The PhD Program in Management at Mississippi State University is unique in the sense that we blend a solid foundation in the core disciplines of strategic management, organization behavior, and human resource management with specialized training in the emerging fields of family business management and entrepreneurship. Indeed, Mississippi State University is a world leader in the study of family business and that theme provides a linkage for the research conducted by our faculty and doctoral students. It allows us to compete with much larger universities yet maintain the close interactions between students and faculty that are characteristic of a relatively small program (i.e., 5-10 students). Because our program is small there are substantial opportunities for students to work directly with faculty, and other doctoral students, on research projects. In fact, PhD students graduating from our program will have typically presented a number of joint-authored research papers at professional meetings and have at least one solid journal publication prior to writing their dissertations. This provides them with an advantage in the job market and indeed our students have been able to find positions at good universities that pay very competitive salaries. The PhD Program in Management provides students the sort of collegial environment needed to develop strong research and teaching skills. The program is small and tightly knit, run by faculty recognized as world leaders in family business. That focus, combined with training in the general management disciplines provides students with a unique opportunity to build the foundation necessary for a successful academic career.