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Study & research holistic management

  • Learn to research, measure and communicate business sustainability outcomes
  • Grow holistically through daily practice of the Transcendental Meditation technique
  • Develop leadership skills to help move organizations and the business world toward sustainable practices

Expertise in holistic management

Are you ready to become a leader in the field of holistic management? In MIU’s PhD in Management program, you’ll explore how organizations can profit while producing positive impacts for society and the environment, develop the skills that you need to succeed in sustainable business, and grow as a person through daily meditation practice.


Get started by contacting Pedro

Pedro Ugalde, admissions counselorPedro Ugalde is this program’s admissions counselor for US students. Pedro will provide you with all the details of becoming a student, including connecting you with program faculty when you have questions.

Contact Pedro >

International applicants may connect with us through our international inquiry form.

Program structure

The PhD in Management has four phases:

  • Doctoral Course Work. Students take a program of courses that consists of a PhD Core of 6 courses covering consciousness-based managing for sustainability. There is also a required Research Methods Core of 4-5 courses, Professional Development seminars in teaching and writing, and a sequence of courses in the Science and Technology of Consciousness, which students learn to integrate with their academic studies in sustainable management. Classes are offered at a part-time pace, meaning 4 credit courses over a period of 2 months and 2 credit courses taught over 1 month.
  • Written Comprehensive and Oral Qualifying Exams. Students undertake a written comprehensive exam and a written and oral qualifying exam. When a student successfully completes the qualifying examination, the student is advanced to PhD candidate status. The core work and qualifying exams can be completed in the first two years of enrollment in the program.
  • Dissertation Proposal. When a dissertation proposal is accepted, the student is advanced to PhD researcher status.
  • Dissertation Research and Defense. The PhD researcher must write the dissertation research and successfully complete an oral defense of the dissertation.

Practical management for a changing world

This program prepares students to utilize high-level management knowledge and skills in their careers, but with an added “green” twist. Students will learn about organizational behavior and theory, implementing sustainability in business, multiple regression analysis, multivariate analysis, quantitative research design, and more. By bringing sustainable and traditional business methodologies together, students will be prepared to lead the businesses they work with into the future.


Get started by contacting Pedro

Pedro Ugalde, admissions counselorPedro Ugalde is this program’s admissions counselor for US students. Pedro will provide you with all the details of becoming a student, including connecting you with program faculty when you have questions.

Contact Pedro >

International applicants may connect with us through our international inquiry form.

Next entry: Aug 2025Inquire >

More about the program

Our PhD program prepares each student to conduct original and significant research through courses in management theory, sustainability, and research methods and statistics. Early on in the program, you’ll identify your own field of study in which to focus your research papers. Through your own work, you’ll be gathering new data and advancing academia in the ever-growing field of sustainable business.

In our block system, you’ll take only one course at a time, fully immersing yourself in that subject. This approach enables you to learn more with less stress, with deeper understanding and better retention of the course material.

You’ll also enjoy stronger connections with ​your professors and classmates—and you’ll never have to contend with a ​nerve-wracking ​finals week!

Apply for the PhD in Management

Academia doesn’t have to be stressful — that’s why all MIU students, staff, and faculty practice the Transcendental Meditation technique twice daily.

This scientifically-validated technique has been shown to lower stress, enhance brain functioning, and support overall health. After regular meditation practice, our students often report feeling less stressed and more creative than ever.

A major emphasis of our PhD program is preparing graduate students to become teachers and leaders in business, academics, and beyond. You’ll be trained in principles and practices for successful writing and teaching, which can be applied in a variety of leadership, consulting and academic situations.

  • CSR and Financial Performance in China
  • The role of HRM in implementing sustainability
  • Conceptions of sustainability in Cameroon
  • Meditation and trust in supply chain relationships
  • Consciousness and Success
  • Brain integration and management integrity
  • Consumers and non-genetically modified food
  • Effects of green-certified building
  • Moral development of CPA’s
  • ISO-14001 Environmental Management System and corporate financial performance
  • Development economics based on natural law
  • Self development and leadership behaviors
  • The effects of the Transcendental Meditation on stress in managers
The online classes can be taking synchronously (in real-time), as well as, asynchronously. While we encourage our students to take classes synchronously we understand that sometimes a student may not be able to do so. In such a scenario, they can watch the class recordings at their convenience. In other words, the class sessions are recorded and can be watched by the students anytime.

