Admission Requirements

Applicants are considered on an individual basis. In addition to the Graduate College minimum requirements, applicants must meet the following program requirements:

• Baccalaureate Field No restrictions. Prior academic work should include mathematics/statistics, computing/analysis, and business.
• Grade Point Average At least 2.75/4.00 for the final 60 semester (90 quarter) hours of undergraduate study.
• Tests Required GMAT or GRE. The score must be from a test administered within five years from the requested date of entry. The writing assessment is required.
• Minimum English Competency Test Score
  • TOEFL 80, with subscores of Reading 19, Listening 17, Speaking 20, and Writing 21 (iBT Test); 60, with subscores of Reading 19, Listening 17, Writing 21 (revised Paper-Delivered Test), OR,
  • IELTS 6.5, with subscores of 6.0 for all four subscores, OR,
  • PTE-Academic 54, with subscores of Reading 51, Listening 47, Speaking 53, and Writing 56.
• Letters of Recommendation Three required from persons familiar with the intellectual skills, perseverance, and integrity of the applicant. At least one recommendation should be from an academic familiar with the applicant’s work.
• Personal Statement Required; 500 words; the statement should address the applicant’s interests and qualifications, including research interests and the impact this work is expected to have on the applicant’s career. A specific statement format is available in the application packet.

• Writing Sample It is strongly recommended that applicants submit a sample of no more than 40 pages appropriate to their proposed area of study. A sample may consist of a prior research publication, a paper submitted to a graduate level course, or another example of scholarly level writing demonstrating their ability to think and write critically.

• Other Requirements All applicants must have had mathematics through the level of calculus covering integration and differentiation, and statistics through regression. Students are admitted only in the fall semester. No part-time program is available.
• Deadlines Application deadlines for this program are listed on the Graduate College website.

Degree Requirements

In addition to the Graduate College minimum requirements, students must meet the following program requirements:

• Minimum Semester Hours Required 96 from the baccalaureate, 64 from MBA, MS in MIS, MSA, or a business-related master’s degree; including between 24 and 32 hours of dissertation research.
• Coursework

• Examinations
  • Annual Evaluation: An evaluation will be held at the end of the spring semester each year that the student is in the program. The evaluation will be conducted by a committee, which will include the PhD director as the chairperson, the student’s mentor, and the entire IDS faculty who taught the student during that year. The committee will administer a written exam each year until the student passes the preliminary examination; it will determine the type and scope of the exam.
  • Preliminary Examination: A written and/or oral exam, addressing advanced material in the area of inquiry and/or the student’s plans for dissertation research, is required.
• Dissertation A dissertation demonstrating the ability to conduct original, scholarly research is required. No more than 32 hours of doctoral thesis research can be applied to the degree.
• Other Requirements Students must serve as a teaching assistant or research assistant. This requirement may be waived for students with appropriate teaching or research experience.