Ph.D. Business Administration In Accounting

Accounting Major Field of Study: Overview

The Ph.D. in Business Administration degree with a major field in accounting is designed for students pursuing careers as college or university professors. It is also designed for careers in business or government which require an understanding of accounting and related research matters. This is a full-time program, focusing on academic research in accounting and the tools and methodologies necessary to do independent academic research.

The information below clarifies the requirements and coursework specific to students choosing accounting as a major field, and other information relevant to applicants. Please refer to Ph.D. Program Admission Requirements and Ph.D. Application Procedure below for additional information about requirements for the Ph.D. in Business Administration.

Admission to the program

The accounting program doctoral committee makes all admission decisions. The committee considers all application materials including GMAT scores (total score and scores on individual components), previous degrees earned, institutions attended, grades, work experience, reference letters, and other relevant factors. There are no hard cutoffs for GMAT scores and GPA. However, admitted students typically score at the 80% or better on the GMAT. We do not have conditional admission decisions.

Previous preparation

Students choosing accounting as a major field in the Ph.D. program are expected to have at least 24 hours of accounting credits beyond accounting principles. Those courses are normally completed as part of a formal degree and prior to admission to the doctoral program. Alternatively, the student may complete this coursework after admission to the PhD program. In that case, the time at UTA will likely be extended. Additionally, all students must have working knowledge of linear algebra, statistics, basic regression, and calculus. Confer with Major Field Coordinator for courses and strategies for meeting these requirements.

Milestones

There are important milestones as you progress through the program. The following is a list of some of the most important.

1. Completion of all coursework

  • Research field seminars (12 hours)
    • Econometrics I
    • Econometrics II
    • Analytical Theory Tools for Accounting Research
    • Approved elective
  • Other required courses (12 hours)
    • Financial Accounting Research, Theory, and Tools
    • Other approved electives (9 hours)
  • Major-field seminars (12 hours)
  • Introduction to Capital Markets Research
  • Information Economics and Game Theory in Accounting Research
  • Advanced Capital Markets Research
  • Contracting and Control in Organizations

2. Other major milestones

  • Completion of independent research (first year paper)
  • Presentation of your first year paper to faculty and Ph.D. students
  • Completion of independent research (second year paper)
  • Presentation of your second year paper to faculty and Ph.D. students
  • Written and oral comprehensive exams in major-field seminars
  • Written qualifying exam in research field (if required)

3. Dissertation-related milestones

  • Complete and defend dissertation proposal
  • Complete and defend dissertation

Research support

The College of Business and the Department of Accounting provide research support for our doctoral students. For example:

  • Full access to a wide variety of research databases including Compustat, CRSP, Audit Analytics, Executive Compensation, Corporate Library, I/B/E/S (analyst forecasts), and many others. Software packages for data analyses (e.g., SAS, SPSS, etc.) are also readily available.
  • Full access to SSRN databases
  • Travel support for students who (1) present papers in AAA and other research conferences and/or (2) attend AAA doctoral consortiums.
  • Students also participate in the annual Lone Star Accounting conference. One Ph.D. student from UTA will be picked annually to present a research paper at the doctoral consortium that precedes the conference.

Faculty support and student research

The Ph.D. in Business Administration with a major field in accounting at UTA has recently been restructured with updated course work and an enhanced emphasis on research. The first group of students in the restructured program were admitted in Fall 2016 with a requirement to complete first and second year research papers. The research underlying these papers is completed in consultation with a faculty advisor during the summer terms following the completion of the student's first and second academic years in the Ph.D. program. Students and faculty actively interact in research. Faculty often co-author joint research papers with Ph.D. students. Some recent examples of working papers jointly authored by faculty and students are:

  • Founder Control, Opacity and Value Creation in Family Firms, Wei Hsu, Yvonne Lee, Nandu J. Nagarajan, and Bin Srinidhi, presented at the 2017 AAA Annual Meeting in San Diego
  • Overvaluation and Stock Price Crashes: The Effects of Earnings Management, Qunfeng Liao, Ferdinand Gul, Bin Srinidhi, and Chandra Subramaniam
  • Using Pinterest to Stimulate Student Engagement, Interest, and Learning in Managerial Accounting Courses, Amy Holmes and Stephanie Rasmussen
  • Analyst Coverage and Stock Price Crash Risk, Yvonne Lee and Ram Venkataraman
  • Executive Compensation, Corporate Tax Aggressiveness and Financial Reporting Aggressiveness: Evidence from SFAS 123R, Bonnie Albritton and Terry Skantz
  • Enterprise Risk Management Implementation and Board Demographics, Xiaohong Fan and Jennifer Ho, presented at the 2016 AAA Annual Meeting in NYC.

ACCOUNTING FIELD COORDINATOR

Dr. Li Chin Ho

Accounting

Ho Contact Photo Redo

Department of Accounting: P.O. Box 19468, The University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX 76019-0468