Entrance Requirements

To enter the Doctor of Philosophy in Management program, a student must:

  • Hold an MBA, master’s degree in a business-related field, or a master’s degree and substantial business-related work experience
  • Have taken the GMAT or GRE and received an adequate score
  • Have written a substantial research paper as evidence of academic writing.
    The paper may have been submitted for required course assignments or as a thesis in the student’s master’s degree program. This should be a paper written by the student alone, not a project by a team of students. This writing sample may be accepted as a substitute for scores on GMAT or GRE.
  • At least two years of professional work experience in a business is preferred.

Additional requirements

English language verification

International applicants must submit official English proficiency test scores within the past 2 years of at least 110 on Duolingo, 6.5 on IELTS Academic, 90 on TOEFL iBT or 58 on PTE.

Transcendental Meditation (TM) technique

All MIU students practice the Transcendental Meditation® technique. If you have not learned it yet:

  • Once accepted as a US student, the cost of TM instruction is covered through a grant offered by MIU
  • Students can either learn TM upon arrival or prior to enrolling
  • Contact your admissions counselor for details
  • Find information on the TM technique or search for a TM teacher at TM.org

FAQ

The online and on-campus PhD program are run simultaneously. Online students can interact with the professor and on-campus students when they attend the online classes live. Online students may attend the classes asynchronously if their time zone doesn’t allow live participation.
The schedule for the online and on-campus classes is the same and can be found here:
Link PhD Course Schedule
All classes are held on Saturdays and Sundays from 10 am-12 noon.
Both on-campus and online classes are following the same schedule.
The online classes can be taking synchronously (in real-time), as well as, asynchronously. While we encourage our students to take classes synchronously we understand that sometimes a student may not be able to do so. In such a scenario, they can watch the class recordings at their convenience. In other words, the class sessions are recorded and can be watched by the students anytime.
You can opt to take the online PhD, then there is no campus time required. If you decide to sign up for the on campus PhD, you are required to attend classes on campus.
The required coursework for a Ph.D. takes two years, and defense of a thesis proposal, completion of thesis research and defense of the final thesis usually takes 12 to 18 months at a minimum. It is reasonable to expect to take four to five years to complete the Ph.D.

Featured faculty

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Sabita Sawhney

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Sabita Sawhney is Director of the PhD in Management and Associate Professor of Management. She teaches courses in operations management, supply chain management, marketing management, and marketing research. Her areas of research interest include green supply chains, buyer-supplier partnerships, self-development, and trust. She has presented papers at several prestigious conferences including Purchasing and Operations Management Society (POMS), Decision Science Institute (DSI), and Midwest Business Administration Association (MBAA).

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Anil Maheshwari

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Anil Maheshwari is a Professor of Management Information Systems and Director of Executive Education. His research papers in leadership, technology, and consciousness have been published in The Journal of Management, Spirituality and Religion, Creativity Research Journal, Humanistic Management Journal, Family Business Review, the Journal of Development Research, and other scholarly journals. He teaches courses in data analytics, strategic management, leadership, enterprise performance management, and more. He is the author of a dozen books on technology, management, and spirituality.

College of Business Administration Faculty

Featured students

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Sayeh Khamoushi

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Sayeh Khamoushi holds a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering and a Master in Information Technology Management. During her bachelor's degree, she competed in multiple RoboCup events and was several ranked in the domains of coach and Rescue Simulation. In addition, the top student in the master's degree came from one of Iran's leading universities. She worked as a tester, analyst, and manager in IT organizations for 14 years before joining MIU in 2020 to pursue a Ph.D. in management.

Sayeh became interested in Vedic meditation and understanding about six years ago and began on this path. She was captivated by meditation science's breakthroughs and a new way of life and quickly incorporated it into all aspects of his life.

