You’ll gain the required training and experience through several program elements:
- Area specific requirements
- Course requirements as outlined below
- A first-year summer research paper
- A second-year research paper
- Preliminary Examination (based on the second-year research paper)
- Dissertation Thesis Proposal Examination
- Final Dissertation Defense Examination
Marketing PhD Curriculum
The Marketing PhD curriculum is very flexible in order to meet students’ needs for breadth and depth. Each student, in conjunction with the marketing faculty, develops a tailored program of coursework that best addresses the training required for that student’s interests, given the courses available and the student’s prior academic background.
The Marketing area offers several PhD Seminars:
- BA961: Seminar in Quantitative Research in Marketing
- BA962: Seminar in Consumer Behavior
- BA963: Marketing Models Seminar
- BA967: Behavioral Research Methods
- BA990: Special Topics in Consumer Research
Each student is expected to consult with his/her advisors to determine the most appropriate courses given the student’s needs and interests. In addition to marketing courses, students also take relevant courses in other areas at the Fuqua School of Business (e.g., decision sciences, management and organizations, operations management) or other departments at Duke or the University of North Carolina (e.g., economics, psychology, statistics, computer science, sociology). Each student takes methodology courses appropriate to their area of interest. Because the coursework is tailored to individual student interests, there isn’t a ‘typical’ program in the Marketing PhD program. Each student’s preliminary exam committee will review the courses taken to date and identify additional courses the student should complete in order to achieve adequate depth and breadth. Here are two potential paths:
Sample Consumer Behavior Program
Year 1
- Seminar in Consumer Behavior
- Behavioral Research Methods
- Courses in psychology, management and organizations
- Courses in research methodology
Year 2
- Seminar in Quantitative Research in Marketing
- Special Topics in Consumer Research
- Additional courses in psychology, management and organizations
- Additional courses in research methodology
Sample Marketing Models Program
Year 1
- Seminar in Quantitative Research in Marketing
- Courses in economics (theory and econometrics), statistics, decision sciences, computer science, or operations management
- Courses in research methodology
Year 2
- Seminar in Consumer Behavior
- Marketing Models Seminar
- Additional courses in economics, statistics, decision sciences, computer science, or operations management
- Additional courses in research methodology
Students may also take some courses in their third year, typically courses that are relevant to the student’s particular research interests or courses not offered every year and not taken previously.
Program Guidelines
Below we discuss guidance for course selection and other matters, progress guidelines, and research and teaching activities. Because the mechanisms for carrying out these functions differ depending upon the student’s year in the program, the first year, second year and third year are addressed in separate sections.
First Year
Advice and Guidance
The major mechanism for providing advice and guidance regarding course selection, first-year paper, and other matters is a first-year academic advisor system. Each student will be assigned two academic advisors (primary and secondary) before the beginning of the first year. These advisors will contact the student following admission and will continue to interact with the student regarding questions and information prior to the student’s arrival at Duke.
A major role of the first-year advisors is to assist with course selection, because the program calls for developing a program consistent with, and tailored to, each student’s background and goals. The advisors assist the student in selecting both Fall and Spring courses for the first year and Fall semester courses for the second year. The advisors also provide guidance to the student regarding involvement in research, teaching, and other matters as appropriate throughout the first year. Finally, the advisors provide an important source of information for feedback to the student and for the first-year paper, as described in more detail next.
Throughout the PhD program, students are expected to take full advantage of faculty expertise and the intellectual environment at the Fuqua School of Business. During the first year, students should meet with faculty members one-on-one to learn about different faculty members’ research projects. All students are also expected to attend all the seminars in the marketing workshop/seminar series, and this will be true throughout your time in the PhD program. These seminars are a central feature of intellectual life here. If you have a class that conflicts with seminar, please let your advisors know. Seminar speakers’ schedules typically include a meeting with PhD students; students are expected to take advantage of these opportunities to interact with visiting scholars.
Progress Guidelines
An important part of any doctoral program is a mechanism for assuring that students receive timely and accurate feedback on their progress. Although course grades and informal conversations with faculty members provide some of this information, more formal procedures ensure that each student has the benefit of as much feedback as possible about his or her performance. The procedures used by the marketing area in the first year are outlined below.
The Marketing area faculty will gather information about each student’s first year performance. Sources of information will include the student’s advisors, instructors, and faculty familiar with the student’s research and teaching activities. In addition, the student will provide an annual report discussing first year accomplishments, shortcomings, areas of interest, and how the student would like to be positioned. This report is due on the first day of classes of the Fall semester of the second year and should be submitted to the Marketing area PhD coordinator. The Graduate School also requires a separate annual report to be submitted to the Director of Graduate Studies at Fuqua’s PhD program by April 15. Students are expected to maintain a cumulative grade point average of “B” (3.00) or better by the end of the first year and throughout the rest of the program. Any student who receives an “F” or fails to exceed or meet a cumulative “B” average by the end of the first year will be subject to dismissal. In assessing performance, incompletes in coursework will not be viewed positively.
