Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Degree in the field of Business and a Major Concentration in Accounting

Program Learning Outcomes for the PhD Degree in the field of Business and a Major Concentration in Accounting

Upon completing the PhD degree in the field of Business and a major concentration in Accounting, students will be able to:

1. Understand advanced Accounting concepts, theories, principles, and quantitative methods including strategic role of accounting in business organizations and society.
2. Identify and explain questions and problems existing within the field of Accounting and propose research to address them.
3. Execute original research in the field of Accounting. 
4. Communicate effectively, orally and in writing, research conducted in the field of Accounting.

Requirements for the PhD Degree in the field of Business and a Major Concentration in Accounting

PhD Degree Program

For general university requirements, please see Doctoral Degrees. For additional requirements, regulations, and procedures for all graduate programs, please see All Graduate Students. For program details, see the PhD Program Guidebook distributed by the Jones Graduate School of Business. Admissions applications should include scores on the Graduate Management Admissions Test (GMAT) or the Graduate Record Examination (GRE). Full financial support will be provided to admitted doctoral students. Candidates for the PhD degree spend at least two years in full-time coursework and at least two years writing the thesis. Four to five years is a reasonable goal for completing the program. Students pursuing the PhD degree in Business must:

• Complete a program of doctoral-level courses that is approved by the area (or major concentration) faculty advisor. Students take courses from departments such as economics, psychology, statistics, and political science in addition to courses from Jones Graduate School of Business.
• Complete all Rice coursework with a minimum overall GPA of 2.67 or higher.
• Complete all program coursework with a minimum GPA of 3.00 and a minimum grade of B (3.00 grade points) in each required course.
• Complete all of the course requirements in their selected major concentration.
• Complete and defend orally a doctoral thesis, setting forth in publishable form, the results of original research.

The requirements listed in the General Announcements (GA) satisfy the minimum requirements for this degree program. In certain instances, courses (or requirements) not officially listed here may be substituted upon approval of the program's academic advisor, or where applicable, the department or program's Director of Graduate Studies. Course substitutions or any exceptions to the stated official curricular requirements must be approved by the Office of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies. Students and their academic advisors should identify and clearly document the courses to be taken.

Summary

Major Concentration: Accounting

Students pursuing the major concentration in Accounting must:

• Complete a minimum of 90 credit hours as listed below to satisfy the PhD degree and the major concentration requirements.
• Complete a minimum of three doctoral-level courses (preferably four courses) per semester as approved by the area faculty advisor.
• Attend four doctoral seminars organized in the accounting area during the student's first two years in the PhD program and additional accounting doctoral seminars as required by the student’s advisor.
• Attend all research workshops organized in the accounting area during the student’s tenure in the PhD program. Student must lead a discussion preceding the workshop with the other PhD students each semester.
• Complete a summer research/study paper in the first two years of student in the program.
• Successfully pass a comprehensive exam administered by the accounting faculty at the end of the second year. Student must not be on probation and must have a satisfactory annual evaluation.
• Successfully defend a thesis proposal by the end of the fourth year.
• Complete and defend thesis within a maximum of 7 years from the time of matriculation.

Footnotes and Additional Information

Other

The major concentration in Accounting involves the systematic and scientific study of accounting systems, institutions, standards and regulations for the purpose of understanding and characterizing their decision-facilitating and decision-influencing roles within organizations, in product and capital markets, and across economies. For instance, financial reporting systems play many roles in publicly held organizations characterized by separation of ownership from control. They help investors in valuing their claims to firms in financial markets (valuation role), are essential for corporate control and managerial performance evaluation (auditing, governance and stewardship roles), and impact how firms allocate their resources and make financial decisions (real effects). In a similar vein, management accounting systems facilitate planning and control within organizations. Often, these many roles of accounting information interact, posing challenges for system designers, policy makers, and standard setters.

The main goal of the accounting doctoral program is to train students to do high-quality research, and become influential scholars in top academic institutions. The accounting group has world-class senior faculty and young, talented scholars with considerable expertise in the above topics and a vibrant research environment. In addition, the program leverages the resources and excellence of Rice University in related fields such as finance, economics and statistics. Students will be required to take courses in economics, statistics, econometrics, finance, and a rigorous set of cutting-edge research seminars covering the essentials in theory, research methods, and contemporary accounting issues.

Policies for the PhD Degree in the field of Business 

Jones Graduate School of Business Graduate Program Handbook

The General Announcements (GA) is the official Rice curriculum.  As an additional resource for students, the Jones Graduate School of Business publishes a graduate program handbook, which can be found here: https://gradhandbooks.rice.edu/Business_PhD_Graduate_Handbook.pdf

Transfer Credit 

For Rice University’s policy regarding transfer credit, see Transfer Credit. Some departments and programs have additional restrictions on transfer credit. Students are encouraged to meet with their academic program’s advisor when considering transfer credit possibilities.

Program Transfer Credit Guidelines

Students pursuing the PhD degree in the field of Business should be aware of the following program-specific transfer credit guidelines:

• Requests for transfer credit will be considered by the program director on an individual case-by-case basis. 

Withdrawal Policy

A Jones Graduate School of Business student, participating in any offered program, may voluntarily withdraw from school at any time. Upon withdrawal, Rice University applies a sliding scale to tuition, which is noted in the university's Academic Calendar posted on the Rice Office of the Registrar website.

Additional Information 

For additional information, please see the Jones Graduate School of Business website: https://business.rice.edu/

Opportunities for the PhD Degree in the field of Business 

Financial Aid

Jones Graduate School of Business scholarships are awarded at the point of admission and are based on the merit of the application. Financial assistance is generally awarded one academic year at a time. Continuation of assistance depends on Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) in accordance with Academic and Professional Standards of performance, professional behavior, and is subject to the availability of funds. Academic or disciplinary probation, suspension, or general failure to maintain academic pace will result in the removal of all forms of financial assistance (i.e. scholarship, employment, Federal/State student loans, etc.). Students have the right to appeal the suspension. All appeals will be reviewed by a committee.

Additional Information 

For additional information, please see the Jones Graduate School of Business website: https://business.rice.edu/