PHD IN BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION P OW E R E D B Y A N A LY T I C S D R I V E N B Y C R E AT I V I T Y
PROGRAM OBJECTIVES WHY THE USF PHD IN BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION? USF s Muma College of Business PhD program primarily prepares its graduates for careers as college and university professors, though some graduates have pursued careers in industry and government. Doctoral students work closely with faculty in research seminars, on research projects, and teaching, developing skills that will help them land competitive jobs in academia and beyond. We do more than simply disseminate information: we create intellectual capital and produce graduates who are not only ready for today s workplace, but who are also trained to be leaders in tomorrow s workforce. In short, we equip students with the skills and knowledge needed to take leadership positions in business and society. ABOUT USF AND TAMPA The ninth largest university in America, the University of South Florida is a global research university dedicated to student success. The USF Muma College of Business, one of its largest colleges, boasts a nationally ranked MBA program, one of the nation s best accounting schools, a top-ranked entrepreneurship center, world-class research faculty, and a comprehensive portfolio of business-education programs. We collaborate with international firms such as Tech Data, Infosys, Nielsen and Fintech, among others in alliances to find solutions to business challenges. ABOUT THE FACULTY USF s Muma College of Business is comprised of a world-class research-driven faculty who are recognized as leaders in a number of fields. Their work is recognized beyond the university and is consistently featured in academic journals and industry publications. Faculty members hail from the most prestigious universities in the world, such as Harvard Business School, New York University, and Vanderbilt University. Professor and Information Systems Decision Sciences Chair Balaji Padmanabhan received two grants from Bank of America. One was to study enterprise media monitoring for sentiment analysis and one examined social media monitoring for product analysis. Sensory marketing expert and Marketing Department faculty member Dipayan Biswas received a Cornell University Study grant to examine children s food choices. Biswas also won the Academy of Marketing Science Outstanding Marketing Teacher Award, a competitive and prestigious award that is usually awarded to senior professors.
Doctoral student Qiancheng Zheng coauthored an article with finance professors Ninon Sutton (center) and Jianping Qi titled The Value of Target Strategic Alliances in Mergers and Acquisitions published in the summer edition of Financial Management, a top-tier journal in the area of finance. Professor Sutton also worked on Is the Grass on the Other Side Greener? Testing the Crossborder Effect for U.S. Acquirers with doctoral student Yun Meng, published in the Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, a top-tier journal in accounting.
COURSE OUTLINE DOCTORAL LEVEL COURSEWORK A minimum of 90 credit hours beyond the bachelor s degree is required. This includes 21 credit hours of dissertation. A minimum of 45 credit hours of coursework must be completed at the University of South Florida. FOUNDATION COURSES With approval of the student s program committee, a student may satisfy foundation course requirements in any of the following ways: By completing an undergraduate degree in business at an AACSB accredited institution, with an average of B or better in the last 60 credit hours, earned no more than five years prior to admission to the doctoral program. By completing an MBA degree at an AACSB accredited institution, earned no more than five years prior to admission to the doctoral program. By completing a graduate course (two credit hours or more) with a grade of B or better, in each of the functional areas: accounting, finance, information systems, management and marketing. All graduate level courses at the 6000 level or above, with the exception of specific tool courses (for example statistics) will count toward this requirement. By successfully petitioning the Doctoral Advisory Committee to accept previous academic work (for example a specialized masters program in business or a degree granted more than five years ago, in fulfillment of all or part of the requirements).
