In an increasingly globalized world characterized by rapid change and progress, business communities need innovative scholarship that challenges established convention and gives practitioners, policymakers, and cultural influencers cutting-edge, evidence-based findings and tools to help them manage, lead, innovate, and excel in their careers and organizations. Scholarship such as this is produced at business schools with a vibrant, innovative PhD program in Business.
The PhD program in Business is designed to address such needs. The PhD Program in Business will enhance GMU’s mission by increasing the number of doctoral programs, research intensity, and university-wide interdisciplinary research and collaboration. By providing access to regional research sites and the diverse Mason community, our students will emerge from the program prepared to study many of the organizational problems within the Commonwealth as well as the world.
This program is designed as an overarching degree with six concentrations from which the students must pick one. The concentrations will be in Organizational Behavior, Strategic Management, Information Systems, Marketing, Finance, and Operations Management. Each student will declare their concentration prior to admission, in order for the school and faculty to properly prepare courses for degree completion. While some courses will be in common for all students taking the PhD in Business, each concentration will contain unique courses. The goal with this model is both to simplify the overall administration of the program (one degree) but allow the students the relevant domain knowledge to succeed in their specific field (required concentration). Please visit the Costello College of Business website to view available concentrations.
Admissions
Full eligibility and admission requirements can be viewed on the Costello College of Business website.
Policies
For policies governing all graduate degrees, see AP.6 Graduate Policies.
All students registering for Costello College of Business graduate courses must have graduate standing. Non-degree student status is not available.
Graduate level courses offered by the Costello College of Business cannot be audited.
Degree Requirements
Total credits: 72
The PhD in Business includes courses in the Business Core, within each concentration, and then credits towards dissertation research. Within each concentration there are required and elective courses.
PhD in Business Core
All students pursuing the PhD in Business will take the following courses:
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| BUS 701 | Introduction to Research in Business | 3 |
| BUS 702 | Academic Business Writing for PhD Students | 3 |
| BUS 703 | Research Project 1 | 6 |
| BUS 801 | Field Research in Business 1 | 6 |
| BUS 802 | Teaching in the Field of Business | 3 |
| or HE 602 | College Teaching | |
| Total Credits | 21 | |
- 1
Must be repeated for a total of 6 credits.
Concentration in Finance (FNAN)
All students pursuing the concentration in Finance will be required to take courses in the domain, research methods courses, and specialization or elective courses.
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| BUS 711 | Proseminar in Business 1 | 0-6 |
| FNAN 881 | PhD Seminar in Empirical Corporate Finance | 3 |
| FNAN 882 | PhD Seminar in Finance | 3 |
| FNAN 883 | PhD Seminar in Empirical Asset Pricing | 3 |
| FNAN 884 | PhD Seminar in Asset Pricing Theory | 3 |
| Total Credits | 12-18 | |
- 1
May be repeated for up to 6 credits.
Concentration in Information Systems (ISY)
All students pursuing the concentration in Information Systems will be required to take courses in the domain, research methods courses, and specialization or elective courses.
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| BUS 711 | Proseminar in Business | 0-6 |
| MIS 721 | Seminar in Information Systems | 1.5 |
| OSCM 721 | Seminar in Operations and Supply Chain Management | 1.5 |
| MIS 722 | Seminar in Economics of Information Systems | 3 |
| MIS 723 | Seminar in Technology Research in Information Systems | 3 |
| MIS 892 | Special Topics in Information Systems | 3 |
| Total Credits | 12-18 | |
Concentration in Marketing (MKTG)
All students pursuing the concentration in Marketing will be required to take courses in the domain, research methods courses, and specialization or elective courses.
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| BUS 711 | Proseminar in Business 1 | 0-6 |
| MKTG 751 | Seminar in Marketing Strategy | 3 |
| MKTG 752 | Seminar in Marketing Methods and Models | 3 |
| MKTG 891 | Special Topics in Marketing 2 | 3 |
- 1
May be repeated for up to 6 credits.
- 2
Must be repeated for a total of 6 credits.
Concentration in Operations Management (OMGT)
All students pursuing the concentration in Operations Management will be required to take courses in the domain, research methods courses, and specialization or elective courses.
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| BUS 711 | Proseminar in Business 1 | 0-6 |
| MIS 721 | Seminar in Information Systems | 1.5 |
| OSCM 721 | Seminar in Operations and Supply Chain Management | 1.5 |
| OSCM 731 | Seminar in Supply Chain Management | 3 |
| OSCM 732 | Seminar in Innovation and New Product Development | 3 |
| OSCM 893 | Special Topics in Operations Management 2 | 3 |
- 1
May be repeated for up to 6 credits.
