Ph.D. Business Administration

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Ph.D. Business Administration-Program of Study

 The Ph.D. Program in Business Administration requires all applicants to identify an area of specialization from Finance, Information Technology, Marketing, & Strategic Management

After admittance and upon arrival on campus the new student will meet with the Ph.D. Director in Business Administration. During the students first semester in the program, the Ph.D. Director in consultation with the student will assign a program advisor or advisory committee.

 Coursework

Prerequisites Students without sufficient quantitative background (e.g., calculus, matrix algebra and statistics) will be required to take, as prerequisites, course work in these fields. Often, this can be accomplished in the summer preceding entrance into the program. The student without an MBA degree must take the following breadth-level MBA courses prior to the doctoral courses: Accounting for managers (ACCT 601), Global and Applied Macroeconomics (ECON 612), Financial Management (FIN 605), Organizational Management (MGMT 602), and Marketing Management (MKTG 603). Therefore, it is not unusual that satisfying foundation requirements extends the student's time of study by as much as a year or more. In addition to the previous prerequisites, those students pursuing the Finance concentration need to take Mathematical Economics (ECON 625).

International Business Emphasis

We live in an increasingly global economy. Consequently, teaching and research in any field of business requires an in-depth and on-going understanding of international business. ODU, as a university, truly possesses a global ethos and a commitment to bring international issues and the world's many cultural traditions to students on a daily basis. As a result, the student body, the curriculum, and the faculty interests connect in some way to the global business arena.

All Ph.D. Students in Business administration take the following 4 courses:

•  BUSN 800 International Business Seminar (3 hrs)

•  MKTG 826 Seminar in International Marketing Strategy (3 hrs)

•   MGMT 821 Seminar in International Management (3 hrs)

•   FIN 862 Seminar in International Finance (3 hrs) 

Curriculums

The curriculums for the Ph.D. in Business Administration differ based on the area of specialization. Please view the individual curriculums of Finance, Information Technology, Marketing, & Strategic Management  

Requirements of the Ph.D. Degree

The following are the minimum requirements for the Ph.D. degree and must be considered in preparing the student's plan of study.

1. Satisfactory completion of at least 57 semester hours of course work including the dissertation for Finance Curriculum and at least 58 semester hours of course work including the dissertation for Management or Marketing Curriculums. At least 48 hours of post-master's course work (including dissertation) is a University requirement.

2. Demonstrated competency in the following areas: International business; Research methods and techniques, and the chosen functional field of Business.

3. Acceptable performance on written and oral candidacy examinations. A student may only retake the candidacy examinations one time.

4. Completion of a dissertation representing the candidate's ability to conduct scholarly, original research. The quality of this research should be such that it would be worthy of publication in a refereed, scholarly journal.

5. Successful oral defense of the dissertation.

Retention Standards

To remain in good standing after admission to the program, students must maintain a minimum, cumulative grade point average of 3.20 in all course work attempted at the University. Students who fall below this minimum standard will have one semester to remedy this deficiency. Further, students may earn no more than three credit hours with the grade of C. Any students receiving a grade of C- or lower in course work will be removed from the program.

Time Limitation and Residency

The Ph.D. program assumes that a well qualified and highly motivated student can complete all degree requirements in four years of full-time work. If a student is unable to pursue the degree on a full-time basis, or if the major field is different from previous academic training, more time to complete the degree is usually required. The maximum time allowed to complete all degree requirements is eight calendar years from the date of initial enrollment in the program.

Each student is required to complete at least two regular semesters in full-time residency. These need not be consecutive. Full-time residency is defined as a minimum of nine credit hours per semester.

Transfer Credit

A maximum of 12 semester-hour credits (or equivalent) may be transferred from another university (including six hours earned through experiential learning credit options) and applied toward the Ph.D. course requirements. Transfer credit is approved at the discretion of the program director in consultation with the faculty in the student's major field of study.

