What is the selection process for an advisor? How much flexibility does a student have in choosing topics?
We encourage students to seek out faculty and ask about areas of expertise and interest and to use the entire department as a resource as they pursue their PhD. Students invite faculty to be their advisor of the research practicum, chair of their advisory committee, or chair of their dissertation committee. The management faculty tends to honor those requests when possible. The student’s topic is not tied to the advisor’s area of research, but the more aligned the interests the better the synergy in the collaboration. RA assignments are made by the doctoral coordinator with consultation by the department chair. When making assignments an attempt is always made to match the interests of the doctoral student with the interest of the faculty member, however this is not always possible.