Sayeh became acquainted with the transcendent meditation technique, the block system, and the MIU from a friend in 2020. She chose this option and moved to Turkey to engage in TM courses, where she completed the TM and Residence Course courses. In order to participate in doctorate classes and continue her studies, she began living in Turkey away from her family owing to many obstacles and a lack of access to the university's site and server from her home country and her first year of doctoral studies is now completed online.

Sayeh stated, "I believe life is all about challenges, and I believe I can choose the obstacles that make my life more valuable, and I believe MIU is valuable."

Sayeh realized that using the TM® technique would help her achieve the awareness she thought was her most important aim in life.

She is currently employed in the IT department of MIU, where she previously worked.

Sayeh was one of ten Ph.D. candidates worldwide to receive a Fetzer Scholarship from the Academy of Management Conference this year.

Sayeh is now conducting research for her dissertation topic. Although she has not yet finalized her topic, she believes that increasing awareness through the TM technique is the most effective way to build a mindset that can aid others with varied perspectives so that they can operate in organizations harmoniously and accept one other's contradictions.

Shawn Diddy

Shawn Diddy

Shawn Diddy

Shawn Brogan Diddy is a current Ph.D. Researcher and Marketing Specialist at Maharishi International University located in Fairfield, Iowa, USA. Prior to completing her MA in Mass Communications:TV/Film/Journalism at Towson University, she completed her bachelor’s degree in Liberal Arts at The University of Northern Iowa. She served on the board of Women in Film and Television of Maryland and currently serves on the board of the Fairfield Media Center.

After spending 20 years in brand development and as a television and online media host, she blends her media experience with research to develop corporate training and management coaching programs. She holds certifications as a Neuro-Linguistic Programming Practitioner, as well as Personal Trainer and Health Coach through the American Council on Exercise. She has enjoyed the study of Consciousness and Human Potential throughout her career, including the mind-body-breath connection. Her current research focuses on the effect of the practice of Transcendental Meditation on stress and Emotional Intelligence in female leaders.

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Kennedy Kamfwa

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Kennedy Kamfwa is from Zambia and works as a Wealth Manager in Johannesburg, South Africa. He manages funds for retail, high net -worth and institutional clients over a medium to long term investment horizon. His clients receive effective and efficient service such that they develop a sense of happiness. As a qualified Chartered Financial Analyst, Kennedy gets to construct optimal portfolios that help clients attain long-term financial goals.

Currently, Kennedy is pursuing a Ph.D. in management at MIU, focusing on consciousness to create a dignified organizational culture. He is looking into the possibility of how moral commitment, freedom, ethics, and accountability would activate human dignity and capabilities. Previous research indicates that satisfaction, empowerment, justice, pride, well-being, and community participation generate citizenship behavior and increases retention rates while reducing counterproductive behaviors. Therefore, Kennedy is interested in demonstrating that dignity and well-being will inspire innovation, productivity, engagement, stakeholder goodwill, and, ultimately, build customer loyalty.

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Emanuel Schachinger

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Emanuel Schachinger is currently a Ph.D. researcher in Sustainable Management at MIU, where he studies the connections between sustainability, human development, and organizational change and teaches for the College of Business Administration as well as the Department of Sustainable Living for which he spent 6 months in Hawaii developing a new program, centered on leadership, sustainability, Hawaiian culture, and consciousness. He received his MBA in Sustainable Business from MUM.

Amongst other classes, he has taught Leadership for Sustainability, Strategic Management for Sustainability, Conceptual Maps for Change Makers, Managing for the Environment, and Socially and Environmentally Responsible Management, and is co-author of a chapter on Consciousness Development for Responsible Management in "Educating for Responsible Management: Putting theory into practice." He worked with sustainability-consulting firm True Market Solutions as a consultant, with the non-profit Bonnell Building Project to help organize community events, and with MUM as a facilitator and workshop host. Besides that, he is excited about growing vegetables in his garden, transforming our society into a more sustainable one, riding his bike, and traveling to new and exciting places.

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Ye Shi (Linlin)

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Ye Shi was a senior officer in the Taxation Department in China for 10 years, supervised the collection of business taxes, and educated organizational and individual taxpayers on tax codes. She has been working at Maharishi International University since 2009, and teaches courses in accounting and lean management.

