Degree Requirements
Applicants are admitted to the Graduate College as well as to the PhD program. Applicant must meet the minimum requirements for degree admission to the Graduate College as well as the following:
Minimum Semester Hours Required: 96 from the baccalaureate; 64 from the MBA or a business-related master's degree. A minimum of 32 hours of dissertation research is required. The average time for a student with an MBA to complete the program is four years. The maximum time allowed by the Graduate College for students with the MBA is six years.
Coursework: The first year of study will include two-course requirements in mathematics, statistics, or computing, a four-course breadth requirement (four MBA core courses*, no two of which are from the same functional area and none of which is from the Area of Inquiry), and a six-course depth requirement (advanced courses, at least two in the area of the qualifying exam). Following the qualifying exam, additional course requirements are determined by the student's faculty adviser.
* ACTG 500, ECON 520, ECON 521, FIN 500, IDS 532, MGMT 541, MGMT 590, MKTG 500.
Advising: Students entering the program are advised by the PhD coordinator in their area of interest. Courses are approved in this way until the student passes the qualifying exam. At that stage, an adviser is selected to supervise research for the dissertation.
Required Exams
- Qualifying Exam: All PhD students must pass a qualifying exam. This exam will be administered by the PhD coordinator. This exam is based primarily on the core and depth requirements. A full-time student must take this exam within two years from time of admission and the part-time student must take this exam within three years from time of admission. This exam may be taken a second time if the first attempt results in failure.
- Preliminary Exam: Within three months of completing the qualifying exam the student will begin coursework in their area of interest under the supervision of the faculty advisor. At least 32 hours of course work will take place at this stage (not counting dissertation research). The preliminary exam will be written or oral, at the discretion of the exam committee. A major purpose of the preliminary exam is ensure that the candidate possesses sufficient general and specialized knowledge to undertake dissertation research.
- Dissertation: The final stage of doctoral studies the dissertation defense. The dissertation must make an original contribution to knowledge in the chosen field. A dissertation may address theoretical or applied problems and is expected to take at least one year of full-time study. The Graduate College requires one year between the preliminary exam and the dissertation defense.
Other Requirements
Students receiving program funding must serve as a teaching or research assistant. The length of the assistantship will depend upon the experience of the student and at the recommendation of the PhD coordinator.
PhD programs
