Breadth requirement (1 course)

One graduate level course in a field other than accounting, finance or economics. Suitable courses will depend on the student’s research interests, and might include subjects such as behavioral science, statistics, political economy, linguistics, computer science, mathematics, logic or marketing. Course selection for breadth requirements have to be approved by the liaison.

II. Practicum

All students are required to register for course - Teaching Practicum or course - Research Practicum for one unit in every quarter of the academic year and during the summer quarter. Students register for ACCT 698 and ACCT 699 on Axess and receive a letter grade for ACCT 698 and ACCT 699.

We estimate that students in their first and second year will spend 3 hours per week per quarter on the practicum. These practicums are research rotations with faculty and involve regular meetings and deliverables. Students in years 3 through 5 will spend approximately 14 hours per week per quarter during the academic year and 10 hours per week in the summer quarter on the practicum. These practicums typically focus on the students’ own projects, under the guidance of the faculty with whom they are working with.

In years 3-5, students have the option to work up to 6 hours/week during the academic year and up to 10 hours/week during the summer as an RA or CA. Students sign up for RA or CA work on the CARA system. In addition, at any point during the program, students have the option to work as a grader up to the appropriate limits per school and university policy. Students sign up as a grader on CARA.

International students may be restricted in the number of hours they can work as RA, CA or grader due to their visa status.

Research practicum

The purpose of the accounting group’s research practicum is to give our doctoral students hands-on exposure to accounting research. In the student’s first academic year of study, each student will be assigned to work with a different faculty member each quarter. During these first-year series of practicum,

students will gain exposure to the given faculty members' areas of research through a variety of activities, such as reading and discussing research papers, collecting data for a research project, working on an aspect of the faculty member’s research or performing a literature review.

In the second year of the program, students will serve as research assistants for the sponsoring faculty member as part of their research practicum. From the third to the fifth year, the focus of the research practicum will shift to the students' own research projects, including collaborative work, under the guidance of the sponsoring faculty member.

These practicums are designed to provide valuable research experience, involving the initiation, development, and completion of new and ongoing research projects, as well as writing referee reports under faculty supervision and engaging in similar career-building activities.

In addition to the activities overseen by the sponsoring faculty member, students must regularly attend accounting seminars and internal workshops.

Teaching practicum

The purpose of the accounting group’s teaching practicum is to give our doctoral students hands-on exposure to aspects in teaching. A teaching practicum can involve a variety of activities such as conducting review sessions, development of teaching material including case writing. The scope and nature of the teaching practicum will be determined by the sponsoring faculty member each quarter.

III. Summer Research Papers and Presentations

Satisfactory completion of the following research papers and presentations are required for admission to candidacy.

1st year summer paper

Each student is required to write an original research paper during the summer after the first year of coursework. This research paper is due before the start of the fall quarter of their second year, and is required to be presented to the faculty during an accounting workshop at the beginning of the fall quarter at a time announced by the liaison. The student receives a pass/fail grade for the 1st year summer paper.

2nd year summer paper

Each student is required to write a second original research paper after completing two years of coursework and the area field exam. This second research paper is due at the end of the fall quarter of their third year, and is required to be presented to the faculty during that fall quarter at a time announced by the liaison.

The second year summer paper is expected to be more substantive than the first year summer paper. Ideally, it can be developed into a doctoral thesis. The student receives a pass/fail grade for the 2nd year summer paper.

IV. Field Exam

The purpose of the field exam in accounting is to examine (1) the student’s command of the past and current academic literature in accounting; (2) the student’s ability to understand, critique and apply the methods used to conduct research in accounting; and (3) the student’s ability to evaluate research in accounting and independently develop suitable research designs to address research questions in accounting.

The field exam tests whether the student has the solid understanding of accounting research necessary to conduct meaningful research in accounting. Studying for the field exam may also help the student identify

gaps in the literature as well as research areas and questions of interest to her/him. The questions on the field exam focus on topics covered and skills developed in the students’ coursework during the first two years in the program.

The field exam in accounting is usually a written exam conducted over two days during the summer after the second year. The format and date will be announced by the liaison.

V. Teaching Requirement

Students are required to enroll in a minimum of three quarters of course - Teaching Practicum or course assistantships prior to the end of the fourth year in the program.

VI. Candidacy

Admission to candidacy for the doctoral degree is a judgment by the faculty of the student’s potential to successfully complete the requirements of the degree program. Students are required to advance to candidacy by September 1 before the start of their fourth year in the program.

VII. University Oral Exams

The oral examination is a defense of the dissertation work in progress. The student orally presents and defends the thesis work in progress at a stage when it is one-half to two-thirds complete. The oral examination committee tests the student on the theory and methodology underlying the research, the areas of application and portions of the major field to which the research is relevant, and the significance of the dissertation research. Students are required to successfully complete the oral exams by September 1 before the start of their fifth year in the program.

VIII. Doctoral Dissertation

The doctoral dissertation is expected to be an original contribution to scholarship or scientific knowledge, to exemplify the highest standards of the discipline, and to be of lasting value to the intellectual community. Accounting does not have any general guidelines beyond the University requirements, and instead defer to the student's Dissertation Reading Committee.

GSB-PHD - Business Administration (PhD)

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