Admission Requirements

All applicants seeking admission into the Ph.D. in Business Administration must fulfill the University’s general requirements for graduate admission at the Ph.D. level. Additional requirements for admission into the program are listed below.

1. A baccalaureate or master’s degree in Business, Economics, or a related field with a minimum undergraduate GPA of 3.5 (A=4.0) overall. In the case a candidate presents a master’s degree at application, a minimum graduate GPA of 3.25 (A=4.0) on all graduate coursework is required.
2. A GMAT score of at least 650 or GRE scores with scores on the quantitative section of at least 700 and on the verbal section of at least 500.
3. For non-native speakers of English that do not hold degrees from a US university, a score of 220 on the computer-based TOEFL, a score of 557 on the paper-based TOEFL, or 85% on the MELAB.
4. Non-native speakers of English may be required, at the discretion of the Graduate School or the Program Director for the Ph.D. in Business Administration, to enroll in English as a Second Language (ESL) courses at the English Language Training Institute.
5. Three positive letters of recommendation, one of which must be from a former professor.
6. A Statement of Purpose from the applicant explaining why they wish to pursue a Ph.D. in Business Administration and why they wish to study the specific area to which they are applying.
7. To ensure their preparation for doctoral coursework, students may be required to take additional undergraduate or graduate courses, as determined by the Ph.D. in Business Administration Program Committee and the Program Director. Such courses will be specified at the time of admission into the program and may include courses in finance, economics, accounting, marketing, management, operations management, management information systems, mathematics, or statistics.

Students are admitted to the program by the Dean of the Graduate School based on the recommendation of the Belk College of Business Doctoral Program Director, in consultation with the Belk College of Business Doctoral Program Committee. Recommendations are based on the assessments of the Program Director and the Program Committee of the candidate’s ability to complete the program, as supported by the application materials. The Program Director, in consultation with the Program Committee, may waive certain requirements if they judge the candidate to be capable of completing the program. If there are more candidates than can be accommodated, candidates are recommended in order of their perceived ability, promise of success, and suitability to the program.

Degree Requirements

The degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Business Administration is awarded for completion of scholarly research that advances knowledge in the field of research.  Evidence of this is demonstrated by a successful dissertation defense.  Additionally, recipients of this degree must demonstrate mastery of the body of knowledge within the field and potential for success in future teaching and research.

Students that enter the program must work with the Graduate Program Director to develop a Plan of Study during their first two semesters in the program.  This Plan of Study determines the exact coursework that the student must meet in order to be eligible to take the Qualifying Examination.  The Plan of Study must meet all Graduate School and Belk College of Business requirements.  The Graduate School requires that any student earning a Ph.D. must complete at least 72 post-baccalaureate credit hours, including at least 18 hours of dissertation credit.  Some of these graduate credit hours may include courses taken while enrolled in other graduate programs.  It is a Belk College of Business requirement that any program of study within the Ph.D. in Business Administration must contain at least 42 credit hours of doctoral coursework, regardless of other graduate hours that the student may have previously earned.  These 42 credit hours are in addition to the minimum 18 hours of dissertation credit that the Graduate School requires.  The Plan of Study must contain a minimum of 33 credit hours in finance and economics courses and a minimum of 9 credit hours in research support courses.

In addition to the general requirements above, if a student enters the program with only a Bachelor’s degree, the Plan of Study must include an additional 30 credit hours of coursework.  This coursework must be taken at the graduate level and will generally include courses that are part of the Master of Accountancy , Master of Business Administration , Master of Science in Economics , or Master of Science in Mathematical Finance   programs.  These 30 credit hours of additional coursework are subject to the approval of the Graduate Program Director.

To ensure that all students are ready for doctoral courses in Business Administration, the program has two distinct sets of prerequisites.  First, students entering the program must either demonstrate or attain proficiency in each of the business specialties.  Second, students must also demonstrate or attain mathematical proficiency.  Students entering the program will be evaluated for these proficiencies by the Graduate Program Director.  If a student is found to be deficient, then the Plan of Study must include appropriate courses, as determined by the Graduate Program Director, from the Business Core and Mathematical prerequisites listed below.  These courses are in addition to the finance, economics, and research support courses.

Degree Total = 72 Credit Hours

Grade Requirements

Students are expected to earn an A or B in all courses included in the program of study and must have at least a 3.0 GPA to graduate.  The dissertation is graded on a Pass/Unsatisfactory basis and, therefore, is not be included in the cumulative average.  An accumulation of more than two marginal (C) grades will result in suspension of the student’s enrollment in the program.  If students earn a grade of U in any course, their enrollment in the program is suspended, and the student cannot take further coursework without being readmitted to the program.  Readmission to the program requires approval of the Dean of the Graduate School upon the recommendation of the Program Director.

Teaching Mentor and Pedagogy Training

To ensure that graduates of the program are prepared for a career in both teaching as well as in research, a formal system of pedagogical training is required. Students that enter the program without prior teaching experience will be assigned a faculty Teaching Mentor and will be required to attend a teaching workshop. Most students entering the program will also initially be employed as teaching assistants. Normally after one year in the program students will begin to teach their own sections of undergraduate courses. The combination of mentoring, apprenticeship training through the teaching assistantships, formal pedagogy, and actual instructor experience will allow students in the program to develop their teaching skills along with their research skills.

