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PHD in Business Administration

Chapter 6 Graduate Program Requirements/Course Descriptions
College of Business

Doctor of Philosophy Degree in Business Administration

The College of Business offers opportunities for advanced study and research leading to the Doctor of Philosophy degree in Business Administration. The degree program offers four areas of emphasis: Accounting, Finance, Information Technology, and Organization and Management Studies. The Ph.D. in Business Administration is awarded to candidates who have displayed an in-depth understanding of the subject matter and demonstrated the ability to make an original contribution to knowledge in their field of specialty.

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The regulations for this degree comply with the general University regulations (refer to Chapter 3, General Academic Regulations, and Chapter 5, Doctoral Degree Regulations).

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Admission Requirements. Applicants must have a Bachelor's degree from an accredited university. The Doctoral Studies Committee in the major areas will evaluate applicants to the Ph.D. program on several factors, including academic achievement, standardized test scores, a personal statement, letters of recommendation, and possibly, an interview. Normally a student should hold a Master's degree in business or a related discipline before being granted admission to the Doctor of Philosophy in Business Administration degree program. Applicants who do not possess a graduate degree in a business-related discipline will be required to satisfy foundations of knowledge requirements for the M.B.A. program.

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All applicants must submit the following material for evaluation:

  • official transcripts of all undergraduate and graduate course work completed
  • Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) scores or Graduate Records Examination (GRE) scores from a recent (no more than five years) administration of the examination
  • three letters of recommendation from academic or professional sources familiar with the applicant's background
  • a resumé or curriculum vitae and a statement of academic interests and goals
  • international students must also submit a score of at least 550 on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). TOEFL scores may not be more than two years old.
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Admission normally requires appointment to a teaching assistantship, research assistantship, or research fellowship. The Doctoral Studies Committee, comprised of members selected from the graduate faculty, is responsible for advising students.

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Degree Requirements. The degree requires a minimum of 69 semester credit hours beyond the Master's degree. If a student does not have a Master's degree in a business-related discipline, up to 15 hours of foundation of knowledge coursework might be required. All students will be required to take 18 hours of Statistics and Research Support courses. Students will be required to take 19 hours of Ph.D.-level courses in the student's major area of studies, as directed by the Doctoral Studies Committee. Students will take 9 semester credit hours of free electives. A minimum of 23 semester credit hours in doctoral research, including 1 hour for comprehensive examination and 12 hours for the doctoral dissertation, must be completed. Any grade lower than "B" in a graduate course or in remediating coursework at the undergraduate level will not count toward the 69 hours.

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Program of Study

A. Foundation Courses

This requirement may be met by a Master's Degree in Business or business-related discipline. If a student does not have the appropriate graduate degree, at least 15 credit hours must be taken from the following list:

ACC 5023 Accounting Analysis for Decision Making
ECO 5023 Managerial Economics
FIN 5023 Financial Management
MGT 5043 Management and Behavior in Organizations
MGT 5903 Strategic Management and Policy
MKT 5023 Marketing Management
MS 5023 Decision Analysis and Production Management

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B. Statistics and Research Methodology (18 semester credit hours) 1. Courses required of all students:

STA 7013 Advanced Applied Business Statistical Methods
STA 7023 Applied Linear Statistical Models

2. 12 hours from the following as approved by the Doctoral Studies Committee:

GBA 7013 Research Methods I
GBA 7023 Research Methods II
ECO 7013 Seminar in Microeconomic Theory
ECO 7053 Quantitative Methods for Business and Economics
ECO 7063 Econometrics
STA 7033 Multivariate Statistical Analysis
MS 7033 Applications in Causal Structural Modeling
STA 7043 Time Series Analysis

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C. Major Area Coursework

1. Four Ph.D.-level courses in major area; colloquium (13 credit hours)
2. Two directed electives approved by the Doctoral Studies Committee from among graduate-level courses in major area. (6 credit hours)

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D. Free Electives (9 credit hours)

Three courses to be approved by the Doctoral Studies Committee. If courses are in the College of Business, two are expected to be at the Ph.D. level. Courses from outside the College of Business must be at the graduate level and approved by the Committee.

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E. Doctoral Research and Comprehensive Examination (11 credit hours)

1. Up to 10 hours of doctoral research study in preparation for the comprehensive examination
2. One semester credit hour for the comprehensive examination.

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F. Dissertation Research (minimum 12 credit hours)

The initial Program of Study must be approved by the Doctoral Studies committee and must be submitted to the Dean for final approval.

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Advancement to Candidacy. Advancement to candidacy requires a student to complete University and program requirements and to pass written qualifying examination following completion of course requirements. The examination is administered by the Doctoral Studies Committee. No more than two attempts to pass qualifying examinations are allowed. Results of the written and oral examinations must be reported to the Doctoral Studies Committee, the Dean, and the campus Dean of Graduate Studies. Admission into the doctoral program does not guarantee advancement to candidacy.

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Dissertation. Candidates must demonstrate ability to conduct independent research by completing and defending an original dissertation. The research topic is determined by the student in consultation with his or her supervising professor. A dissertation committee, selected by the student and supervising professor, guides and critiques the candidate's research. The completed dissertation must be formally presented to and approved by the Dissertation Committee.

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Following an open presentation of the dissertation findings, the Dissertation Committee conducts a closed meeting to determine the adequacy of the research and any further requirements for completion of the dissertation. Results of the meeting must be reported to the Dean and to the campus Dean of Graduate Studies.

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Awarding of the degree is based on the approval of the Dissertation Committee, approved by the Dean. The UTSA Dean of Graduate Studies certifies the completion of all University-wide requirements.

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