Dr. Hengchen Dai

Associate Professor

Build a Statement of Purpose

Generate a tailored SOP for Dr. Hengchen Dai. Improve your application with a focused, well-structured draft.

Biography

Hengchen Dai is an Associate Professor at the UCLA Anderson School of Management, part of the Management Organizations faculty since 2017, where he specializes in behavioral decision making and motivation. His academic background includes a Ph.D. in Operations and Information Management from the University of Pennsylvania and dual bachelor's degrees in Psychology and Economics from Peking University. Dai's research focuses on how decision-making processes can be informed by behavioral science to better motivate individuals within organizational contexts. He is dedicated to understanding the effects of managerial interventions on motivation and self-control, and how social influences can shape people's decisions. He has published in renowned journals such as Nature and the Academy of Management Journal, and his work has received multiple prestigious awards, including the Association for Psychological Science Janet Taylor Spence Award and the Robert B. Cialdini Prize. In addition to his research, Dai teaches across various programs at UCLA Anderson and is known for his commitment to student engagement and practical application of research. He actively collaborates with academia and industry to conduct field studies contributing to behavioral insights in diverse contexts.

Research Interests

Awards

#

Early Career Impact Award (Judgment Decision Making)

2026-01-01
#

Fellow

2024-01-01
#

MOC Division Paper Award

2023-01-01
#

Janet Taylor Spence Award for Transformative Early Career Contributions

2023-01-01
#

Dean George W. Robbins Assistant Professor Teaching Award

2021-01-01
#

Rising Star

2020-01-01
#

Eric E Juline Faculty Excellence Research Award

2020-01-01
#

Hellman Fellows Award

2019-01-01
#

Career Development Award

2019-01-01
#

World’s 40 B-School Professors Under 40

2019-01-01
#

Robert B. Cialdini Prize

2019-01-01
#

Outstanding Research Doctoral Student

2015-01-01
#

Outstanding Reviewer Award

2013-01-01
#

Outstanding Reviewer Award

2013-01-01
#

Doctoral Fellowship

2010-01-01
#

Scholar Award

2010-01-01
#

Outstanding Undergraduate

2010-01-01
#

Academic Scholarship Award

2000-01-01

Requirements for University of California Los Angeles

Doctorate Program
Requirements
GPA Requirement
Required:3
GRE General
Verbal
Required:160
Quantitative
Required:160
Analytical Writing
Required:5
Overall
Required:5
TOEFL
Total
Required:87
IELTS
Overall
Required:7
Prerequisites
Bachelor's degree Strong background in Economics and Mathematics
Application Checklist
  • Online application
  • Statement of Purpose
  • Transcripts
  • 3 Letters of Recommendation
  • GRE General Test scores
Specialization Notes

Department of Economics admits primarily for the PhD program.