Business, PhD

Objectives

The doctoral program in business administration is designed to prepare men and women of outstanding ability for careers in teaching and research at the university level. However, the program has enough flexibility to accommodate individuals whose career objectives lie outside academia. Individuals who undertake doctoral study are expected to achieve excellence in the command of the technical aspects of a business discipline and to develop expertise in the conduct of meaningful research.

Procedure for admission

For admission consideration, the following items are required by the College of Business PhD Program and Research Office. The complete PhD application packet can be found at www.cob.unt.edu/programs/phd/ or may be requested by e-mail from PhDCOB@unt.edu.

In the determination of an applicant’s eligibility for admission to the College of Business for the PhD degree, the following items are required:

Processed application for admission forwarded by the Toulouse Graduate School.
Provide the Toulouse Graduate School with an official copy of the score made on either the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) or the Graduate Record Examination (GRE), an official copy of the TOEFL score, if required, and official transcripts from all universities previously attended. Any test scores (GMAT, GRE, TOEFL) submitted in support of an application for admission to the College of Business PhD program must have been earned no more than five years prior to the date sought for admission.
Submit a completed Supplementary Information Form to the Graduate Programs Office, College of Business.
Request three individuals (usually university professors) to complete and return a Doctoral Applicant Evaluation Form. These forms are available in the application package located on the web at www.cob.unt.edu/programs/phd/ or by request from the PhD Program and Research Office in the College of Business.

For further information concerning the doctoral program in business administration and specific admission requirements, contact: the PhD Program and Research Office, College of Business. Contact information and destination of documents are as follows:

Both U.S. and international applicants

PhD Program and Research Office
College of Business
University of North Texas
Mailing address:
1155 Union Circle #311160
Denton, TX 76203-5017

PhDCOB@unt.edu
www.cob.unt.edu/programs/phd

Phone: 940-369-8488
Fax: 940-369-8978

Submit a Supplementary Information Sheet (Form A), statement of purpose essay, resume and three recommendation letters using Doctoral Applicant Evaluation Forms (Form A-1).

U.S. citizens only

Toulouse Graduate School
Graduate Admissions Office
Eagle Student Services Center, Room 354
Mailing address:
1155 Union Circle #305459
Denton, TX 76203-5017

graduateschool@unt.edu
gradschool.unt.edu

Phone: 940-565-2636 or toll-free 888-UNT-GRAD [868-4723]

Submit a U.S. application, fee, official transcripts and official GMAT or GRE scores.

International applicants only

International Admissions Office
University of North Texas
Information Sciences Building, 2nd Floor

Mailing address:
1155 Union Circle #311067
Denton, TX 76203-5017
international@unt.edu
Phone: 940-565-2442

Submit an International Application, fee, official transcripts, official TOEFL, financial statement, and official GRE or GMAT scores. (Please note that all official GRE and GMAT scores are received by the Toulouse Graduate School, listed above.)

Retention policy for doctoral programs in business administration

If during any long term/semester (fall or spring) a PhD student does not enroll in any approved course work, the student must file a leave of absence form (Form E); otherwise, the student will be placed on inactive status. After two long terms/semesters in sequence in inactive status, the student will be removed from the PhD program.

Residence requirement

While completing course work, every student is required to complete a minimum residency requirement consisting of two consecutive terms/semesters with a minimum course load of 9 hours each term/semester. This can consist of spring and fall, fall and spring, spring and summer, or summer and fall.

Research tool requirement

The doctoral program in business administration requires satisfactory completion of a research tool requirement.

Program requirements

The doctoral student must select a concentration in one of the following program areas: accounting, business computer information systems, finance, management, marketing, or management science. With the approval of an academic advisor, the student will select courses in a supporting area. These courses may come from more than one business administration program area.

Program requirements are designed to accommodate the career plans and background of the student and, at the same time, meet the specific standards and requirements of the student’s program area. Competence achieved, rather than a specific number of hours completed, is the prime criterion; however, a minimum of 69 hours of graduate credit beyond the master’s degree or 99 hours beyond the bachelor’s degree must be earned.

Students entering the doctoral program after receiving a master’s degree will take 27–33 hours in concentration and 12–18 hours of research track courses, a minimum of 12 hours of pre-dissertation research and a dissertation of 12 hours. The pre-dissertation requirement may be met by 12 hours of research seminars (6910) and independent study (6940). The minimum course work consists of the following (69 hours minimum):

Research track, 12–18 hours
Concentration and minor areas, 27–33 hours
Pre-dissertation research, 12 hours
Dissertation, 12 hours

The above may include no more than 12 semester hours of 5900, 5910, 6900 and 6910 credit prior to pre-dissertation research.

The two research tracks consist of 12–18 hours of course work designed to develop the research capabilities of the student and to prepare the student for conducting research of dissertation quality. The student’s choice of track must be approved by the major area PhD coordinator. The required courses for each track are described below:

Research track 1, 15 hours

Research track 2, 12 hours

ECON 5600 - Mathematical Economics
ECON 5650 - Advanced Econometrics
methodological tool elective (3 hours)
MSCI 6000 - Theory and Application of Nonparametric Statistics

Additional requirements

Students entering the doctoral program upon completion of a bachelor’s degree must complete the MBA core requirements and 12 additional hours in the major and/or minor areas. In addition, all students must demonstrate a calculus proficiency.

The qualifying examination, given upon completion of all course work, is designed to measure attainment of expected levels of knowledge in the major and minor areas and to determine the student’s ability to synthesize information acquired. The examination is both written and oral. Candidates who have taken the qualifying examination may not change their major.

Specific procedural, academic progression and administrative requirements of the doctoral program are listed in the Handbook for Doctoral Students, available in the CoB PhD Programs and Research Office. All students, at the time of admission, are responsible for obtaining a copy of the Handbook for Doctoral Students to familiarize themselves with all requirements.

Admission to Candidacy

Admission to candidacy is granted by the dean of the Toulouse Graduate School after satisfactory completion of the qualifying examination.

Dissertation

Upon admission to candidacy and with the consent of the student’s committee, the student is required to make a formal presentation of the dissertation proposal at an open forum consisting of graduate faculty of the College of Business and other doctoral students.

As a final requirement, each candidate submits a dissertation. Completion of the dissertation requires original and independent research in the major program area. It should reflect not only a mastery of research techniques, but also an ability to identify an important problem for investigation and to design research that permits the formulation of reasonable hypotheses and the drawing of logical conclusions related to the problem identified. A final comprehensive examination, primarily a defense of the dissertation, is scheduled in coordination with the CoB PhD Programs and Research Office and the Toulouse Graduate School.