Ye Shi and Andrew Bargerstock recently co-authored Are We Leaning Away from Standard Costing? This paper has been recognized as the 2017 IMA Lybrand Gold Medal Award winner for the Best Article published in the peer-reviewed Strategic Finance journal.
Shi and Bargerstock also co-authored a management accounting ethics paper that was named IMA’s 2014 Carl Menconi Award: Best Case Study in Business Ethics (title: Watson Water Technologies).
Ye Shi is also a two-time national award winner for Lean Accounting accomplishments (2013, 2016).

VikramGulati

Vikram Gulati

VikramGulati

Vikram Gulati holds electrical engineering and MBA degrees and spent 30 years leading IT companies before joining MIU in 2019 to pursue his PhD in management.

About 16 years ago Vikram developed an interest in Vedic knowledge and began studying the Vedic literature. He became fascinated with the intersection of science and spirituality and the idea of consciousness being the central principle of existence.

In 2019 Vikram met a student of Maharishi and learned about the Transcendental Meditation® technique, the unified field theory, and MIU. He wanted to transition from the corporate world to academia and, after attending a Visitors Weekend, he enrolled at MIU. He completed his coursework online and recently moved to Fairfield with his wife.

“I realized that at MIU I can bring together the three things I love: teaching, using my management experience, and studying the Vedic tradition,” said Vikram.

Vikram found that the practice of the TM® technique has helped him in this major transition of his life and several other challenges he faced due to the pandemic. “All of these were stressful events, but I didn’t feel them as much,” he said.

For the past two and a half years Vikram has taught various management courses through MIU’s distance education programs in China, Ethiopia, and South Africa.

Earlier this year, Vikram was one of 20 PhD students in the world to receive a Fetzer Institute scholarship to attend the Academy of Management’s August virtual conference. He was also the only PhD student from MIU to be a panelist in three professional development workshops by the Management, Spirituality, and Religion interest group of the Academy.

Vikram is now researching his dissertation, which explores the ambidextrous mindset—the ability to incorporate the dualism of innovation and efficiency—as a leadership quality critical for organizational success. He postulates that the development of consciousness, through the practice of the TM technique, is the most efficient way of cultivating a mindset that can facilitate the coexistence of these opposing values.

Cost & Aid, 2024-25

US On-Campus PhD

PhD entry-level lasts one to two years. After passing comprehensive exams, the PhD Candidate may be eligible to apply for a teaching position that provides a waiver of tuition while working on the dissertation proposal. After the proposal is approved, the PhD Researcher with a teaching position would continue to have a waiver of tuition. The tuition listed here is for one academic year (two semesters) at the current year rate, subject to change in future years.

Annual Tuition
Entry Level$10,800
Candidate Level$10,000
Researcher Level$6,000
Additional Costs
Housing, meals, books, and personal expenses$14,000
Federal student loans are available for tuition as well as for the $14,000 for housing, meals, books, and personal expenses.

Tuition, other fees, scholarships, and financial policies are subject to change prior to the entry date. For more information, contact us at finaid@miu.edu for a quick reply — normally one business day — or see more about financial aid.

US Online PhD

IMPORTANT: PhD entry-level lasts one to two years. After passing comprehensive exams, the PhD Candidate may be eligible to apply for a teaching position that provides a waiver of tuition while working on the dissertation proposal. After the proposal is approved, the PhD Researcher with a teaching position would continue to have a waiver of tuition. The tuition listed here is for one academic year (two semesters) at the current year rate, subject to change in future years.

Annual Tuition
Entry Level$10,800
Candidate Level$10,000
Researcher Level$6,000
Additional Costs
Housing, meals, books, and personal expenses$14,000
Federal student loans are available for tuition as well as for the $14,000 for housing, meals, books, and personal expenses.

Tuition, other fees, scholarships, and financial policies are subject to change prior to the entry date. For more information, contact us at finaid@miu.edu for a quick reply — normally one business day — or see more about financial aid.

