"I consider myself fortunate to be among a group of people who benefited from high a quality graduate education that has provided me the skills and abilities to solve the myriad of interesting and important puzzles about human and organizational behavior that exist.

While it has been many years since I was a student at Virginia Tech, my life as an academic continues to be singularly influenced by the training I received as a graduate student. Three aspects of that education have been particularly influential in the research, teaching and consulting that has followed. First, I learned that, more important than answering a question was asking the right question – I acquired the enviable gift of good taste. Second, I learned the technical skills necessary to answer interesting questions well, yet learn constantly how to develop better and more sophisticated methodological and analytical skills. Third, I learned that the work I do can have an impact beyond my narrow field if I pose the problem in a sufficiently abstract fashion."

Akshay R. Rao
General Mills Professor of Marketing
Director of the Institute for Research in Marketing
Carlson School of Management

"As doctoral student at VT, I had the opportunity to embark in what I am passionate about: research and teaching. I have learned that research is about a lot more than problem solving. I have been exposed to critical insights, and I have learned to find issues and directions in order to conceptualize research problems. As a doctoral student at VT, I became confident in the power of rational thought and argumentation. Thanks to these skills, I was able to successfully find a position in academia and continue research and teaching.

Looking back at the educational processes that helped me to develop those skills, my advisor played a very important role. He gave me the support and guidance but also the independence necessary to motivate my own thinking. A PhD is about “learning by thinking”. Research means to never stop thinking and questioning; to never hesitate to throw your mind at anything. My doctoral training at Virginia Tech provided me with a set of techniques I know I will be able to use for the rest of my life."

Paula Peter
Assistant Professor
University of San Diego