Students admitted to this transdisciplinary track will devote an additional year to research and seminar-format study to expand their research portfolio. The Designing Sustainable Systems track allows for focused, rigorous and independent study that meets the requirements of the PhD in Management degree at a major research university. This track represents a new model of doctoral education in management. It takes a broader, evidence-based approach to management issues. Research incorporates perspectives from new thinking about design, sustainability and complex systems as they relate to management in a global environment.

Although transdisciplinary research is the main focus of the Designing Sustainable Systems track in the PhD in management program, candidates are also expected to be grounded in a disciplinary field as demonstrated by successfully passing a comprehensive examination. Students are responsible for reading seminal works throughout their course of study in the DM program and the Designing Sustainable Systems track leading to a grounding in their chosen discipline such as marketing, accounting, economics, entrepreneurship, finance, information systems, organizational behavior or strategy.

Weatherhead is once again at the forefront of innovation in doctoral education in management by offering the first residency-based PhD in Management: Designing Sustainable Systems program, intended to create an arena for promoting evidence-based management and preparing experienced executives for careers in research universities.