Hi Prince,
Do you have a specific school in mind or have you found one and are asking about them - or are you askinga general enquiry about the value of a BI PhD? I'd have to say that given the importance of BI in general I'm surprised I haven't seen more BI focused doctorates. It's a serious topic and when you consider how many businesses use some form of BI but tend to 'tag it on' at the end of a substantial project that usually addresses another topic e.g. ERP I think there is certainly huge room for BI research.
One of my Professors recently wrote a book on MIS for example and much of the book concentrated on data quality and auditing - how to make use of data when it is incomplete, inaccurate or misleading and I haven't seen too much work on that. I also haven't seen too much work on the visualisation of data and how that interplays with interpretation. It's all well and good having the best data if the way you present it provides an inaccurate or misleading interpretation and leads to incorrect or badly justified decisions. On that topic I've seen almost nothing, despite it being clearly a growth area.
I've certainly got three schools in the UK interested in supporting BI PhDs and I think there are a few that Paul Hawking will know too in Australia - I'd certainly recommend you look into it.
My only caveat would be doing a PhD part-time. It's certainly possible but you need the support of someone who places a value on research and would see a value in the outcome. You also need someone who will support you long-term. A PhD part-time can take 6 or more years.
All the best
Martin
Martin Gollogly
Director, University Alliances
United Kingdom, Ireland and Benelux
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