Internatonal On-Campus PhD

PhD entry level lasts one to two years. After passing comprehensive exams, the PhD Candidate may be eligible to apply for a teaching position that provides a waiver of tuition while working on the dissertation proposal. After the proposal is approved, the PhD Researcher with a teaching position would continue to have a waiver of tuition. The tuition listed here is for one academic year (two semesters) at the current year rate, subject to change in future years.

Annual Tuition
Entry Level$10,800
Candidate Level$10,000
Researcher Level$6,000
Additional Costs
Housing and Meals$7,400
Health Insurance (estimate)$1,992
Personal expenses, books, unexpected needs (estimate)$3,500

Tuition, other fees, scholarships, and financial policies are subject to change prior to the entry date.

International Online PhD

-PhD entry-level lasts one to two years. After passing comprehensive exams, the PhD Candidate may be eligible to apply for a teaching position that provides a waiver of tuition while working on the dissertation proposal. After the proposal is approved, the PhD Researcher with a teaching position would continue to have a waiver of tuition. The tuition listed here is for one academic year (two semesters) at the current year rate, subject to change in future years.

Annual Tuition
Entry Level$10,800
Candidate Level$10,000
Researcher Level$6,000

Tuition, other fees, scholarships, and financial policies are subject to change prior to the entry date.

Courses may include:

A review of the classic works in the Organizational Behavior (OB) literature, this course examines the main issues and questions addressed by OB since its inception in the late 1930s, including motivation, small group behavior, leadership, power, and organizational culture and change. Students will develop hypotheses for how expansion of consciousness influences organizational behavior. (2 credits)
Scientific measurement of individual characteristics provides a research framework for assessing individual and organization development toward higher states of consciousness. Development of the mind toward higher states of consciousness provides the natural foundation for enhancing employee performance, growth of enlightened leadership, and organization transformation toward sustainability. Topics include: the construction and use of valid and reliable assessment instruments. (2 credits)
What are the findings of behavioral sciences regarding effective practices for the transformation of organizations and communities to achieve positive holistic outcomes more effectively? We examine selected research on topics such as understanding barriers and enablers, managing behavioral change, positive leadership, stakeholder engagement, and conflict resolution. Development of individual, organizational, and societal consciousness expresses itself in new management practices and forms of organization that enable organizations to innovatively address social and environmental needs. (4 credits)
This course prepares doctoral students to be competent in the conception, organization, writing, and presentation of scholarly works. (2 credits)
Through the study of articles in the current literature on business strategy, this course focuses on operationalization and measurement of research concepts while touching on management theories, research design, and statistical analysis methods. Topics include accounting measures, market measures, hybrid measures (risk-adjusted accounting measures and Tobin’s Q), and composite measures such as the balanced scorecard and sustainability measures. (2–4 credits) The 4-credit version includes a deeper reading of the literature.
This course prepares students to conduct an exhaustive search of the peer-reviewed research literature in their topic area and identify potential areas of inquiry for their dissertation. The students learn to conduct effective literature searches, develop a plan for writing comprehensive, and synthesized reviews of research literature, critically review and write about the underlying theory/conceptual frameworks, identify gaps in the existing research knowledge base to lay the foundation for future research, and focus on developing a scholarly narrative supporting all points of view of the study. (4 credits)
In quantitative research, a key step is a statistical analysis to discern meaningful patterns in the study data and relationships between variables. This course provides a foundational understanding of statistical concepts and methods for data analysis and interpretation.
Topics include principles of statistical thinking for management research; numerical and graphical tools for describing and analyzing business data; the normal distribution, populations, and sampling; confidence intervals, hypothesis testing; correlation coefficients, and simple linear regression. (2–4 credits) Prerequisite: MATH 152 or the equivalent.
This course provides a conceptual introduction to the multivariate statistical methods most commonly used in management research in order to prepare students to critically read the quantitative management research literature and begin preparation of their own dissertation research proposal. Topics include: review of simple linear regression and correlation, multiple regression, logistic regression, discriminant function analysis, univariate comparison of means (analysis of variance), multivariate analysis of variance, principal components and factor analysis, path analysis and structural equation modeling, and multilevel modeling. (4 credits)
This course examines contemporary procedures of applied multiple regression analysis for business data. Topics include: review of simple regression, hypothesis tests and confidence intervals, modeling nonlinear regression relationships, model specification strategies, diagnostic testing of model adequacy, robust regression, categorical explanatory variables, outliers and influential observations, path analysis, and logistic regression. (4 credits)
This introductory course begins with the logic of causation and correlation in social science. We review the steps of scientific inquiry: literature review, theory development, operationalization and measurement of variables, data collection and analysis, interpretation, and write-up. Experimental and quasi-experimental research designs are treated specifically. Topics include: the types of validity, the “control” of extraneous influences by design or by statistical methods, and the relationship between research design and statistical testing. (4 credits)
Qualitative research is often used in research on complex behavioral systems and in the exploration of a new field of study. Using methods such as participant observation, unstructured interviewing, and the examination of documents, a scholar can form theories that may be later tested by quantitative methods or validated on other samples. Particular attention is given in this course to the methodology of grounded theorizing in multiple case studies and problems of data analysis, interpretation, and generalization. (4 credits)
In this course, students learn the essential elements of developing, analyzing, and validating a survey instrument. The course will explore the options available to the researcher, examine the decisions to be made in designing a survey, and identify sources of error in survey research. The course will also establish how each aspect of a survey can affect its accuracy and credibility, and confront the practical problems of survey research, exploring the theoretical and methodological issues at stake. (2 credits)
In addition to the required courses and credits listed above, 1 credit of MGT 679 Research Seminar in Management is required every semester. A student’s faculty advisory committee may require additional coursework as required for the student’s dissertation research.
This course provides the time necessary to prepare for the qualifying examination, which demonstrates research competence. It may be in the form of a research proposal, or in another form at the discretion of the program faculty. After successful completion of this examination, students advance to the status of PhD Candidate.(4 credits per block — may be repeated for credit until the qualifying examination is completed)
Having gained doctoral candidacy by completing the comprehensive and qualifying examinations, students prepare a proposal for a doctoral dissertation that is acceptable to their major professor and dissertation committee. (8 credits per semester — may be repeated for credit until dissertation proposal is accepted) Prerequisites: PhD candidate status and consent of the dissertation advisor
Students conduct original research and prepare their dissertations. (8 credits per semester— may be repeated for credit until dissertation is completed). Prerequisites: approved dissertation proposal and permission of the dissertation committee