- 2
May be repeated for different topics.
Concentration in Organizational Behavior (ORGB)
All students pursuing the concentration in Organizational Behavior will be required to take courses in the domain, research methods courses, and specialization or elective courses.
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Required Courses | ||
| BUS 711 | Proseminar in Business 1 | 0-6 |
| MGMT 711 | Seminar in Organizational Behavior | 3 |
| MGMT 712 | Seminar in Strategic Management | 3 |
| MGMT 893 | Special Topics in Organizational Behavior 2 | 6 |
| Total Credits | 12-18 | |
- 1
May be repeated for up to 6 credits.
- 2
Must be repeated for a total of 6 credits.
Concentration in Strategic Management (STMT)
All students pursuing the concentration in Strategic Management will be required to take courses in the domain, research methods courses, and specialization or elective courses.
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Required Courses | ||
| BUS 711 | Proseminar in Business 1 | 0-6 |
| MGMT 711 | Seminar in Organizational Behavior | 3 |
| MGMT 712 | Seminar in Strategic Management | 3 |
| MGMT 892 | Special Topics in Strategic Management 2 | 6 |
| Total Credits | 12-18 | |
- 1
May be repeated for up to 6 credits.
- 2
Must be repeated for a total of 6 credits.
Research Methods
Research methods courses are designed to prepare students to evaluate and investigate a range of research approaches including data collection and analysis, data mining and econometrics, and empirical and analytical modeling. All courses must be approved by a faculty advisor.
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Select 9 credits from the following: | 9 | |
| Microeconomic Theory | ||
| Econometrics I | ||
| Econometrics II | ||
| Linear Programming | ||
| Integer Programming | ||
| Stochastic Processes | ||
| Quantitative Methods IV: Multivariate Techniques in Psychology | ||
| Special Topics in Psychology | ||
| Survey Research | ||
| Qualitative Research Methods | ||
| Ethnography | ||
| Social Networks, New Media, and Inequality | ||
| Analytic Techniques of Social Research | ||
| Nonparametric Statistics and Categorical Data Analysis | ||
| Applied Regression Analysis | ||
| Applied Statistics I | ||
| Case Studies in Data Analysis | ||
| Statistical Inference | ||
| Applied Statistics II | ||
| Regression Analysis | ||
| Multivariate Analysis and Statistical Learning | ||
| Total Credits | 9 | |
Specialization
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Students must choose a specialization area closely related to their concentration, which consists of 9 credits of approved coursework. A student may select a specialization with a second concentration in Business, or may develop a specialization with the approval of the academic advisor. No more than one Independent Study course with a faculty member may be used toward satisfying the specialization requirement. | 9 | |
Examples of acceptable specialization areas include psychology (for students in the Organizational Behavior concentration), industrial engineering and statistics (for students in the Operations Management concentration), sociology (for students in the Strategic Management concentration), and economics and computer science (for students in the Information Systems concentration). Courses taken to fulfill the specialization must be in addition to any other requirements for the concentration.
Teaching Practicum
Provides supervised teaching experience of selected business school courses.
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| BUS 850 | Teaching Practicum | 3 |
Electives
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Students complete the remaining credits through additional elective courses chosen in consultation with an advisor. | 6 | |
Advancement to Candidacy
To advance to candidacy, students must complete all courses required by the program. Students must also successfully complete and pass a written comprehensive exam.
Dissertation Research
All PhD in Business students must satisfactorily complete a doctoral dissertation. A PhD in Business dissertation culminates doctoral study. Such work must clearly demonstrate the candidates' abilities to apply principles of business-related problems within one’s chosen concentration. It must integrate knowledge of various disciplines with knowledge of relevant practice and theory. The dissertation must also make a significant contribution to existing knowledge or practice within one’s chosen concentration.
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| BUS 998 | Doctoral Dissertation Proposal | 1-6 |
| BUS 999 | Doctoral Dissertation Research | 1-18 |
| Minimum Credits | 12 | |
Students must register for 3 or 6 credits the first semester enrolled in BUS 998 Doctoral Dissertation Proposal. Students must register for at least 1 credit of BUS 998 thereafter until they are permitted to register for BUS 999 Doctoral Dissertation Research. Students must register for 3 credits the first semester enrolled in BUS 999 and must register for at least 1 credit of BUS 999 thereafter until all work has been completed, including the semester in which the degree is received. Students must apply a minimum of 12 dissertation credits (BUS 998 and BUS 999 combined) to the degree.