Marketing

PhD students should develop considerable knowledge of the following areas during the course of their program: research and quantitative methods, marketing and behavioral theories, and managerial issues. Course requirements are designed to help develop this knowledge base. The following are the minimum course requirements for doctoral students in marketing. Students may choose, and are encouraged, to take more course work as desired.

A. Prerequisites:

Either a BBA or an MBA degree, or four courses selected from two or more of the following areas: accounting, finance, management, economics, operations and information management. In addition, all incoming students are expected to have competency at an intermediate level of statistics (GEN BUS 706 or equivalent).

B. Marketing:

Four doctoral seminars in marketing at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

C. Methods:

Four courses at the graduate level, either inside or outside the School of Business. Courses must be at a level beyond that of intermediate statistics, with at least one course in the methods of data collection and at least one in the methods of data analysis.

D. Minor:

Option A – Departmental Minor: 10 credits in one department outside the School of Business.

Option B – Distributed Minor: 10 credits in more than one department outside the School of Business, with the possibility of some courses in Business in areas other than the major.

E. Summer Paper Requirements:

Following students' first year in the program, they are required to complete a research project, typically in collaboration with a faculty member.  The summer paper should be based on a student's research interests, and it may be empirical or conceptual in nature.  The summer paper must be submitted to the doctoral committee no later than August 31.  Students will receive written feedback from the committee, including specific comments that will be similar to what they can expect in reviews from journals.  Students will present the research to the department during the fall speaker series and receive feedback from the doctoral committee on their progress.

F. Preliminary Examination:

In the summer following students' second year in the doctoral program, they will sit for the preliminary examination.  The examination is designed to assess a student's breath and depth of knowledge before they begin working extensively on their dissertation.  The examination will be reviewed by the doctoral committee in consultation with the full faculty.

G.  Other Requirements:

Other courses may be required by the department based on the student's previous academic background.  Each student, before the start of the second semester in the program, must complete a form showing a list of intended courses.  This form must be approved by the Faculty Chair of the Doctoral Program in the Marketing Department, and all changes to the list must also be approved.  Approval must be gained for all methods and minor courses before they are taken.

All marketing and methods courses must be satisfactorily completed before the preliminary examination can be taken; the examination cannot be taken before the student has completed at least two years of full-time coursework in the Marketing Department Doctoral Program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.