When the qualifying examination is successfully completed, the student is advanced to PhD Candidate status. When the dissertation proposal is accepted by the faculty, the student is advanced to PhD Researcher status. The amount of time required to complete the dissertation varies according to the research project. A public oral presentation and defense of the dissertation are required, as is acceptance of the dissertation by the dissertation committee, the Graduate School Director, and the Library Director. (See the dissertation manual.)


To graduate, students must also satisfy the general requirements for a PhD


Current class schedule for the PhD in Management

Congratulations 2022 PhD Graduates!

Janet Ho gown

My experience of the PhD in Management

Janet Ho gown

"Upon the completion of my Ph.D. degree, I would like to proclaim the accomplishment of an experiment that I have been performing for ten years at MIU—unknown to anyone else. The first year I was a student in the Master in Maharishi Vedic Science program, I saw the suggested daily schedule in a syllabus.

I started my experiment on the suggested daily routine. The hypothesis was that the more one is aligned with the suggested daily routine, the more significant achievement one gains. Early to bed, Early rise to finish the assignments, regular exercise, regular meals, and practicing Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi twice daily. Thanks to Dr. Cathy Gorini and many others who have been my dear companions in this practice. Their company multiplied in me all the incentives to enjoy the practice, which gave me incredible inspiration and strength. I finished the MA in MVS, the MBA, and the Ph.D. in management programs.

Today if there is anything within me or anything I have done that can be called successful, it is just a piece of evidence to prove that the hypothesis is true. The more one is aligned with the suggested daily routine, the more significant achievement one gains. Thanks to this wonderful daily routine suggested by this great university MIU with an exceptional faculty and staff team, under President John Hagelin's outstanding leadership, together with this fantastic community. Thanks to all!" - Dr. Janet Ho

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