PhD Program in Business
60 credits (Post-Master's degree)
90 credits (Post-Bachelor's degree)
Degree Requirements
- 15.0 credits of core courses
- 30.0 credits of specialization requirements
- 15.0 credits of dissertation research
- 30.0 credits for students without Master's degree
Core Program
PhD students in business select one of two broad streams of research:
- behavioral based research; or
- economics based research.
Within each stream all students pursue a common set of core courses during their first year of study. This core consists of course work in research methodology (three courses) and economics (two courses) or behavioral science (two courses). In addition to these core courses, students also take courses in their specializations during their first year in the program.
Each research stream consists of 5 core courses. All courses are 3 credits each.
Economics Stream*
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| Economics Stream Core Courses | 15.0 Credits | |||
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| ECON 902 | Mathematical Economics | 3.0 | ||
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| ECON 910 | Advanced Microeconomics I | 3.0 | ||
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| ECON 940 | Econometrics I | 3.0 | ||
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| ECON 941 | Econometrics II | 3.0 | ||
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| STAT 931 | Statistics for Economics | 3.0 | ||
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| *Note: Decision Sciences students may make substitutions for the econometrics series. Their research methodology sequences is comprised of Statistics, STAT 924 Multivariate Cont Analysis and OPR 922 Operations Research I. | ||||
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Economics Stream First Year Core Sequence
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| ECON 902 | Mathematical Economics | 3.0 | ||
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| STAT 931 | Statistics for Economics | 3.0 | ||
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| Winter quarter | ||||
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| ECON 910 | Advanced Microeconomics I | 3.0 | ||
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| ECON 940 | Econometrics I | 3.0 | ||
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| Spring quarter | ||||
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| ECON 941 | Econometrics II | 3.0 | ||
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| Behavioral Stream Core Courses | ||||
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| STAT 924 | Multivariate Cont Analysis | 3.0 | ||
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| STAT 932 | Statistics for Behavioral Science | 3.0 | ||
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| MGMT 906 | Foundations of Research in Behavioral Science | 3.0 | ||
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| MGMT 907 | Research Analysis in Behavioral Science | 3.0 | ||
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| MKTG 940 | Multivariate II | 3.0 | ||
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Behavioral Stream First Year Core Sequence
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| Fall quarter | ||||
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| MGMT 906 | Foundations of Research in Behavioral Science | 3.0 | ||
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| STAT 932 | Statistics for Behavioral Science | 3.0 | ||
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| Winter quarter | ||||
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| MGMT 907 | Research Analysis in Behavioral Science | 3.0 | ||
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| STAT 924 | Multivariate Cont Analysis | 3.0 | ||
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| Spring quarter | ||||
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| MKTG 940 | Multivariate II | 3.0 | ||
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First-Year Examination
After the completion of the core coursework, students are examined on their competence in the core material and their readiness to proceed to their specialization area.Specialization
The PhD Program in Business offers specializations in five areas.- Accounting
- Decision Sciences
- Finance
- Marketing
- Organization and Strategy
Each specialization area consists of 10 courses (30 credits) in addition to the 5 stream courses. The courses outside of the stream courses are either department requirements or electives selected by the student with the approval of their PhD coordinator. Up to 3 of the electives may be independent studies or dissertation research courses subject to the approval of the student’s PhD coordinator and the Director of the LeBow PhD Program. The requirements of each area of specialization are discussed in detail on the Lebow College of Business PhD Program Areas of Specialization web page.
Candidacy Examination
At the completion of their coursework, students take written and oral candidacy examinations. These examinations test each student's preparation for dissertation research. Once the candidacy examinations are passed, the student is recognized as a PhD candidate.Doctoral Dissertation
The doctoral dissertation is a piece of original research designed to make a contribution to the student's chosen discipline. Each candidate selects a dissertation adviser and an advisory committee of additional faculty members is formed. The candidate prepares a detailed dissertation proposal that is defended before the University community. After successfully defending the proposal, the candidate conducts the research (15-credit minimum) and prepares a written dissertation. The completed dissertation is then defended in a final oral examination.Dissertation Format Review
In addition to meeting the Thesis Advisory Committee's standards of originality and scholarly content, all doctoral dissertations must conform to university format requirements. Students should obtain a copy of the Thesis Manual from the Office of Graduate Studies or from the Thesis Reviewer in 5038 MacAlister Hall.