Waivers Using Previous Graduate Work

A maximum of nine semester hours of master's-level graduate work may be applied toward completion of the requirements for the doctoral degree. The previous course work must have been of B letter-grade quality or better, and must have been completed within the five years immediately preceding entry into the doctoral program.

Candidacy Examination

The examination qualifying the doctoral student for candidacy for the Ph.D. in business administration is comprehensive in nature and designed to test the student's knowledge of subject matter in the major field, international business, and the ability to engage in independent research. These examinations are given in two parts: 1) International Business and 2) Field of Study. The International Business Exam is a written exam scheduled for the third week of May and may be taken by a student in good standing after the student has completed BUSN 800, MGMT 821, MKTG 826, and FIN 862. The candidacy examination in the Field of Study is scheduled for the week prior to the start of Fall semester classes. The student in good standing may take the Field of Study Examination after completing all courses in their field which are to be taken during the first two years of the program. See Curriculums. The Field examination contains both a written and oral component. The written portion is administered first. After successful completion of the written examination, the student sits for an oral examination, which includes topics discussed in the written examination and any additional materials that the advisory committee feels are appropriate. The student will be expected to perform well on both the written and oral components of the examination. Rather than being merely pro forma, the oral examination is a serious and integral part of the qualifying procedure for candidacy. A student must pass both the written and oral sections. The candidacy examinations are prepared and evaluated by the examination committees composed of the graduate faculty who are primarily responsible for teaching doctoral courses in international business and the field of study. The results of all examinations are reported to the student and program director.

Dissertation

The dissertation represents the final stage in obtaining the doctoral degree and provides evidence of the student's ability to conduct independent scholarly research. To effectively initiate, conduct, and conclude the dissertation phase of the program, the candidate must: 1) form a dissertation committee; 2) develop and defend a dissertation proposal; 3) complete the dissertation research and report the results in writing; and 4) orally defend the dissertation.

Dissertation Committee

The dissertation committee is formed by the student with the approval of the program director. The committee's purpose is to supervise the selection of the dissertation topic, constructively critique the research methodology, and serve as a guidance body until its completion. The committee should have at least three members, one of whom is from outside the department of the major field of study. The chair of the committee will be from the candidate's major field and be an authority in the field of specialization chosen for the dissertation research. The proposal, dissertation, and the final oral defense of the dissertation must have the majority approval of the members of the dissertation committee and subsequent approval by the program director and dean of the college.

Dissertation Proposal Defense

A candidate will select a topic for dissertation research under the guidance of his/her committee. The candidate will defend a proposal for the dissertation demonstrating the originality of the research, requisite literature review, and the methodology that will be used in conducting the research. The committee will judge the merits of the proposal, making any suggestions and/or additions as deemed necessary, and approve the proposal in writing, providing copies to the program director.

Dissertation Research and Preparation

Progress on the dissertation should be reported on a periodic basis to the chair of the dissertation committee and the appropriate members. In most instances, research results, drafts of the manuscript, and guidance will be forthcoming between the committee and the candidate during the research phase. While preparing the dissertation, candidates must be continuously enrolled for a minimum of one credit hour per semester. The total number of credit hours for the dissertation shall be no less than 18 and no more than 24 credit hours. Advice or assistance from committee members should not be expected unless the candidate is officially enrolled. General regulations and procedures governing the submission of the doctoral dissertation are provided in the University Guide for Preparation of Theses and Dissertations available from the Office of the Registrar.

Oral Dissertation Defense

The objective of the oral defense of the dissertation is to explore with the candidate the methodological and substantive contributions of the dissertation. Through this process, the examiners and the candidate reach a common understanding of the research area and can mutually agree upon its merits for publication. Majority approval by the examiners constitutes successful completion of the defense of the dissertation. The Doctor of Philosophy in business administration will be awarded upon successful completion of this examination and all other program requirements within the eight-year time limit.