Degree Requirements
The following degree requirements are applicable to all doctoral students in business administration. The general requirements are:
Complete a major field and one minor field of study. A major field consists of a minimum of 12 semester hours; a minor field consists of a minimum of nine semester hours (three-course minimum). Specific major and minor fields may require more than the minimum of course work.
Know and be able to apply certain concepts, tools and techniques of business practice. A student who enters the doctoral program without having earned a business degree from an AACSB-accredited institution must complete courses in the following areas or equivalent as determined by the advisory committee based upon the student’s background: ACC 840 Managerial Accounting, FI 801 Managerial Finance, MBA 814 Applied Economics, MGT 806 Management and Organizational Behavior, MSC 800 Materials and Logistics Management, MSC 805, Marketing Management. (NOTE: certain of these courses have one or more prerequisites.)
Achieve competence in economic and/or behavioral analysis by completing graduate level course work in these areas. Specific requirements are established by the student's major.
Complete a 12-semester-hour set of courses (four-course minimum) in research related areas: the areas chosen are expected to be relevant to the student’s dissertation research and in subsequent professional endeavors. Courses must be at the 400-level, or above, to assure graduate level competence in the areas studied.
Pass a written comprehensive examination in the major field and successfully complete the requirements for the minor field that may also include a written comprehensive examination. At the option of the student's major department, an oral component may be added to the major comprehensive examination. The student's major field advisor must certify to the Office of Doctoral Programs that the student has met the requirements for taking a particular written comprehensive examination before the student will be permitted to sit for such examination.
Defend a dissertation proposal orally in an open meeting. Because the purpose of the proposal defense is to provide faculty input for the dissertation research, that defense should occur before the majority of the research effort is undertaken. A successful proposal defense is achieved when three-fourths of the student's dissertation committee, including the chairperson, approves the proposed dissertation. The guidance committee will report to the Doctoral Programs Office as to the successful completing of the dissertation defense.
All of the candidate's guidance committee should be in attendance at the dissertation proposal defense. The date, time and place of the dissertation proposal defense will be announced to the Broad School faculty ten days in advance of the proposal date.
All coursework listed on the student's program guidance form must be completed with grades reported, except doctoral dissertation research credits, before the student will be permitted to make the proposal defense.
Complete a doctoral dissertation judged to be a satisfactory contribution to knowledge by the student's guidance committee and successfully defend the dissertation in an open meeting.