PhD in marketing

Introducing to people who never thought about a Ph.D., or who did think about it, the idea of doctoral-level study in Marketing at the University of Houston

You may be in an MBA program right now, or have finished one, or never have gone near one.  Whatever your situation, we are saying:  Why not consider a Ph.D. in Marketing, with the idea of a research and teaching career as a Marketing professor? 

Why we recruit

Hardly anybody wakes up in the morning and decides to aim toward a career as a faculty member in any business administration discipline.  So we market our program.  There aren't enough doctoral students and as a result, there aren't enough potential faculty members. 

It's no mystery why there is a shortage.  A Ph.D. requires four years of graduate study.  It's a rigorous program, and precludes employment as anything other than a half-time graduate assistant. Our total support package for assistants ranged last year from $21,600 to $28,200, depending on fellowships and teaching responsibilities. There is also a tuition waiver. On the upside, new faculty members currently often earn six-figure salaries or more for nine-month university contracts.  Most often, that is increased by summer salary for those willing to undertake summer teaching.

Qualifications for our program are motivation to undertake social science research and the ability to do so, as demonstrated by a high score on the GMAT and an academic record that indicates what a provost at UH once called "outstanding faithfulness to the cause of learning." We review every application and look at each applicant as an individual.  If you are in Houston, we encourage you to come and talk with our faculty and our current Ph.D. students. A significant part of motivation is understanding what the program entails and only then saying: Yes, this is something I want to undertake. 

If you'd like to investigate the possibilities further, please e-mail James Hess, our Ph.D. program coordinator, at jhess@uh.edu

What Does the Program Entail?

We set out to introduce you to the world of academic research in Marketing and to prepare you to undertake such research. The coursework requirement is 42 hours, plus examinations and a dissertation.