Welcome from the Coordinator
This is an exciting time to get a PhD in Supply Chain Management (SCM). The field is growing and there are excellent opportunities for employment at universities throughout the United States and the world. Here in the
C. T. Bauer College of Business we have seen tremendous growth in our SCM area. As a result, we recently added four new faculty with PhD degrees from schools such as the University of Texas, Texas A&M, and the University of Minnesota to bring our full-time faculty in the SCM area to 14. And we are looking to add more faculty over the next few years. These additions provide us with an opportunity to expand and improve our prestigious PhD program to ensure that we are a world-class leader both today and in the future. As a result, we have openings for excellent students that are interested in academic careers in SCM.
Supply Chain Management involves the integrated management of goods and services, and related financial and information flows, from source to customer for the purpose of creating wealth. This usually involves the coordination of multiple business units and/or separate corporate entities. Effective management of these linkages spans the corporate hierarchy from strategic goals to operational metrics, and involves the creation of a chain of separate entities that operate with a singular purpose. Since final customer prices as well as product and service attributes are largely based on costs and capabilities transferred through the supply chain, effective management of the supply chain is of primary importance to all firms in the chain. In the SCM area at the University of Houston we are actively involved in developing new methods, approaches, and ideas for improving the design and management of these supply chains.
Our faculty in the SCM area publish cutting edge research on a variety of SCM topics and are leaders in the supply chain discipline. Faculty research covers a broad range of analytical, empirical, and managerial issues including the management of supply chain projects under uncertainty, the physical design of supply chains, forecasting supply chain needs, ethical issues of global sourcing, the impact of technology on supply chain performance, performance drivers for effective supply chains, the linkage between cognitive abilities and managerial performance in the management of supply chains, and strategic linkages of supply chain design and operational performance. Our faculty have received international recognition for scholarly excellence, including being designated as prestigious Fellows of the Decision Sciences Institute and the International Institute of Forecasters, and receiving distinguished Fulbright grants. In addition our faculty have been elected as presidents of the Decision Sciences Institute, the Global Manufacturing Research Group, and the International Institute of Forecasters; have served as national conference program chairs for the Decision Sciences Institute and the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals; and have held senior editorial positions for Management Science, Production and Operations Management, Interfaces, the Journal of Forecasting, the Production and Inventory Management Journal, the Decision Sciences Journal, the International Journal of Forecasting, the Journal of Business Logistics, the Journal of Operations Management, the International Journal of Production Economics, and other high-quality SCM research journals.
Of course, the needs of a world-class supply chain doctoral program extend beyond the SCM area. So, we have partnered with internationally renowned scholars from other departments and colleges within the University of Houston to enrich our offerings of research tools for students in our program. Examples include Dr. David Francis (Psychology, Experimental Design), Dr. James Hess (Marketing, Multivariate Methods), Dr. Wynne Chin (Management Information Systems, Structural Equation Modeling), and Dr. Suresh Khator (Industrial Engineering, Simulation). As a result, our students have access to a wealth of knowledge and are able to personally customize their doctoral programs to best support their future research needs.
Our location in Houston provides our students with unique opportunities for interacting with industry leaders, engaging in real-world research projects, and enjoying world-class cultural and sports events. Houston is the fourth largest city in the United States, ranks second only to New York City in the number of Fortune 500 corporate headquarters, is the energy capital of the world, has the largest medical center in the world, is home to the Johnson Space Center, and serves as the number one port of entry for goods into the United States. Houston sports franchises include the Texans, Astros, Rockets, Dynamo, and Aeros; all of which play in state-of-the-art facilities. Houston is one of only a few U.S. cities to have resident professional companies in all major performing arts disciplines: opera (Houston Grand Opera), ballet (Houston Ballet), music (Houston Symphony Orchestra), and theater (The Alley Theatre). The Houston Museum District includes the Museum of Fine Arts, the Houston Museum of Natural Science, the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston, the Station Museum of Contemporary Art, the Holocaust Museum Houston, and the Houston Zoo. Add an array of beautiful parks, golf courses, and almost every form of recreation, shopping, and entertainment available anywhere in the world; and you will start to understand what Houston has to offer. Of course, as a busy PhD student you will have to manage your free time very carefully. But its nice to know that your options for filling that time will be virtually unlimited in Houston.
We have recently made a number of improvements in the support we provide to better prepare our doctoral students for the realities of the academic marketplace. Students now have ample opportunity to serve as research assistants and publish joint research with faculty members early in their program so they are well positioned when they launch their academic careers. In addition, our newly enhanced doctoral student support package is now one of the best in the world. PhD students receive a generous year-round stipend, tuition reimbursement fellowships, additional instructional compensation, health benefits, computer resources, office space in the college’s primary facility (Melcher Hall), and access to a myriad of university resources. University Presidential Fellowships, travel support to attend national conferences, and dissertation completion grants are also available.
We are very proud of our PhD program here at the University of Houston. We believe that we offer a unique opportunity for excellent students interested in academic careers in supply chain management and we are currently recruiting new students for our program. If you would like be part of our team, consider applying to our program. Our electronic admissions process is explained at the following page: http://www.bauer.uh.edu/doctoral/admissions/
Our application deadline is February 1. Admission decisions and fellowship offers are usually made before April 1. And our new student orientation is held in August.
If you have any questions about our program, feel free to contact me.
Dr. Robert L. Bregman
PhD Coordinator, Supply Chain Management
C. T. Bauer College of Business
University of Houston
RBregman@uh.edu
713-743-4722
