and inclusive student body. Our thriving and collaborative culture (both with faculty and between students) is a focal point to our department. Join us!

Typical course schedule by year

During the first two years of the PhD Program, you will focus on coursework that develops the tools you need to produce high-quality research. Sample classes include:

Introduction to Organizational Behavior
Introduction to Social Psychology
Research Methods
Dependent Variables
Groups and Teams
Interpersonal Processes
Negotiation, Conflict and Diversity

After the second year, you are required to successfully complete comprehensive exams which covers all of the OB and leadership courses you take in the first two years of the PhD Program.

Complete a third-year paper
Full-time research
Dissertation and oral defense are expected prior to the end of your fifth year.
Prepare for the job market

We encourage you to attend bi-weekly brown bag lunches organized by PhD students as well as our field’s annual conference – The Academy of Management.

We believe the best scholars are crafted through impactful mentoring relationships. When you begin the program, you will be assigned to one (or two) faculty members with overlapping research interests. These advising relationships are aimed at being both professionally and personally productive for you. From day one you will begin working on research projects (whether self-directed or ongoing faculty projects) alongside these faculty members as they seek to teach you the skills you need to conduct high-quality work and develop your own research identity.

If you ask a UNC Kenan-Flagler OB student the classic question “Who do you work with?” be prepared for a long answer involving multiple faculty. We encourage our students to work with several faculty members to take advantage of the diverse skill sets, theoretical perspectives and research approaches they offer. These collaborations happen informally as you progress and grow within the program and give you flexibility and breadth of resources as you pursue your research passions.

As part of our larger mission to make academia an inclusive place where people of all identities and life experiences can thrive, we view it as a moral imperative to foster a diverse PhD student body that represents the next generation of scholars.

Ensuring that all feel welcome to pursue a doctoral degree is not only the right thing to do – it also is important for producing better science. Identities and life experiences shape the questions that we ask about the world and the knowledge that we produce.

We believe that our understanding of organizational behavior is incomplete if our scholarly community does not reflect the rich diversity of identities, experiences and perspectives that are found in the broader population. Inviting people of all walks of life to enter into our intellectual community can therefore result in better scholarship because it opens the door for new questions to be asked and new truths to be uncovered.

We strive to be a community where every student feels supported in their scholarly journey. We encourage all interested individuals to apply to the program, especially those who belong to historically underrepresented populations. We look forward to learning from you and welcoming you!

View our current Organizational Behavior PhD students .

Related Research

Ashamed to take a break.

UNC Kenan-Flagler researchers show that employees feeling bad that they took breaks can lead to unethical, costly behavior.

You can be too careful

Researchers show what happens when leaders focus too much on preventing errors.

What’s race got to do with it?

Research shows that Black women negotiators receive more favorable offers and outcomes compared with white women and Black men.

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Organizational Behavior

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You will choose between two tracks with research focused on either micro-organizational behavior, with a psychological approach to how interpersonal relationships within organizations and groups impact individuals, or on macro-organizational behavior that uses sociological methods to examine organizations, groups, and markets.

Examples of projects students have worked on include exploring issues related to diversity and inclusion in both professional and academic settings, researching the psychology of persuasion and political depolarization, and examining the ways in which workplace dynamics are shaped by gender and power.

Graduates have accepted positions at such prestigious institutions as University of Southern California, Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, and MIT. Others have gone on to careers in organizations such as the Federal Reserve Bank, National Committee for Quality Assurance, and The Bridgespan Group.

Students in organizational behavior are enrolled in and receive their degree from the Harvard Kenneth C. Griffin Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (GSAS) and work with faculty from both the Faculty of Arts and Sciences and Harvard Business School (HBS). Harvard Griffin GSAS has offered PhD programs in collaboration with HBS since 1916. In addition to organizational behavior, Harvard Griffin GSAS and HBS collaborate on the programs in Business Economics , Business Administration , and Health Policy (Management Track) .

Areas of Study

Micro-organizational track | Sociology track | Unspecified

Students in organizational behavior specialize in micro-organizational behavior or sociology, receiving core disciplinary training in either psychology or sociology and gain knowledge of existing research and theory about organizations through advanced coursework in organizational behavior. The sociology track deals with the macro aspects of organizational behavior, focusing primarily on organizational processes and structures and on organizations in relation to their environments. Students also become familiar with some of the more micro issues emphasized within the micro-organizational behavior track, which is for students who wish to concentrate on the psychological aspects of organizational behavior. The primary focus is on the psychology of individuals as they engage in decision-making, interpersonal relations, and small group activities. Students also become familiar with some of the more macro issues emphasized within the sociology track.

Additional information on the graduate program is available from the Department of Organizational Behavior , and requirements for the degree are detailed in Policies .

Admissions Requirements

Please review admissions requirements and other information before applying. You can find degree program specific admissions requirements below and access additional guidance on applying from the Department of Organizational Behavior .