About our PhD Students

All UW-Madison PhD students possess a high degree of intellectual curiosity and are highly self-motivated. Demonstrated academic credentials are a major consideration in the admission decision, as is the consideration of “fit” with research interests and goals of the departments. Some students, but not all, have previous degrees in business, economics, or related fields. There is no requirement for specific undergraduate majors. Many students possess a previous graduate degree and/or prior work experience, but these are not required. In the current student pool, 35 of the 57 students have a previous master’s degree.

UW-Madison School of Business doctoral students may choose from several majors and sub-plans within their majors. But all of our doctoral students share one thing in common: a passion for scholarly research and an ability to become immersed in the creation of knowledge within their academic field of concentration and areas related to it. While there are many career paths for those holding a PhD in Business, UW-Madison students are intellectually talented and highly motivated individuals who are dedicated to the pursuit of academic careers in producing original research and providing quality teaching at leading institutions of higher learning or who are attracted to non-academic careers that demand highly developed research and analytical skills.

This commitment requires immersion in one’s studies on a full time basis. It is not possible to work outside of the school while pursuing the PhD. Each department admits a cohort of one or more students in the Fall semester. These students meet with their advisors and undertake a full time, departmentally prescribed set of course work, leading to the prelim exam, normally completed at the end of the third year of study. Once the student has passed to the status of dissertator, the focus is on producing the major piece of original research, the dissertation.

Profile of current doctoral candidates

Post Graduate Degrees

• 35 have a previous graduate degree in some area of Business
• 4 have a Master’s in Economics
• 4 have a Master’s in Engineering
• 4 have a Master’s in Mathematics or Statistics
• 3 have a Master’s in the Humanities
• 1 has a Juris Doctorate in Law

Undergraduate Degrees

• 27 have an undergraduate degree in Business
• 4 have an undergraduate degree in Economics
• 4 have an undergraduate degree in Engineering
• 2 have an undergraduate degree in Computer Science or Information Systems
• 6 have an undergraduate degree in Mathematics
• 2 have an undergraduate degree in Science
• 12 have undergraduate degrees in the Humanities