Ph.D. Studies in Information Systems & Management

As technology enables most 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.

Beibei Li is an expert on social media, mobile marketing, and understanding individuals’ online and offline decision making. 

Pedro Ferreira works on how people use technology in media and education, and is an expert on running randomized experiments.

Ramayya Krishnan applies 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 like IDEA, LARC, and iLab which collect large quantities of data to examine these issues.

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 developing new 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.

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. This leading 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 work illustrates 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.

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.

• A three-semester Ph.D. Seminar Series focusing on the research process
• Two semesters of Advanced Electives offering depth in specialized fields
• Quantitative Methods Cluster of courses in statistics, econometrics, and machine learning
• Two semesters of coursework in Social and Policy Sciences
• Concentration Area Requirement, combining research and courses to support your research agenda and long-term professional objectives

• Two semester-long Technology Classes

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.