The goal of the Ph.D. in Business with a Specialization in Marketing at the University
of Nebraska is to encourage the intellectual growth of serious scholars who will
contribute to knowledge in the field of marketing. To this end, we keep the number
of Ph.D. students small, and expend a great deal of individual care on each student.
The purpose of the Ph.D. program is to provide a strong basis for the scholarly
activities of research and teaching at a major institution of higher learning. The
Ph.D. program is very demanding in terms of time and effort, but has a record of
producing fine scholars. We are proud of our program, and proud of our graduates
and the work they have done in their careers. We endeavor to provide a warm and
supportive environment for the development of fine scholars and scholarly work.
Admission
We admit only a handful of new students each year, and normally have about eight
Ph.D. students in residence at any one time. Typically, students admitted to
our program have a Masters degree in business or some related field from an accredited
university, excellent grades and recommendation letters, and high GMAT scores.
Coursework
Our Ph.D. program is tailored to meet each person's needs, objectives, and prior
course work. The program normally requires four years: two to two and a half years
of course work, and the remainder in dissertation research and writing. Individual
programs vary, but students usually complete seven courses from the Marketing
Department. These consist of course seminars and courses in:
- Development of Marketing Theory
- Behavioral Research in Marketing
- Marketing Channels
- Marketing Communications
- Measurement
- Marketing and Society
In addition to the Marketing Department courses, several research methods courses
(usually statistics, research design, causal modeling, field research, and so forth)
are required. Plus, each student chooses an outside area relevant to his or her
interests (such as psychology, economics, statistics, sociology, etc.), and completes
at least four courses in that field. Finally, if the student's Masters level background
in business and marketing is not strong, some additional courses in these areas
may be necessary. The total semester hours required for the Ph.D. is 99 beyond the
Bachelors degree, of which 20-36 usually come from the Masters degree. Nine of the
hours are methods courses, usually about 20 are dissertation hours, and the remainder
are courses taken in the Ph.D. program. All students are required to work closely
with faculty members to develop a first year paper and a second year paper for submission
to scholarly journals. In addition, they have to review an area in marketing that
has not been covered by a seminar. Upon successful completion of the coursework,
the papers, and the marketing review, students are admitted to candidacy for the
Ph.D. and can begin work on the dissertation.
Advising
We assign each student a first-year advisor - a faculty member to advise him or
her on course work and academic life when he or she first arrives. Towards the end
of the first year, each student normally chooses a program committee to advise on
course work. After being admitted to the Ph.D. candidacy, each student assembles
a dissertation committee to advise on the dissertation research and writing. The
marketing department faculty members take a great deal of personal interest in each
student, and give a high priority to their advisory role. We treat the Ph.D. students
as junior colleagues in every way we can.
Our faculty members are highly accomplished. All have active research programs and
have published in nationally and internationally prominent journals. Many have been
officers of national professional societies and have chaired symposia, conferences,
and conference sessions. Several have served as journal editors.
Assistantship and Fellowship Support
The Marketing Department endeavors to provide a half-time paid Graduate Assistantship
to each student who is not otherwise supported, for up to four years. This assistantship
involves teaching one three-hour course or three one-hour recitation sections of
the introductory marketing course, and helping a faculty member with his or her
work. Currently, the Graduate Assistantship pays a stipend of about $16,000 per
10-month school year, and includes full tuition remission for all courses taken
during the year (including summer). Since non-resident tuition is approximately
$665 per credit hour, and most of our students take more than 24 hours of classes
per year, the total compensation package is about $31,960 per year. Depending on
budget, we also try to provide teaching or research opportunities in the summer
for additional money.
We also offer a limited number of fellowships in partnership with the university,
and we encourage our students to apply for them. Whether or not a student obtains
a fellowship or some other source of support, however, the department insists on
all students acting as assistants to faculty members. We consider this apprenticeship
an integral part of a Ph.D. education.
Health Insurance
All graduate assistants with appointments that qualify for full tuition remission
receive as an additional benefit, basic coverage under the university's student
health insurance plan. Dependent plans are also available on an optional basis.
Other Forms of Support
The Marketing Department works hard to provide the resources useful to a graduate
education to our Ph.D. students. Each Ph.D. student, at present, has at his or her
desk a personal computer with office software and access to the university mainframe,
offering all major statistical packages, library access, and e-mail. Departmental
staff type and photocopy materials related to student teaching and research assistant
assignments. Students are encouraged to submit articles to journals and to academic
conferences; some of the costs of travel to conferences where students present papers
are defrayed by the department.
An equally important part of the support the Marketing Department provides is a
scholarly environment. Several times in each semester, we have what we call "brown
bags" - lunch time discussions of interesting articles in our field. Also, several
times each semester, faculty and students present their research at Friday afternoon
research seminars. In the Spring semester of each year, the department sponsors
the Robert Mittelstaedt Doctoral Symposium, attracting doctoral candidates and faculty from
research universities west of the Mississippi River. Finally, there are informal
gatherings and parties throughout the year which provide opportunities to interact
outside of the office environment.
Deadline
Our department starts reviewing files for Fall semester admissions in early February.
We do not admit Ph.D. candidates to start course work at mid- academic year (January).
Since the university's Office of Graduate Studies has to verify and approve all
transcripts and other application material before forwarding it to us, it is important
to apply as early as possible. Our recommended date for receiving all application
materials is January 1. We take a great deal of care in the application review process
to identify students that are a good match for our program and who we believe have
the potential to make meaningful contributions to knowledge. If our department has
your completed file by early February, it gives us the best chance to review it
with our customary care.
When your file is complete in all respects, it will be circulated to the Marketing
Department faculty for their decisions. Applicants that the faculty shows substantial
interest in are invited to spend a day with us on campus if possible. Final decisions
on admission are normally made in mid-April.
Application Information
Click to find out more about the application process.
Additional Information
If you would like to speak to a professor in Marketing, contact:
Professor James Gentry
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Department of Marketing
CBA 322
P.O. Box 880492
Lincoln, NE 68588-0492
Office: 1 (402) 472-3278
Dept. Office: 1 (402) 472-2316
Fax: 1 (402) 472-9777
