Description of Program
Visionary leaders can help change an organization and bring about new innovations. In the PhD program in Technology Management, student scholar-practitioners will learn how to become such leaders and be champions for new technologies and positive change in public and private organizations.
The Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) program is a research-based program designed to prepare leaders for positions in the private and public sectors by enhancing knowledge and competencies appropriate to a leadership role in technology management and administration. Upon completion of the PhD program, students are expected to have a broad knowledge in fields of business and technology management and an understanding of at least one specialized area of study. A Ph.D. requires original ideas about a specialized topic, as well as a high degree of methodological/scientific rigor (Nelson, & Coorough, 1994). As is traditional in higher education, a Ph.D. is only awarded for a piece of work that will actually make a difference to the theoretical context of the field the Ph.D. dissertation is a new contribution to the body of knowledge.
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Learning Outcomes
The program learning outcomes for the Doctor of Philosophy in Technology Management degree:
- Develop knowledge in technology and innovation based on a synthesis of current theories
- Communicate with diverse audiences about theories, applications, and perspectives related to technology and innovation
- Evaluate theories of ethics and risk management in computers and emerging technologies
- Formulate strategies for managing technology and innovation in global organizations
- Contribute to the body of theory and practice in technology management
Basis for Admissions
Admission to the Doctor of Philosophy in Technology Management program requires a master’s degree from a regionally or nationally accredited academic institution.
Degree Requirements
The University may accept a maximum of 12 semester credit hours in transfer toward the doctoral degree for graduate coursework completed at an accredited college or university with a grade of “B” or better.
The PhD-TM degree programs have the following graduation requirements:
- A minimum of 48 credit hours of graduate instructions must be completed through NCU
- GPA of 3.0 (letter grade of “B”) or higher
- Satisfactory completion of the PhD-TM Pre-Candidacy Prospectus
- University approval of Dissertation Manuscript and Oral Defense completed
- Submission of approved final dissertation manuscript to the University Registrar, including the original unbound manuscript and an electronic copy
- Official transcripts on file for all transfer credit hours accepted by the University
- All financial obligations must be met before the student will be issued their complimentary diploma and/or degree posted transcript
Fundamental Competencies
All PhD-TM students are required to demonstrate competency in these areas:
- Graduate-Level Research Methods Competency– PhD-TM students are required to complete TIM-7211 , AND (TIM-7221 , TIM-7225 ), OR (TIM-7231 , TIM-7235 ), OR (TIM-7241 , TIM-7245 ) at NCU
- Graduate-Level Statistics Competency – PhD-TM students are required to complete at NCU.
- Computer Competency - Doctoral students are required to have computer skills necessary for completing a dissertation. Students must be able to prepare documents using advanced word processing skills (e.g., creation of tables and figures, headers and footers, page breaks, tables of contents, hanging indents). Students must use computer programs for the statistical analysis of data (e.g., SAS). Students must produce a computer-based presentation (e.g., PowerPoint) for their dissertation oral examination.
Dissertation Completion Pathway
The NCU mission is dedicated to assisting students in achieving their academic aspirations and helping them become valuable contributors to their community and profession. To support our mission, NCU now offers a dissertation completion pathway for students who have successfully completed their doctoral coursework and achieved doctoral candidacy at a previous institution but were unable to complete their dissertation. NCU’s Dissertation Completion Pathway (DCP) offers a unique opportunity for students to complete their doctorate in one of the doctoral programs offered at NCU (excluding the PhD in MFT, DMFT, DNP, and DHA). Students successfully meeting the entrance and application requirements will complete a minimum of 23 credit hours to earn their doctorate.
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Time to Completion
NCU allows 7 years to complete all doctoral programs of 60 credits or less.
The median time to completion for this program is 49 months.
Time to completion varies depending upon the pace in which a student completes courses and the number of transfer credits accepted. As most NCU students are working adults, balancing educational, professional, and personal commitments, our academic and finance advisors will work with you to develop a program schedule that works best for your needs.
Students following the preferred schedule designed by the Dean for this program, and applying no transfer credits, can expect to finish in as little as 39 months.
Dissertation Process
Faculty assists each NCU Doctoral student to reach this high goal through a systematic process leading to a high-quality completed dissertation. A PhD dissertation is a scholarly documentation of research that makes an original contribution to the field of study. This process requires care in choosing a topic, documenting its importance, planning the methodology, and conducting the research. These activities lead smoothly into the writing and oral presentation of the dissertation.
A doctoral candidate must be continuously enrolled throughout the series of dissertation courses. Dissertation courses are automatically scheduled and accepted without a break in scheduling to ensure that students remain in continuous enrollment throughout the dissertation course sequence. If additional time is required to complete any of the dissertation courses, students must re-enroll and pay the tuition for that course. Continuous enrollment will only be permitted when students demonstrate progress toward completing dissertation requirements. The Dissertation Committee determines progress.
Course Sequence
The PhD program may be completed in a minimum of 60 credits. Additional credit hours may be allowed as needed to complete the dissertation research. If granted, additional courses will be added to the student degree program in alignment with the SAP and Academic Maximum Time to Completion policies. Students who do not complete their program in accordance with these policies may be dismissed.
The PhD in Technology Management requires six (seven if needed) core courses, six specializations, three research, pre-candidacy prospectus, and four dissertation courses for a total of 60-63 credit hours. All incoming PhD-TM students will complete a required writing assessment during their first course, TIM-7001 . Students who perform well on this assessment will be exempt from TIM-7200 .
*Those whose writing skills need additional practice, as determined by three or more items scored as “needs improvement,” will be required to take TIM-7200 .
**Students select one pair of research methods and directed research courses based on their own research proposal.
The PhD in Technology Management requires the following courses for every specialization: