Business Administration (PhD)
Degree Requirements
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
The Doctor of Philosophy in Business Administration (PhD) program in Management, Marketing, or Business Analytics is designed for individuals in business desiring to transition to an academic career or build skills for consulting occupations. The program weekend format is designed to allow students to complete the program through an intensive series of Friday through Sunday classes. In the event a situation is not addressed below, the regulations governing that situation will be determined by the Graduate School.
Minimum Requirements for Admission
Applicants must have successfully completed an MBA, a specialized Master's degree in business, or a professional degree in related areas of study, from nationally accredited programs subject to the approval of the Director of Graduate Studies and the Admissions Committee; Applicants must have a minimum of five years of professional experience in business or other professional fields. Instructors from business schools or colleges who want to upgrade their academic status with a doctoral degree are also eligible to apply. Classes are admitted once each year, starting in August. Check the website for specific deadlines. International students must meet or exceed the University’s standard for language proficiency.
Students may apply on-line at https://www.southalabama.edu/colleges/mcob/dba/index.html.
General Information
Required Credits
A minimum of 60 semester hours of approved graduate credit is required. Details about the curriculum are given below.
Elective Substitution
With Director approval, up to three seminar elective and/or research methods may be substituted during the second year of courses.
Residence, Full-time Study, and Continuation Registration
A minimum of eight consecutive terms of full-time study in residence is required.
Time Limit
All requirements for the PhD degree must be completed within 36 months from the date of matriculation. A student who has not satisfactorily completed the research component in a three year period must apply for a defined extension to complete the degree. This request must be recommended by the major professor, the Director of Graduate Studies, and approved by the Dean of the Graduate School.
A comprehensive examination is scheduled for the summer of the third year of the doctoral program. Failure to complete the work within the periods specified will necessitate reevaluation of the student's program and may result in a recommendation for dismissal by the Director of Graduate Studies to the Graduate Dean.
Doctor of Philosophy Degree Requirements
The Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree is awarded in recognition of the student's demonstrated ability to conduct original, scholarly research at the highest levels without extensive supervision. The degree is not granted upon completion of a stated amount of course work, but rather after demonstration by the student of a comprehensive knowledge and research capability in a specialized field of study. The student must demonstrate this ability in writing and by defending the research component based upon the result of an original investigation.
Grade Requirements
In accordance with the University of South Alabama Graduate School policies, the Mitchell College of Business PhD in Business Administration program has established the following grade standards to ensure satisfactory academic progress:
Minimum Grade Requirement
Students must earn a grade of B or higher in all coursework. A grade of C or below does not satisfy degree requirements, with the following exception:
First Grade of “C”
- If a student earns a grade of C in a content course, they must successfully complete a one-credit-hour directed study, focused on the course's subject matter, and assessed by a comprehensive final exam. .
- The student must earn a grade of B or better in the directed study in order for the original course to count toward the degree. The C grade of the content course will remain on the transcript.
- Failure to earn a B or better in the directed study course will result in academic dismissal from the program.
If a student earns a first C grade in their final semester of content courses, they will not be permitted to enroll in 799 dissertation research courses concurrently with the directed study.
Second Grade of “C”
- If a student earns a second grade of C—whether during the same semester, a later semester, or in a directed study course—they will be dismissed from the program.
Grade Below “C”
- Any grade lower than a C cannot be applied toward the degree and will result in dismissal from the PhD program.
Matriculation/Enrollment Policy
- Normal progress toward graduation from the PhD in Business Administration program requires students to register for seven credit hours per semester for the first two years. Students will then register for 18 credit hours in dissertation research over the final year of the program (typically six credit hours per semester).
- Some students complete the program after the three-year typical timeline. This may occur for various reasons, but typically this occurs because the dissertation takes longer than one year to complete. Please see the Graduate School bulletin for enrollment requirements for this situation.
- Dissertation Proposal Policy
Students must be officially enrolled in dissertation hours before they are permitted to defend their dissertation proposal. Proposals may not be scheduled or presented prior to registration in these credit hours.
Dissertation Defense Policies
- Students will apply for graduation in the semester in which they plan to defend their dissertation. Importantly, failing to meet program or Graduate School deadlines for the defense and submission of the dissertation may delay graduation. It is important for students to review the Graduate School website for the appropriate submission deadlines for their intended graduation semester (these deadlines change based on the academic calendar).
- There are two submission deadlines – 1) the initial submission of the defended, full dissertation document and 2) the final dissertation document revised per Graduate School formatting requirements.
- The PhD Program requires that dissertations must be defended at least 30 calendar days before the deadline to submit the initial dissertation document. This is to ensure the student (and faculty) have sufficient time to review, revise, and finalize all aspects of the dissertation. Once the committee has approved the student’s open defense and final document, the student then submits documents (including all required revisions) to the Graduate School.
- In addition to all University and Graduate School policies on student matriculation, the PhD program also requires students to meet certain program and track-specific requirements.
Student Academic Conduct
- The University of South Alabama policy for student academic conduct prohibits behaviors that create a disruption in the learning environment or negatively impact other students, faculty, and staff. Additionally, the University policies on academic misconduct (e.g., plagiarism, irresponsible research practices) and the inappropriate use of generative AI lay a foundation for how students in the PhD program should conduct themselves and provide a standard for their work.
- In addition to these policies, faculty may include “course policies” in their syllabi that are more stringent or even prohibitive of using aides, generative AI, or other tools. This is completely at the discretion of individual faculty and violation of these course policies will be treated as alleged academic misconduct. Faculty also have the freedom to determine punitive outcomes resulting from violating course and/or University policies. The steps in the academic misconduct process are outlined in The Lowdown (Student Handbook).