CORE COURSES Core courses in research, economics, and quantitative methods are required of all students. These courses can only be waived if a student has passed the same or equivalent course with a grade of B or better within the preceding five years. The research core courses include a one-credit hour research and writing skills course taught in the first semester of the program. In addition, students must take a research elective approved by their advisory committee. For the economics core, students must take two graduate level economics courses and earn a B or better in each of them. The quantitative methods coursework includes a three course series in either econometrics or statistical methods. The appropriate sequence will be determined by the student s advisory committee in consultation with the student. A course overview can be seen below. Foundation Courses Accounting Finance Information Systems Management Marketing Core Courses Research & Writing Skills Research Elective Economics Course A AND Economics Course B Quantitative Methods (nine credit hours) - Students will take either the ECO or the QMB sequence listed ECO Sequence ECO 6424 Econometrics I ECO 6425 Econometrics II ECO 7426 Econometrics III QMB Sequence QMB 6375 Applied Linear Statistical Models QMB 7565 Introduction to Research Methods QMB 7566 Applied Multivariate Statistical Methods Support Field Students must take a minimum of nine credit hours from one or more fields outside the concentration department. These courses will be selected to complement the concentration and may include courses from outside the Muma College of Business. Concentration Courses Concentration (15 credit hours) Dissertation (21 credit hours minimum)
CONCENTRATIONS AND RESEARCH AREAS ACCOUNTING A PhD in Business Administration with a concentration in accounting from the Lynn Pippenger School of Accountancy develops mastery of one or more specialized areas of accounting, such as accounting information systems, auditing, managerial, or financial accounting. The Lynn Pippenger School of Accountancy was ranked first in the nation in the accounting information systems field in a ranking created by Brigham Young University. The school was also in the top 30 in other areas of research including audit. Accounting doctoral student Rina Limor s dissertation, Do Social Biases Impede Auditor Reliance on Specialists? Toward a Theory of Social Similarity, received the 2015 Outstanding Dissertation Award from the American Accounting Association s Accounting Information Systems Section. MARKETING A PhD in Business Administration with a concentration in Marketing prepares graduates for academic careers at other accredited universities. In the Marketing Department, USF has expertise in the area of consumer behavior, sensory marketing, marketing analytics, sports marketing, supply chain/logistics, and strategy. Students are exposed to a variety of cutting edge topics in marketing through seminars conducted by active researchers in the area. In 2014, the Academy of Marketing Science awarded USF marketing doctoral student Nazuk Sharma with the Jane K. Fenyo Award for the best paper by a doctoral student.
FINANCE A PhD in Business Administration with a concentration in finance trains students to conduct quality research at academic institutions in areas such as investments, corporate finance, and international finance. Students develop skills needed to pursue careers at major universities and as researchers as well as for careers in industry and government. Much of the formal curriculum is devoted to economics and to the examination of theoretical and empirical research considered seminal in the area of finance. Students will work closely with the faculty to produce publishable research. The Research and Scholarship Committee of the Muma College of Business chose finance doctoral student, Yun Meng, as a recipient of the 2015 Doctoral Student Summer Research Award. INFORMATION SYSTEMS & DECISION SCIENCES A PhD in Business Administration with a concentration in information systems prepares graduates for a variety of careers in a domain that has tremendous impact on all aspects of business, society and life. In an academic career, graduates make an impact as researchers as well as by helping train and develop future generations of information systems professionals. Some information systems PhDs build innovative technology companies, and some pursue careers as technology experts in all kinds of organizations. The ISDS Department at USF has special expertise in data analytics and business intelligence, software engineering, organizational aspects of information systems, technology adoption and diffusion, social networks, information security, and healthcare analytics. Shankar Prawesh published The Most Popular News Recommender: Count Amplification and Manipulation Resistance in Information Systems Research, a premier journal in information systems. In this co-authored piece, Prawesh and Professor Balaji Padmanabhan demonstrate that commonly used algorithms for most-read recommendations are subject to manipulation. They develop and test a better probabilistic selection-based approach. PLACEMENTS Faculty help place students in prestigious universities worldwide. Recent graduates have been placed in faculty positions at universities such as: Texas A & M Virginia Tech Syracuse University Baylor University Wake Forest University Florida International University Georgia State University of Arkansas Little Rock Kent State University North Carolina State HEC Montréal California State University, Fullerton Hofstra University Northern Illinois University University of Wisconsin at Eau Claire New York University at Oswego Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur University of North Dakota
ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS Applicants must demonstrate high levels of success in previous academic work and a competitive score on the Graduate Management Admissions Test. Students may apply after earning a bachelor s degree; however, a master s degree is preferred. Applicants must provide the following items: University application Transcripts GMAT scores TOEFL scores (if applicable) Résumé Statement of goals and objectives Three recommendation letters APPLICATION DEADLINE January 2 FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE A limited number of graduate assistantships are available to doctoral students. The assistantships pay approximately $20,000 for twelve months, plus partial tuition waivers. Decisions regarding assistantships are made on a competitive basis. CONTACT Stacee Bender staceebender@usf.edu MUMA COLLEGE OF BUSINESS 4202 E. FOWLER AVENUE, BSN 3403 TAMPA, FL 33620