phd in business administration florida

University of Florida

Business Administration (Ph.D.)

Program information.

For the Ph.D. in Business Administration, students must have a concentration in one of the following:

• Information Systems and Operation Management
• Quantitative Finance
• Real Estate and Urban Analysis

Minimum requirements for the various departments and specialties are given in the Graduate Degrees section in this catalog.

All candidates for the Ph.D. in business administration must satisfy the following general requirements:

Breadth requirement: All applicants for Ph.D. in the business administration program are expected to have completed prior business-related course work at either the advanced undergraduate or graduate level. Students entering without prior work are required to take a minimum of three graduate courses in at least two fields other than their chosen area of concentration. Most often, the appropriate courses will be found in the M.B.A. first-year core; the particular courses to be taken by a student will be decided in consultation with the student’s academic adviser. After a student enters the Ph.D. program, the courses taken to satisfy the breadth requirement must be taken in the College of Business Administration.

Research foundations requirement: All students must complete a six-course research skills sequence that prepares them for scholarly research in their chosen area of concentration. Research foundations are defined as essential methodological tools (e.g., statistics, quantitative analysis) and/or substantive content domains (e.g., psychology, economics) outside the student’s major field that are considered essential to conducting high quality research in the chosen field. The specific research skills required by each area of concentration can be found in the field descriptions in this Catalog.

Other requirements include satisfactory completion of graduate course work in the major field of concentration, as well as one or two minor fields designed to add depth to the student’s research training. Minors are selected by the student in consultation with their advisory committee, and may be within or outside the College of Business Administration.

For more information, please see the links above and our website: http://warrington.ufl.edu/graduate/academics .

Degrees Offered with a Major in Business Administration

• Doctor of Philosophy

Requirements for these degrees are given in the Graduate Degrees section of this catalog.

Accounting Departmental Courses

Finance, insurance, and real estate departmental courses, information systems and operations management departmental courses, management departmental courses, marketing departmental courses, warrington college of business courses, business administration.

2017-18 PhD SLO 1          Knowledge         Manage the technical tools (theory, methodology, statistical analyses, and reporting norms) essential to the  departmental area of study.

2017-18 PhD SLO 2          Skills      Interpret with technical tools to create new knowledge through original research.

2017-18 PhD SLO 3          Professional Behavior    Communicate specialized information from a field of expertise verbally and in writing.

2017-18 PhD SLO 4          Professional Behavior    Communicate specialized information from a field of expertise verbally at an educated layman or university  undergraduate student level.

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Concentrations:

• Information Systems

This Major shares core requirements with the Business Administration, D.B.A    

The Ph.D. degree program offered by the Muma College of Business provides its graduates with preparation for careers as college and university professors and as research and staff personnel in industry and government. The doctoral degree program provides for intellectual growth as students work closely with faculty in seminars, research projects, and other assignments, which develop their teaching and research skills. The curriculum offers breadth of understanding of the integral components of business administration as well as depth of field specialization sufficient to permit the student to make a meaningful contribution to their discipline. The program is sufficiently flexible to allow each student to build upon his or her strengths and to accommodate students with various levels of preparation in a wide variety of fields, and in areas outside the college. However, the degree conferred is Ph.D. in Business with a concentration in one of the departmental areas.

Accreditation: Accredited by AACSB International – The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business.

Admission Information

Must meet University Admission and English Proficiency requirements, as well as requirements for admission to the major, listed below.

• Competitive based on GPA, GMAT or GRE
• Personal statement
• Recommendations

Curriculum Requirements

Total Minimum Hours: 90

• Shared Core Requirements – 5 credit hours
• Breadth, Research, Electives - 28 credit hours minimum
• Research Methods - 12 credit hours
• Concentration –minimum 15 credit hours
• Support Field Hours - 9 credit hours
• Dissertation- 21 credit hours

Shared Core Requirements (5 Credit Hours)

The core courses are designed to develop the student’s research skills. These courses are required of all students in the major. The College will waive a course only if the student has passed the same or equivalent course with a grade of “B” or better within the preceding five years.

• QMB 7557 Research and Writing Skills for Doctoral Students Credit Hours: 2
• QMB 7565 Introduction to Research Methods Credit Hours: 3

Breadth, Research, Electives requirement (28 Credit Hours)

This requirement is designed to develop an appreciation of the institution of business and to help students see how their areas of specialization fit into this general picture.  With the approval of the doctoral programs committee, a student may satisfy these requirements in the following ways before graduation:

• With an undergraduate or graduate degree in any business field from an AACSB (or equivalent) accredited institution in the last 10 years, plus completion of 28 cedit hours of graduate research or elective coursework selected with the advisor.
• Management, Marketing, and Economics

Research Methods (12 credit hours)

