Time Limits

All work must be completed within eight years of the beginning of the doctoral study, or, if the student entered with a master’s degree in the same or a closely related field, the doctorate must be completed within seven years.

The general examination must be passed within five years of the beginning of doctoral study, or within four years if the student entered with a master’s degree in the same or closely-related field.

Failure to complete the work within the periods specified or failure to maintain continuous registration will require reevaluation of the student’s entire program and may result in a notice of termination. An extension of a student’s terminal date is considered only when there is substantial evidence that the student has attempted to make regular and consistent progress toward completion of degree requirements. A written recommendation to extend the terminal date must bear the signature of the student’s major advisor, and it must be submitted in a timely manner to the Graduate School. Approval is granted by the Dean. Third requests for extension are rare.

Major Advisor and Advisory Committee

School of Business doctoral students will usually have two major advisors during the Ph.D. Program: an initial major advisor and a dissertation major advisor. Each student is assigned to an initial major advisor, who provides the student with advice regarding course work, other requirements and issues related to the Ph.D. Program. The initial major advisor is usually the departmental Ph.D. Coordinator. Ordinarily, the initial major advisor works with the student through the course-work stage of the Ph.D. Program or until the student has passed the General Examination.

The student, in consultation with the major advisor, should form an advisory committee as soon as possible in the first semester of the doctoral program. In addition to the major advisor, the committee should have at least two associate advisors. The major advisor and at least one associate advisor shall be members of the University Graduate Faculty authorized to advise doctoral students in the student’s area of concentration.

As soon as the student begins to formulate specific plans for dissertation research, he or she should select a dissertation major advisor and associate advisors who are compatible with those research plans. Since consistency of direction is very important in doctoral studies, a durable relationship between the student and dissertation advisor should be formed as soon as possible. If circumstances warrant it, the initial major advisor may also be selected as the dissertation major advisor. For more details about the Advisory System, procedures for making changes in the student’s advisory committee, etc. see the Graduate Catalog.

Departmental Research Workshops/Colloquia

Doctoral students are expected to regularly attend and fully participate in research workshops and colloquia sponsored by the department in their areas of concentration. These workshops and colloquia are an integral part of the scholarly activity in the department and are a particularly important part of the student’s experience in the Ph.D. program. Faculty will evaluate the doctoral student’s attendance and participation in these workshops and colloquia as part of the annual review, and poor performance may be grounds for dismissing a student from the Ph.D. program.

Foreign Language/Related or Supporting Area of Study

The Graduate School requires that all doctoral students have a competent reading knowledge of at least one foreign language appropriate to the general area of study or at least six credits of advanced work in a related or supporting area (unless faculty in a particular field of study have voted to require neither).

If a related or supporting are is required, the courses chosen must comprise a coherent of advanced work outside the major field of study and they should be taken outside the department in which the work of the major field is offered. The courses must be approved by the advisory committee as part of the plan of study. For more details on this requirement, see the relevant section in the Graduate Catalog.

Posting of Vita

Building an academic vita while completing doctoral program requirements enhances a student's marketability. The vita is an important tool for summarizing a student's accomplishments to date and communicating these accomplishments to others in the school and profession. At a minimum, the vita includes the student's name and contact information, education (degrees obtained and dates, current status in the doctoral program), and work experience. In addition, it includes all of the following that apply: publications (journal articles and book chapters), conference proceedings and presentations, manuscripts under review by journal or conference, research in progress, grants, honors (awards, scholarships, and fellowships), teaching experience (courses taught and dates), professional service (e.g., membership in professional associations, reviewer for a conference, session chair or discussant at a conference, ad-hoc reviewer for a journal), and other information about professional accomplishments that the student wishes to include. Students are expected to post their vita on their web page on the School of Business web site throughout their program and to update it regularly.

Course Work

All doctoral students must complete course work that spans four broad categories: Orientation, Research Methods, Major Area of Concentration, and Supporting Courses.

For details of minimum course credits, refer to the Ph.D. program web pages for individual concentrations of Accounting, Finance, Management, Marketing, and Operations and Information Management. Students that have not previously taken foundation courses in Accounting, Business Policy, Finance, Management, and Marketing, are required to take these courses as a part of their doctoral program.

At least 15 credits of GRAD 495 (Dissertation Research) are required. This represents the research effort the student devotes to the dissertation.