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

Program Learning Outcomes for the MA and PhD Degrees in the field of Business and a Major Concentration in Marketing

Upon completing the MA and PhD degrees in the field of Business and a major concentration in Marketing, students will be able to:

  1. Understand advanced Marketing concepts, theories, principles, and quantitative methods including market and consumer behavior, and marketing policy.
  2. Identify and explain questions and problems existing within the field of Marketing and propose research to address them.
  3. Execute original research in the field of Marketing.   
  4. Communicate effectively, orally and in writing, research conducted in the field of Marketing.

Requirements for the MA and PhD Degrees in the field of Business and a Major Concentration in Marketing

MA Degree Program

The MA degree is a non-thesis master's degree. For general university requirements, please see Non-Thesis Master's Degrees. For additional requirements, regulations, and procedures for all graduate programs, please see All Graduate Students. Although students are not normally admitted to study for an MA, graduate students may earn the MA along the way to the PhD. Students pursuing the MA degree in the field of Business must complete: 

  • A minimum of 36 credit hours to satisfy degree requirements. 
  • A minimum of 30 credit hours of graduate-level study (graduate semester credit hours, coursework at the 500-level or above).
  • A minimum of 9 credit hours of doctoral seminars in the student's specified discipline or PhD major concentration.
  • A minimum residency enrollment of four fall and/or spring semesters of full-time graduate study at Rice University.
  • A minimum overall GPA of 3.00 or higher in all Rice coursework. 

Students must also successfully complete the research workshop participation requirements and the first-year summer research requirements (if applicable) in the PhD major concentration. Additionally, the Jones Graduate School of Business (JGSB) requires that not more than 3 years elapse between the time the student is admitted to the PhD program in Business and the completion of the MA degree, unless an extension is approved by the PhD Program Committee. The MA degree may only be conferred either concurrently with or prior to the conferral of the PhD degree.

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

Total Credit Hours Required for the MA Degree in the field of Business 36

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

Total Credit Hours Required for the PhD Degree in the field of Business and a Major Concentration in Marketing90

Major Concentration: Marketing

Students pursuing the major concentration in Marketing 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 four-doctoral-level courses per semester during the first two years. Coursework completed will be a combination of Core Requirements and Elective Requirements, as approved by the area faculty advisor.
  • Attend periodic research seminars in their area.
  • Successfully pass a comprehensive exam administered by marketing faculty at the end of the second year.
  • Write a summer research paper during the first and second year of study.
  • Write and defend a thesis and proposal.
  • Complete and defend thesis within a maximum of 7 years from the time of matriculation.
Core Requirements 1
BUSI 501DOCTORAL MARKETING RESEARCH SEMINAR3
BUSI 503SEMINAR IN JUDGEMENT AND DECISION MAKING3
BUSI 505SEMINAR IN CONSUMER BEHAVIOR3
BUSI 506ADVANCED TOPICS IN MARKETING RESEARCH3
BUSI 800PHD RESEARCH9-12
ECON 501MICROECONOMICS I3
ECON 504 / STAT 604COMPUTATIONAL ECONOMICS3
ECON 507MATHEMATICAL ECONOMICS I3
ECON 510 / STAT 610ECONOMETRICS I3
ECON 511 / STAT 611ECONOMETRICS II3
ECON 514EMPIRICAL INDUSTRIAL ORGANIZATION3
ECON 577TOPICS IN ECONOMIC THEORY I3
PSYC 502 / STAT 509ADVANCED PSYCHOLOGICAL STATISTICS I4
PSYC 503 / STAT 510ADVANCED PSYCHOLOGICAL STATISTICS II3
PSYC 507RESEARCH METHODS3
PSYC 511HISTORY AND SYSTEMS OF PSYCHOLOGY3
PSYC 520FOUNDATIONS OF COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY3
PSYC 550FOUNDATIONS OF SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY3
PSYC 601MULTIVARIATE STATISTICS3
PSYC 602PSYCHOMETRICS3
STAT 540INTERNSHIP IN STATISTICAL MODELING1-2
STAT 581 / CAAM 581MATHEMATICAL PROBABILITY I3
STAT 582MATHEMATICAL PROBABILITY II3
Elective Requirements 2
BUSI 504GAME THEORY3
BUSI 523EMPIRICAL METHODS IN FINANCE3
BUSI 540STRATEGY I3
STAT 525BAYESIAN STATISTICS3
Total Credit HoursMinimum of 90

Footnotes and Additional Information

Other

Marketing is naturally interdisciplinary in nature and therefore draws theory and methodology widely from a variety of fields, including economics, statistics, psychology, anthropology, sociology, and neurosciences. Research in marketing encompasses three broad overlapping areas: quantitative modeling, consumer behavior, and strategy. 

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/2024_25/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. Requests for transfer credit must be approved for Rice equivalency by the appropriate academic department offering the Rice equivalent course (corresponding to the subject code of the course content) and by the Office of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies (GPS). Students are encouraged to meet with their academic program’s advisor when considering transfer credit possibilities.

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/.