Organizational Behavior

The Organizational Behavior PhD program is offered jointly with the Harvard Kenneth C. Griffin Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and the Harvard Business School. This PhD program prepares scholars for research and teaching careers at business schools, discipline departments, and governmental agencies.

Applicants 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.

The majority of graduates have gone on to secure faculty positions at such prestigious institutions as Boston College, Boston University, Harvard Business School, University of California - Los Angeles, University of Toronto, and the University of Pennsylvania.

Students in organizational behavior are enrolled in and receive their degree from the Harvard Kenneth C. Griffin Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (Harvard Griffin GSAS) and work with faculty from both the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS) 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 administration (including Accounting and Management, Marketing, Strategy, Technology and Operations Management), Business Economics, and Health Policy (Management Track).

For more detailed information about the program, including information about financial support and student profiles, please visit the Harvard Business School Doctoral Programs website.

Admissions Requirements

Please review the admissions requirements and other information before applying. You can find degree program specific admissions requirements below and access additional guidance on applying from the Harvard Business School Doctoral Programs website.

Personal Statement

Required

Standardized Tests

GRE General or GMAT: Required
iBT TOEFL preferred minimum score: 100
IELTS preferred minimum score: 7.5

Writing Sample

Writing sample is optional but highly recommended. It should largely be your own work and you should be prepared to discuss the content and your contributions. It should be no more than 10 pages of text, plus references.

Fall Grades

Fall term grades should be sent when available if attending school while applying to the program (prospective students may add this information to the Fall Grade Report, available in the Applicant Portal, after they have submitted their application).

JD/PhD

For the coordinated JD/PhD, applicants must apply separately to each program and indicate in the application to the PhD Program in Organizational Behavior that a concurrent application has been submitted to Harvard Law School.