Graduation Plan
Requirements for Degree
PhD students must satisfactorily complete a minimum of sixty (60) semester-hour graduate credit. A minimum of eight consecutive terms of full-time study is required.
PhD Degree in Marketing
To earn a PhD degree in Marketing from the University, a student must satisfactorily complete the following graduate courses and research assignments.
| First Year | ||
|---|---|---|
| Fall | Hours | |
| BUS 700 | Fund of Research | 3 |
| BUS 702 | Applied Stat and Reg | 3 |
| BUS 789 | Res and Teaching Concepts | 1 |
| Hours | 7 | |
| Spring | ||
| BUS 704 | Multivariate Analysis | 3 |
| MKT 705 | Sem. Marketing Communications | 3 |
| BUS 789 | Res and Teaching Concepts | 1 |
| Hours | 7 | |
| Summer | ||
| BUS 706 | Research Design and Methods | 3 |
| BUS 789 | Res and Teaching Concepts | 1 |
| Hours | 4 | |
| Second Year | ||
| Fall | ||
| MKT 703 | Supply Chain & Logistics | 3 |
| BUS 708 | Adv Stats & App Res | 6 |
| BUS 789 | Res and Teaching Concepts | 1 |
| Hours | 10 | |
| Spring | ||
| MKT 701 | Marketing Management | 3 |
| MKT 709 | Marketing: Sp Topic- | 3 |
| BUS 789 | Res and Teaching Concepts | 1 |
| Hours | 7 | |
| Summer | ||
| MKT 707 | Seminar in Marketing Strategy | 3 |
| BUS 710 | Struct Equation Modeling | 3 |
| BUS 789 | Res and Teaching Concepts | 1 |
| Hours | 7 | |
| Third Year | ||
| Fall | ||
| MKT 799 | Dissertation Research | 6 |
| Hours | 6 | |
| Spring | ||
| MKT 799 | Dissertation Research | 6 |
| Hours | 6 | |
| Summer | ||
| MKT 799 | Dissertation Research | 6 |
| Hours | 6 | |
| Total Hours | 60 | |
PhD Degree in Management
To earn a PhD degree in Management from the University, a student must satisfactorily complete the following graduate courses and research assignments.
| First Year | ||
|---|---|---|
| Fall | Hours | |
| BUS 700 | Fund of Research | 3 |
| BUS 702 | Applied Stat and Reg | 3 |
| BUS 789 | Res and Teaching Concepts | 1 |
| Hours | 7 | |
| Spring | ||
| BUS 704 | Multivariate Analysis | 3 |
| MGT 705 | Leadership | 3 |
| BUS 789 | Res and Teaching Concepts | 1 |
| Hours | 7 | |
| Summer | ||
| BUS 706 | Research Design and Methods | 3 |
| BUS 789 | Res and Teaching Concepts | 1 |
| Hours | 4 | |
| Second Year | ||
| Fall | ||
| MGT 703 | Seminar in Org Theory & Change | 3 |
| BUS 708 | Adv Stats & App Res | 6 |
| BUS 789 | Res and Teaching Concepts | 1 |
| Hours | 10 | |
| Spring | ||
| MGT 701 | Sem in Org Behavior | 3 |
| MGT 709 | Sem. Sp. Topics | 3 |
| BUS 789 | Res and Teaching Concepts | 1 |
| Hours | 7 | |
| Summer | ||
| BUS 710 | Struct Equation Modeling | 3 |
| MGT 707 | Strategic Management | 3 |
| BUS 789 | Res and Teaching Concepts | 1 |
| Hours | 7 | |
| Third Year | ||
| Fall | ||
| MGT 799 | Dissertation Research | 6 |
| Hours | 6 | |
| Spring | ||
| MGT 799 | Dissertation Research | 6 |
| Hours | 6 | |
| Summer | ||
| MGT 799 | Dissertation Research | 6 |
| Hours | 6 | |
| Total Hours | 60 | |
PhD Degree in Business Analytics
To earn a PhD degree in Business Analytics from the University, a student must satisfactorily complete the following graduate courses and research assignments.
| First Year | ||
|---|---|---|
| Fall | Hours | |
| BUS 700 | Fund of Research | 3 |
| BUS 702 | Applied Stat and Reg | 3 |
| BUS 789 | Res and Teaching Concepts | 1 |
| Hours | 7 | |
| Spring | ||
| BUS 706 | Research Design and Methods | 3 |
| BUS 704 | Multivariate Analysis | 3 |
| BUS 789 | Res and Teaching Concepts | 1 |
| Hours | 7 | |
| Summer | ||
| BUS 708 | Adv Stats & App Res | 6 |
| BUS 789 | Res and Teaching Concepts | 1 |
| Hours | 7 | |
| Second Year | ||
| Fall | ||
| BUS 757 | Computational Business Stats | 3 |
| BUS 751 | Python for Business Analytics | 3 |
| BUS 789 | Res and Teaching Concepts | 1 |
| Hours | 7 | |
| Spring | ||
| BUS 759 | Machine Learning and AI | 3 |
| BUS 754 | Seminars Business Analytics II | 3 |
| BUS 789 | Res and Teaching Concepts | 1 |
| Hours | 7 | |
| Summer | ||
| BUS 710 | Struct Equation Modeling | 3 |
| BUS 753 | Applied Business Analytics I | 3 |
| BUS 789 | Res and Teaching Concepts | 1 |
| Hours | 7 | |
| Third Year | ||
| Fall | ||
| BUS 799 | Dissertation Research | 6 |
| Hours | 6 | |
| Spring | ||
| BUS 799 | Dissertation Research | 6 |
| Hours | 6 | |
| Summer | ||
| BUS 799 | Dissertation Research | 6 |
| Hours | 6 | |
| Total Hours | 60 | |