The PhD Program can be tailored to the backgrounds and interests of individual students. However, all PhD students must:
- Pass a preliminary examination in a basic discipline or minor area, if required by the student's specialization area.
- Pass a preliminary examination in the student's chosen major.
- Prepare and present a research paper before the end of the third semester.
- Develop, present, and successfully defend a PhD dissertation topic proposed and approved by a dissertation committee.
- Complete the PhD dissertation and present it to the committee for approval at a final dissertation defense.
Coursework
Students without an MBA degree are required to have some breadth of knowledge in basic business, such as that covered in introductory MBA courses in the areas of accounting, finance, marketing, and organizations and human resources, or they must demonstrate knowledge in these areas by approved prior coursework. A student who needs to take any of these courses can do so on a pass-fail basis. PhD credit is not given for these courses, but those required by the PhD Program are covered by a student's tuition fellowship.
Some doctoral courses and seminars are offered within the Owen Graduate School of Management, but PhD students also take many courses outside Owen. For example, many doctoral students take economics courses in the Department of Economics. Although PhD students take certain upper-level MBA courses, particularly in their specialization, they are generally required to do work over and above that required of MBA students.
Specific knowledge exam requirements must be met, but there is flexibility in the particular courses chosen and the particular areas of knowledge to be emphasized. Examinations are typically written (by faculty) with the particular student in mind, in order to test competence in areas where the interests and prior accomplishments of the student indicate that it should exist.
For students without an appropriate masters degree, two years of full-time formal coursework are generally necessary. For students with an appropriate master's degree, this time requirement can sometimes be reduced slightly.
Graduate credit may be transferred from graduate schools in accredited institutions, but such transfer is not automatic and must be specifically approved by the director of the PhD Program and the dean of the Owen Graduate School of Management. Students in the PhD Program are considered to be students in the Owen Graduate School of Management. As such, they have all the rights and privileges afforded to students at Owen. However, they are NOT considered students in the MBA Program.
Seeking an Owen MBA while a PhD student is not an appropriate way to acquire the research training or business perspective needed to be an effective faculty member at a leading business school. The MBA Program is a separate professional degree program and is not part of the PhD Program. PhD students wishing to pursue the MBA degree in parallel with their PhD must apply to that program, obtain permission of the director of the PhD Program and their advisor—and they must pay for the additional courses required. Owen PhD fellowships do not cover tuition for MBA courses not required for the PhD degree.