An important component of the first year is the first-year paper. This paper is due to the Marketing area PhD coordinator on or before the first day of the Fall semester of the second year. Failure to hand in the paper by this date may result in a recommendation for dismissal from the program. The student’s first-year advisors must approve the paper before it can be submitted. The paper should represent the student’s best work at this stage of the doctoral program. The paper may be a reworked paper handed in for a seminar or a new paper completed over the summer. It may be empirical, theoretical, or a review. The important point is that it represents work that the student feels best demonstrates his or her capabilities at that time. Collaboration with the faculty is allowed with two conditions: 1) the student should have played a major role in the generation and development of the core idea, and 2) the student should do the writing of the first-year paper.
During the Fall semester of the second year, the Marketing area faculty will examine the first-year paper, the student’s annual report, grades, and feedback from faculty who have had the student in class and/or are familiar with the student’s research and teaching activities. The Marketing area faculty will provide feedback to the student. If progress is not satisfactory, performance may be assessed again at a time determined by the area faculty. Poor performance may ultimately result in dismissal from the program.
Teaching Apprenticeship and Research Assistant Work
A critical part of the doctoral program is forming professional relationships with faculty members as well as learning about research and teaching processes. Teaching apprenticeship assignments, not applicable to first-year students, are made by the PhD coordinator in consultation with area faculty. A student who has completed his/her teaching apprenticeship hours may be eligible for additional compensation at the school’s pre-set hourly rate. Students are also encouraged to seek research opportunities with faculty with whom they wish to form closer professional relationships. The student’s advisors will also provide advice and guidance to help the student become engaged in activities that match their needs and interests with those of the faculty.
Second Year
Advice and Guidelines
At the beginning of the second year, each student will find one or two Marketing faculty willing to serve as their academic advisor(s) and inform the marketing area PhD coordinator about this relationship. As in the first year, academic advisors will guide the student on all academic issues. In addition, by October 1 of the second year, each student will form a second-year paper committee made up of four faculty members willing to serve on the committee, with one or two faculty members designated as chair/co-chair. The student must notify the Marketing area PhD coordinator in writing of the members of this committee. As the second-year paper is used to meet the formal preliminary examination requirement of The Graduate School, this committee will also serve as the preliminary exam committee.
All students are also expected to attend all the seminars in the marketing workshop/seminar series, and this will be true throughout your time in the PhD program. These seminars are a central feature of intellectual life here. If you have a class that conflicts with seminar, please let your advisors know. Seminar speakers’ schedules typically include a meeting with PhD students; students are expected to take advantage of these opportunities to interact with visiting scholars.
Progress Guidelines
As in the first year, the student will submit an annual report by the first day of Fall classes of the third year to the Marketing area PhD coordinator. The Graduate School requires a separate report to be submitted to the Director of Graduate Studies for Fuqua’s PhD program by April 15.
During the second year, students should begin planning and implementing their second-year research paper, which must be completed and presented orally to the faculty. This paper is due to the Marketing area PhD coordinator as well as the second-year paper committee on or before the first day of the Fall semester of the third year. The research paper should be original research, such as an empirical paper (e.g., based on experiments, surveys, secondary data, or scanner data) or an analytical or other quantitative model. The research may be done jointly with faculty; in fact, joint work with faculty is strongly encouraged. However, the student must have made clear and significant contributions to all phases of the project. The aim is to have a paper which is potentially submittable to a proceedings or journal.
During the Fall semester of the third year, the Marketing area faculty will examine the second-year paper, the student’s annual report, grades, and feedback from faculty who have had the student in class and/or have had the student’s research and teaching activities. The student will orally present the second-year paper to the preliminary exam committee and the area faculty. Depending upon the level of performance in all areas, remedial action or dismissal may be recommended. It is possible that at this stage the student may be advised to seek a terminal master’s degree.
Third Year and Thereafter
At the beginning of the third year, each student finds one or two Marketing faculty willing to serve as academic advisor(s) and inform the Marketing area PhD coordinator. As in the first two years, academic advisors will guide the student on all academic issues. At some point, usually at the beginning of the fourth year, the student forms a dissertation committee and begins formulating a dissertation proposal. The student should notify the Marketing area PhD coordinator and the Director of Graduate Studies in writing when he or she forms the dissertation committee. The committee must have at least four members, at least one of whom must be from a non-marketing department (e.g., psychology, economics, another area at Fuqua or another business school; someone from marketing at another business school would not meet this requirement). At least three of committee members must be from Fuqua. The student will choose a chair or two co-chairs for the dissertation from this committee. The formal steps include: selecting the dissertation committee; informing The Graduate School about that committee; writing a dissertation proposal and defending that proposal by the end of the fourth year; carrying out dissertation research; filing an intent to graduate form online; defending the dissertation; and filing the completed dissertation.