The research methods courses are meant to provide a strong background in quantitative and statistical research skills. These courses are to be determined by the Ph.D. Coordinator in the student’s concentration, considering the student’s research interests and avoiding needless duplication.  A four-course series is required.  An appropriate sequence should be chosen from the following:

• ECO 6424 Econometrics I Credit Hours: 3
• ECO 6425 Econometrics II Credit Hours: 3
• ECO 7426 Econometrics III Credit Hours: 3
• ECO 7427 Econometrics IV Credit Hours: 3
• EDF 7412 Application of Structural Equation Modeling in Education Credit Hours: 3
• EDF 7474 Applied Multilevel Modeling in Education Credit Hours: 3
• MAR 7629 Applied Experimental Methods in Behavioral Science Credit Hours: 3
• PSY 6208 Experimental Design and Analysis of Variance Credit Hours: 3
• QMB 6375 Applied Linear Statistical Models Credit Hours: 3
• QMB 7566 Applied Multivariate Statistical Methods Credit Hours: 3

Any substitution of appropriate mathematics, statistical and quantitative coursework must be approved by the Doctoral Program Committee at the earliest convenience.

Concentration Requirements (15 Credit Hours Minimum)

Students select from the following concentrations: Accounting, Finance, Information Systems, or Marketing

All students will take at least five (5) courses at the 6000 or 7000 graduate level in an area designated as the student’s Concentration. Students are encouraged to identify courses in the concentration field that will provide experience in applying current research techniques to problems in that field. To accomplish this, the student may propose a combination of formal classroom courses and independent directed-research courses. This combination may include a year-long research seminar in which the groundwork is laid for the student’s dissertation. The specific agenda of courses will be determined by the student’s program committee.

The following fields are offered: Accounting, Finance, Information Systems, and Marketing. Courses taken as part of the Foundation or Core sections may not be counted as part of the hours required for a concentration field.

Accounting Concentration (15 Credit Hours)

The Accounting concentration emphasizes:

• The mastery of one or more specialized areas of accounting, such as accounting information systems, auditing, or financial accounting
• The development of requisite skills to engage in respected applied, practical and scholarly research
• The development of effective teaching skills
• ACG 7156 Seminar in Financial Accounting Credit Hours: 3
• ACG 7646 Seminar in Auditing Credit Hours: 3
• ACG 7415 Seminar in Accounting Information Systems Credit Hours: 3
• ACG 7157 Seminar in Archival Accounting Research Credit Hours: 3
• ACG 7399 Seminar in Behavioral Accounting Research Credit Hours: 3

Finance Concentration (18 Credit Hours)

• FIN 6804 Theory of Finance Credit Hours: 3
• FIN 7808 Advanced Micro Finance Credit Hours: 3
• FIN 7817 Financial Markets Credit Hours: 3
• FIN 7930 Selected Topics in Finance Credit Hours: 3 (taken two semesters)
• FIN 7935 Finance Research Seminar Credit Hours: 3

Information Systems Concentration (18 Credit Hours)

Students will be required to successfully complete a minimum of six (6) graduate-level seminars, including at least five (5) of the following courses:

• ISM 6930 Selected Topics in Management Information Systems Credit Hours: 1-6 taken as Computational Methods in Business (3 credit hours)
• ISM 7911 Management Information Systems Research Seminar II Credit Hours: 3 taken as Seminar in Technical IS Research
• ISM 7912 Seminar on Behavioral Information Systems Research Credit Hours: 3
• ISM 7936 Design Science Research Seminar Credit Hours: 3
• ISM 7935 Information Systems Research at Disciplinary Interfaces Credit Hours: 3

Or other graduate course as approved by the Graduate Director

Marketing Concentration Requirements (18 Credit Hours)

Students will be required to successfully complete a minimum of 6 doctoral-level Marketing seminars. 

The six required courses may be selected from the following list:

• MAR 7555 Consumer Behavior Theory Credit Hours: 3
• MAR 7635 Advanced Marketing Research: Design and Technique Credit Hours: 3
• MAR 7667 Marketing Models and Strategy Applications Credit Hours: 3
• MAR 7578 Sensory Marketing Credit Hours: 3
• MAR 7910 Independent Study in Marketing Credit Hours: 1-12 S/U only
• MAR 7931 Seminar on Selected Marketing Topics Credit Hours: 1-3

Topics include:

• Seminar on Managerial Marketing
• Buyer-Seller Interaction
• Marketing Channels, Logistics and Supply Chain Management
• Marketing Management
• Marketing Strategy
• Readings in Marketing
• Sales Management

In addition, students will complete a “Pro-Seminar” every Fall semester of the first year of the major.

Note: The Professional Seminar does not count as one of the six required Ph.D. seminars.   