Diagnostic Evaluation

Students entering the program will take a diagnostic evaluation at the end of their first full year in the program. The diagnostic examination will be administered by the Program Director, in consultation with the Program Committee. The format of the diagnostic examination will be determined by the Committee, but might consist of a review of the student’s work in classes, a written exam, or an oral exam. The purpose of the diagnostic evaluation will be to determine whether the student is making sufficient progress toward the degree. Students that are determined not to be making satisfactory progress toward the degree will be suspended from the program.

Dissertation Advisor and Advisory Committee

Every student in the program must have a Dissertation Advisor and an Advisory Committee prior to being admitted to Candidacy.  The student should select a dissertation advisor before the end of the second year of residency.  The student and the dissertation advisor jointly determine the advisory committee.  The Dissertation Advisor serves as Chair of the Advisory Committee and must be a member of the Graduate Faculty of UNC Charlotte.  Normally, the Dissertation Advisor for a student will be a member of the Department of Finance.  A student may petition the Program Director to allow a member of another department within the Belk College, or a member of the Department of Mathematics and Statistics, to serve as their Dissertation Advisor.  The advisory committee must have at least four members, three of which are chosen by the student.  Normally, two members will be from finance and one from economics.  A student may petition the Program Director to allow a member of another department within the Belk College, or a member of the Department of Mathematics and Statistics to serve on the Committee.  The fourth member of the committee will be the Graduate Faculty representative to the Committee.  That member will be appointed by the Dean of the Graduate School. All members of the Committee must be members of the UNC Charlotte Graduate Faculty.

Qualifying Examination

Upon completion of all required coursework on their Plan of Study, a student must take the Qualifying Examination. The Qualifying Examination is held twice per year. Students that have completed their Program of Study must take the qualifying examination the first time that it is offered. The Comprehensive Exam will be a written exam consisting of two four-hour sessions, administered on consecutive days. The intent of the Qualifying Examination is to test the student’s mastery of the body of knowledge, and to demonstrate their familiarity with current research in the field. The qualifying exam will, therefore, cover topics addressed during doctoral coursework, seminars, and in the recent scholarly literature. The Qualifying Examination will be written and graded by an Examination Committee appointed by the Program Director. This committee will normally consist of faculty from finance, economics, research support fields.

If a student fails the Qualifying Examination at the first attempt, they must retake the exam the next time it is offered. During the interim period, the student may be required to retake courses in which, in the eyes of the Examination Committee, they have a deficiency. It is Graduate School policy that a student who fails the Qualifying Examination twice will be terminated from the program.

Admission to Candidacy

The dissertation topic may be proposed after the student has passed the Qualifying Examination.  Pursuant to Graduate School rules, a doctoral student advances to candidacy after the student’s Advisory Committee and the Dean of the Graduate School approve the dissertation topic.  Further pursuant to Graduate School rules, candidacy must be achieved at least six months before the degree is conferred.

Dissertation

The student must complete and defend a dissertation based on a research program approved by the student’s Dissertation Advisor and Advisory Committee which results in a high-quality, original and substantial piece of research.  The student must orally present and defend the dissertation before the Advisory Committee in a defense that is open to the University Community.  A copy of the dissertation must be made available to the Graduate Faculty of the Belk College at least three weeks prior to the public defense.  While the defense is open to the University Community, the deliberations of the Advisory Committee are held in Executive Session.  The dissertation will be graded on a pass/unsatisfactory basis by the Advisory Committee and the Dean of the Graduate School.

The dissertation defense is the final examination.  It is a Graduate School requirement that a student that fails the final examination twice will be terminated from the program.

Residency Requirement

The Ph.D. in Business Administration is a full-time program. Normally students must enroll for at least nine credit hours during each semester of the regular academic year (i.e., Fall and Spring) and at least six hours in the summer semester. Students may petition the Program Director for permission to enroll in less than nine credit hours (six credit hours in summer) in cases of hardship or other emergencies. Students that have passed their Qualifying Examinations must enroll in BPHD 8999 - Doctoral Dissertation Research  for at least 9 hours during the fall and spring semester and 6 hours during the summer semester. It is a Graduate School requirement that a student must enroll in at least 18 total hours of Dissertation Research in order to graduate from the program.

Students that have completed all degree requirements, including the Dissertation Defense, may enroll once in GRAD 9999 - Doctoral Graduate Residency Credit  in order to meet Graduate School Residency requirements.

Assistantships

A number of graduate assistantships are available each year for qualified applicants. The Graduate School also has a limited number of fellowships available for highly qualified applicants.

Transfer Credit

Only courses with grades of A or B from an appropriate doctoral program at an AACSB accredited school may be accepted for transfer credit. Transfer credit must be approved by the Program Director, and cannot exceed the limit set by the Graduate School.

Time Limit for Degree Completion

The student must achieve candidacy for the Ph.D. degree within six years of enrolling in the program, and the student must complete all degree all requirements within eight years of enrolling in the program. All courses listed on the Plan of Study must also meet Graduate School time requirements.

Application for Degree

Each student should make application for his/her degree by completing the online Application for Degree through Banner Self Service no later than the filing date specified in the University Academic Calendar.