Ph.D. Program Guidebook - The University of Chicago Booth School ...

Ph.D. Program Guidebook 2007-2008
CHAPTER 3 – GENERAL EXAMINATION REQUIREMENTS
BY AREA
This chapter presents the General Examination requirements that must be fulfilled for each
dissertation area and support area. These requirements may include specific courses, research
papers, research workshops, reading lists, and/or a written examination. Please review these
requirements with the Ph.D. Area Advisor in your chosen dissertation and support areas.
ACCOUNTING
The mission of the doctoral program in accounting at the GSB is to produce the next
generation of leading accounting scholars. Its graduates are expected to pursue successful
academic careers at top-tier research universities in the US and throughout the world. The
program is designed to immerse students in the GSB’s active research environment and to
make available the School’s abundant, outstanding, and richly varied research resources.
Students receive a thorough grounding in accounting, finance, economics and econometrics,
as well as in areas more specific to their individual abilities and interests. Courses offered by
the GSB can be supplemented with courses from the departments of Economics, Law,
Mathematics, Psychology, and Statistics.
A hallmark of the program is close interaction with the faculty. Close interaction is fostered
in part by limiting the number of students admitted to the program, so entry is highly
selective. Joint research with the faculty is strongly encouraged. Students are encouraged to
actively participate in the weekly workshop in accounting research, where a variety of
national and international scholars offer their current research for discussion and analysis,
and to play an even larger role in informal “brown bag” research forums. In addition,
students attend any of the nearly forty research workshops offered weekly in the GSB and
closely-related schools.
When fulfilling general PhD degree requirements, please make sure to consult the relevant
section of the Guidebook that discusses those requirements (e.g., curriculum paper
requirements in Chapter 2, co-authorship rules in Chapter 5), in addition to area specific
requirements (if any).
Accounting as a Dissertation Area:
For students writing a dissertation in accounting, the General Exam requirements are:
(1) Successful completion of the sequence of accounting seminar courses as well as
all necessary prerequisites.
A. Accounting seminar course requirement. Students must take the following
sequence of accounting seminar courses, earning an average grade of “B” (3.0)
or higher:
Year One:
B30902 – Empirical Research in Accounting
Year Two:
B30901 – Topics in Accounting Research
B30903 – Topics in Empirical Accounting Research
B30904 – Empirical Research on Managers Corporate Financial Reporting
Decisions
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