Support Field (9 Credit Hours)

The support area will consist of a minimum of three graduate level courses (9 hours) from one or more of the fields listed under the concentration field, or elsewhere in the university.  The support field and the concentration field cannot be taken in the same department.  Courses within the support field can be selected to complement the concentration field and in special cases may include courses outside the Muma College of Business.    The nature and number of the support area courses will be determined by the Student’s Program Committee in consultation with the Ph.D. coordinator of the support field department. Courses taken as part of the Foundation or Core courses may not be counted as part of the 9 hours required for support fields.

Grade Requirement: Should a student earn a grade of “C” or lower in a course, the case will be brought before the Doctoral Committee for review.  After reviewing the case, the Committee will take one of the following steps:

a)    Require the student to pass an examination that covers the material relevant to the subject.  A student who fails the exam on the first attempt may retake it within one year.  A student who fails the exam on the second attempt will be subject to dismissal.

b)    Require the student to retake the course.  If the student retakes the course and fails to receive a grade of “B” or better, the student is subject to dismissal.  

Comprehensive Qualifying Examinations:

Upon completion of all coursework, students must pass the equivalent of a comprehensive examination in the concentration area. This comprehensive examination may take the form of a written exam or a completed research paper in the student’s area of concentration, depending on the MCOB school’s policy.  

Dissertation (21 Credit Hours Minimum)

• ACG 7980 Dissertation in Accounting Credit Hours: 2-21
• FIN 7980 Dissertation Credit Hours: 2-12 (Finance)
• ISM 7980 Dissertation Credit Hours: 2-12 (Information Systems)
• MAR 7980 Dissertation Credit Hours: 2-12 (Marketing)

Residency Requirement:

Business Administration (PhD) – Finance

Program at a glance.

• In State Tuition
• Out of State Tuition

Learn more about the cost to attend UCF.

The Finance track in the Business Administration PhD program prepares students for careers in higher education and management within profit and nonprofit industries.

Success in the program is judged by the student's understanding of the issues and methodologies essential to the advancement of knowledge.

The Finance track of the Business Administration PhD program requires 72 credit hours beyond the bachelor's degree. Students must complete 18 credit hours of finance core courses, 6 credit hours of a minor/support area, 12 credit hours of research methods/tools courses, 21 credit hours of electives, and 15 credit hours of dissertation.

Total Credit Hours Required: 72 Credit Hours Minimum beyond the Bachelor's Degree (54 Credit Hours Minimum beyond the Master's Degree)

Required courses for all students are indicated with an asterisk in the lists below. Specific courses from the foundation body of knowledge category are determined based on a student's background in consultation with the doctoral program coordinator. Required course work prior to beginning study includes successful completion of at least a two-course sequence of 6 credit hours of calculus and previous course work in economics, finance, and statistics. The program requires 27 hours of formal course work, exclusive of independent study, as well as 15 credit hours of dissertation research.

Application Deadlines

• International

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Financial information.

Graduate students may receive financial assistance through fellowships, assistantships, tuition support, or loans. For more information, see the College of Graduate Studies Funding website, which describes the types of financial assistance available at UCF and provides general guidance in planning your graduate finances. The Financial Information section of the Graduate Catalog is another key resource.

Fellowship Information

Fellowships are awarded based on academic merit to highly qualified students. They are paid to students through the Office of Student Financial Assistance, based on instructions provided by the College of Graduate Studies. Fellowships are given to support a student's graduate study and do not have a work obligation. For more information, see UCF Graduate Fellowships, which includes descriptions of university fellowships and what you should do to be considered for a fellowship.

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Muma College of Business

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Information systems concentration.

Why consider a PhD concentration in Information Systems?

• The domain : Information Systems and Information Technology have had tremendous impact on business, society and even everyday life. In the world of business, IS and IT continue to make profound impact on other business functions such as strategy, finance, marketing and operations. If you have the passion for technology, the ability to conceive of fundamental and interesting questions in this space, and the willingness to learn and use scientific methodologies that will help you rigorously answer these questions, then a PhD with a concentration in Information Systems might be of interest to you.
• Challenging career : If you have accomplished everything you wanted to accomplish within a relatively short time and still crave for more, then an IS PhD concentration may just be the right choice for you. You will be trained to be an independent thinker, ask (and answer) difficult questions, solve seemingly intractable problems, and spend a lifetime of continuous learning.
• Academic freedom : A PhD in Business Administration with a concentration in Information Systems will give you the opportunity to design your own projects, assemble your own team of experts, work on your own schedule, and use your own preferred choice of methodologies. In addition to making impact as a researcher, as a university professor you will also get to design and teach undergraduate and graduate courses in Information Systems, thereby helping to train and develop future generations of IS professionals.
• Sunil Mithas, [email protected] School of Information Systems & Management Muma College of Business Phone: (240) 780-2595