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

Ph.D. Program Guidebook 2007-2008
CHAPTER 9 – M.B.A. DEGREE FOR PH.D. STUDENTS
A Ph.D. student in good standing who wishes to work toward the M.B.A. degree while in the
Ph.D. Program must submit the M.B.A. for Ph.D. Students checklist for approval to the
Ph.D. Program Office and must satisfy the academic policies and standards of the M.B.A.
Program. A student may not get the M.B.A. after the Ph.D. has been conferred.
The Ph.D. Program does not contribute financial aid toward M.B.A. courses unless the
courses are approved by the Director of the Ph.D. Program as an integral part of the student’s
doctoral study.
Upon obtaining faculty approval of the dissertation proposal in a proposal seminar, a Ph.D.
student is eligible to apply to graduate with the M.B.A. by fulfilling the following
requirements (as outlined in the M.B.A. for Ph.D. Students checklist) and submitting a
completed M.B.A. for Ph.D. students checklist to the Associate Director:
(1) Satisfy the foundations (3 courses) and breadth (4 courses) requirements of the
M.B.A. Program.
(2) Complete 11 elective courses. At most, one independent study course – B31901– is
acceptable toward the M.B.A. degree. No more than 6 electives may be taken
outside of the GSB but at the University of Chicago.
(3) A “B” (3.0) average must be maintained in courses used to earn the M.B.A. degree;
only courses with grades of “C” and above may be used to earn the M.B.A.
Furthermore, such courses must represent substantive academic work; the grade of
“R” is not acceptable in courses counted toward the M.B.A. Workshops cannot
count toward the M.B.A. degree. Courses taken on a Pass/Fail basis cannot count
toward the M.B.A. degree. A student cannot take a class s/he has previously TA’d
for (even with a different instructor) and use it to count toward the MBA
requirements.
MBA concentrations are not granted to Ph.D. students who have earned the M.B.A.
Only University courses may be used to fulfill these course requirements. Master’s level
courses taken at another institution prior to admission to the GSB or taken outside the
University of Chicago cannot fulfill the GSB M.B.A. course requirements. If a student feels
that he or she has already taken a course elsewhere that is equivalent to one of the required
GSB courses, he or she may take another, more advanced, GSB course to satisfy the course
requirements, with the approval of the M.B.A substitution coordinator.
A student may petition the Director of the Ph.D. Program to appoint a four-person committee
(one member being the Director of the Ph.D. Program) to determine whether a Ph.D. student
should be granted an M.B.A. degree before fulfilling all of the above requirements.
If a student is graduating with the M.B.A in the quarter in which the student is also getting
the Ph.D. and the student still has to take courses for the M.B.A. degree, the student must
earn provisional grades in those courses. Please note that provisional grades are not given in
all courses. The student should plan ahead and make sure that any courses they take will
grant provisional grades.
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