Overview

The Ph.D. Program in Business Administration with a Marketing Concentration prepares individuals for research, teaching, service, and collegial roles in marketing departments. This preparation stresses scholarly development in three related domains: the conceptual, the methodological, and the substantive. The program underscores the importance of verbal and written communication skills, qualitative and interpretive methods, and classical and contemporary marketing thoughts in teaching, research, and service.

Curriculum

Concentration

The Ph.D. Program in Business Administration with a Marketing Concentration allows students to concentrate within one of two areas: management (e.g., strategy, international, relationship marketing), or communications (e.g., consumer behavior, advertising, promotion). The student’s concentration will determine the courses taken in fulfilling the supporting fields requirement and the specialization for the comprehensive examination.

Program Requirements

Generally, the program is composed of 60 credit hours. Up to 6 credit hours of prior coursework may be applied to the requirements for the Marketing Concentration with the recommendation and consent of the student's Ph.D. Program Advisory Committee.

Marketing Tools (18 hours)

• MKTG 6433 Seminar in Research Methods
• ISYS 6423 Structural Equations Modeling 
• 12 hours of electives to be determined in consultation with the Ph.D. Program Advisory Committee

Marketing Core (6 hours)

• MKTG 6443 Seminar in Marketing Theory
• MKTG 6413 Special Topics in Marketing (must be consumer behavior content)

Supporting Fields (18 hours)

Courses for the supporting fields requirement are made in consultation with the student's Ph.D. Program Advisory Committee. All courses taken for the supporting fields must be at the graduate level and/or taken for graduate credit. A minimum of nine hours should be taken in graduate research seminars.

Dissertation (18 hours)

A dissertation will be written under the guidance of the marketing faculty. The dissertation committee consists of a minimum of 3 graduate faculty members. One graduate faculty member outside the Marketing Department may be chosen for this committee depending on the dissertation topic.

Program Structure

Course work for the Ph.D. Program in Business Administration with a Marketing Concentration is completed during the first two years of the four year program. Students take three seminars per semester. Seminar topics include marketing theory, marketing strategy, consumer behavior, interpretive consumer research, multivariate analysis, and structural equations. Six additional seminars related to the student’s area of specialization may be selected from outside the college. Following completion of coursework, students take written and oral comprehensive exams. Near the end of the third year, students must successfully defend their dissertation proposal. The successful completion and defense of a dissertation are required during the fourth year.

Marketing Faculty

The Sam M. Walton College of Business, Department of Marketing boasts a 15-member faculty team that is poised to serve the students of the University of Arkansas with the highest quality of education. Marketing faculty, along with all Walton College faculty and staff, believe in the directive set forth by Chancellor Gearhart to put Students First. Click here to learn more about the faculty of the Marketing Department. 

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