Ph.D. in Accounting Course Work

Elements of Business Operations

Each student is required to demonstrate mastery of the major elements of business administration prior to formal doctoral candidacy. The elements cover such functional areas as accounting, finance, organizational behavior, marketing, information systems, general and operations management. They are designed to give students a broad knowledge of business operations. The following School of Business & Management (SBM) courses address these areas:

INSS 586 Quantitative Analysis
ECON 513 Statistical Analysis
MKTG 567 Marketing Management
BUAD 521 Administrative Theory
INSS 540 Operations Management
INSS 587 Management Information Technology
ACCT 500 Accounting for Decision Making
FIN 520 Financial Management
ECON 501 Micro and Macro Economics

Every student must satisfy these 3-credit prerequisites prior to beginning formal doctoral study. Each course requirement can be satisfied in one of 3 ways:

• By taking and passing an equivalent course to SBM courses from an AACSB-accredited institution with a grade of at least B, a maximum of five years prior to admission;
• Possession of an undergraduate major in the subject area;
• Passing a proficiency examination administered by the relevant department with a grade of at least B.
  Note: Higher- level courses may also be required in accounting if the student has not previously completed all courses equivalent to an undergraduate degree in accounting at Morgan.

Foundation (18 Credits)

The Foundation is common to all students and is designed to provide students with an understanding of the philosophy and tools of scientific inquiry. Emphasis is placed on developing students' research skills. Particular attention is placed on quantitative and qualitative methods involved in research processes. All foundation courses must be completed prior to enrolling in specialization courses. The specific courses will be partly discipline-specific, but all students must take and pass the following as part of their foundation:

BUAD 701 Applied Statistics I
BUAD 702 Foundations of Scientific Research
INSS 795 Data Analytics
BUAD 705 Applied Statistics II
FIN 820 Microeconomic Theory
MGMT 861 Seminar in Organizational behavior or MKTG 883 Multivariate Analysis Techniques

Area of Specialization - Accounting (18 Credits)

Accounting research seminars are designed to develop knowledge and analytical capabilities to contribute to intellectual developments in the accounting field. The course offerings are:

ACCT 705 Introduction to Accounting Scholarship
ACCT 805 Accounting Research Seminar
ACCT 800 Seminar in Financial Accounting Research
ACCT 801 Seminar in Managerial Accounting Research
ACCT 806 Seminar in Selected Accounting Topics
ACCT 807 Empirical Research in Capital Markets

Minor Field (12 Credits)

The purpose of the minor field is to prepare students to be effective accounting teachers at the university level. It is also designed to give them skills in case research, writing and presentation. Recognizing the importance of teaching skills in career development, the courses are designed to guide students in understanding relevant issues associated with teaching college students. Emphasis is therefore placed on developing pedagogical skills and knowledge of psychological and other bases of learning. These are the courses that are offered:

BUAD 711 Professional Development Seminar In Business I
BUAD 712 Seminar In Case Writing
BUAD 713 Professional Development Seminar In Business II

Dissertation (12 Credits)

The final stage of the Doctoral Program requires a student to write and defend a dissertation. A dissertation must address a major research issue. It is expected to result in a significant contribution to the received body of knowledge in accounting. Students work under the guidance of a dissertation committee and as part of their preparation enroll in 12 credits of dissertation seminars. These seminars are designed to guide students in their development of a proposal, proposal defense, research implementation, and dissertation defense.
After completing six credits of dissertation seminars, a student presents a dissertation proposal to an advisory committee. The committee consists of a four-member dissertation committee plus one other faculty member chosen by the Doctoral Program Committee. Members of the Dissertation Committee are selected by the student but must meet the following requirements:

• The Chairperson must be from the accounting area.
  
• One member must be from the accounting area.
  
• At least one other member must be from the foundation area but not the accounting area.
  
• One other member must be from the accounting area or a closely related discipline (such as finance).
  
• The Advisory Committee must certify to the Doctoral Office that there is justification for a formal review before a proposal defense is scheduled.
  

After the proposal defense, if relevant, the dissertation Chairperson prepares a document that details issues of concern raised by the Committee and suggestions for revising the proposal. The student then revises the proposal and prepares a document that shows how the issues raised have been addressed in the revised proposal. This document and the revised proposal are then circulated to members of the Advisory Committee. Once the committee approves this document, a student may continue with the dissertation process. 

After the student completes the dissertation, it is submitted to the Dissertation Committee. Committee members then read the dissertation and if there is unanimous concurrence, the Chairperson certifies to the Doctoral Office that no major revisions or problems are anticipated. The Doctoral Office then schedules a public defense attended by the Committee, other faculty and doctoral students. Post-defense dissertation changes must be completed within 30 days.

Course Offerings for the Dissertation:

BUAD 900-901 Dissertation Seminar I
BUAD 902-903 Dissertation Seminar II