Program Admission and Prerequisites

Individuals meeting the general requirements for admission to the Graduate School for doctoral-level programs shall be eligible to apply for admission to the PhD in Business Administration program. Applicants must indicate their area of concentration when filing their initial application.

Admission to the PhD program may be granted to qualifying applicants who show high promise of success in doctoral business study. The principal criterion for admission is evidence of superior achievement in prior academic work, coupled with outstanding promise for future contributions as a business scholar. The concentration department and the Associate Dean of Academic Programs will review and evaluate each applicant. Some concentrations may not admit students to the doctoral program every year. Interested applicants should contact the departmental PhD coordinators before applying to the program.

Criteria used for admission consideration is competitive based on the applicant’s:

1. Academic record. Applicant’s grade point average should be 3.2 or higher on a 4.0 basis.
2. Testing. Applicants must present an acceptable score on a recent (five years or less) Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) or the Graduate Record Examination (GRE).
3. Recommendations. Three letters of recommendation are required from former professors, colleagues, and/or business executives.
4. Personal Statement and Resume. Applicants must submit a written statement of career plans and objectives no more than two-pages in length, and a current resume of academic and professional experiences.
5. Mathematics. Applicants must submit a transcript indicating the successful completion of a course in calculus.
6. Interview. Applicants may appear before the departmental admission committee for a personal interview.

Prerequisites in the functional areas of business are determined by the department. A typical applicant has completed a master’s degree in business, economics, or other relevant discipline.

Following admission, a student will be assigned to a department program committee composed of faculty members from the student’s department of concentration. The program committee is responsible for planning and approving the program requirements, and for guiding and monitoring the progress of the student through the program.

Program Requirements

A minimum of 72 hours beyond the bachelor’s degree is required. A minimum of 39 hours of the curriculum below must be completed at the University of Memphis after admission to the program. Most concentrations require more than 39 hours.

Residency: Students enrolled in the doctoral program must also meet the university residency requirements as defined in the Minimum Degree Requirements  section of this catalog.

Course Requirements

Research Core (at least 12 semester hours): Includes courses designed to develop and improve research skills. Students may be required to acquire competence using research tools and techniques beyond and above what is required with the research core. Courses in the Research Core must be approved by the student’s departmental PhD coordinator.

Concentration (at least 30 semester hours): A minimum of 12 hours of 7/8000 level courses is required in the student’s chosen concentration. Possible concentrations are Accountancy, Economics, Finance, Management, Management Information Systems, or Marketing. Additional supporting coursework may be selected from these concentrations or from approved areas outside the college. Courses graded an S or U may not be used to satisfy the minimum hours required for Research Core or Concentration.

Dissertation (minimum of 6 but not more than 18 semester hours): Major research of an original and creative nature is required and must meet the requirements of the Graduate School. The dissertation is the research capstone of the PhD program and must be a significant contribution to the study of Business Administration. The student will register for dissertation credit hours every semester after passing the comprehensive examinations. Students planning to graduate in the summer must be registered for dissertation credit. The student must show satisfactory progress over a 2-year period of time. Unsatisfactory progress towards dissertation completion will be grounds for dismissal from the program. After the dissertation committee approves the dissertation proposal, the candidate will be given a final oral examination primarily dealing with the dissertation. The dissertation committee will conduct this examination and all members must be present at the examination. If the student’s performance on this examination is satisfactory as judged by the committee, all requirements for the degree will be complete. In the Fogelman College, no credit earned more than 10 years prior to the student’s date of completion of the doctoral degree will be applied toward satisfying requirements of the doctoral degree. Students should note that the 10-year time limit is more stringent than the University Graduate School policy. NOTE: Students should familiarize themselves with the Thesis/Dissertation Preparation Guide before starting to write.

Comprehensive Examinations

Each student will have comprehensive examinations in the concentration. Comprehensive examinations in the concentration should be taken as soon as all of the course work required for the PhD degree has been successfully completed. Exceptions can be made at the discretion of the Associate Dean for Academic Programs. After satisfactorily completing the written comprehensive examinations, each student must pass an oral examination integrating all work. The student’s program committee will organize and administer the oral examination. Some concentrations require qualifying examinations covering specific courses or content, typically given after the first or second year of coursework, which must be successfully completed prior to sitting for the comprehensive exam. Passing of the qualifying exam can allow students in the Economics concentration to apply some course work towards the MA degree before continuing with the doctoral degree requirements. Failure to pass the qualifying exam after two attempts will result in termination from the program.

Expenses