Accounting Ph.D. in Business Administration

An accounting doctoral student must satisfy successfully four main degree requirements:

1. Completion of an approved plan of required and elective courses. This coursework typically requires two years in residence.
2. Completion of the first-year research project under the guidance of a faculty supervisor.
3. Completion of the second-year research project under the guidance of a faculty supervisor and advisory committee. The second-year paper serves as the qualifying exam for entrance into doctoral candidacy.
4. Writing and defending a dissertation. This dissertation effort includes:
   • Identifying a research topic.
   • Proposing a plan for investigating the topic.
   • Obtaining approval of the proposal from the student's faculty advisory committee and faculty advisor.
   • Defending the proposal before the student's committee, the faculty and Ph.D. students.

Additional program information is available in the statement of policies and the description of the Ph.D. student evaluation process. The dissertation is then filed in the UK library.

Curriculum

An accounting plan of study requires a minimum of 40 credit hours. Students normally take a minimum of 9 and up to 12 credit hours each semester. Ph.D. students in accounting complete a sequence of four research seminars designed to provide broad exposure to the theoretical foundations, empirical methods, and evolving topics in accounting research. While seminar content varies depending on faculty expertise, prior offerings have included the Financial Accounting Seminar, emphasizing foundational theories and key literature in financial accounting and reporting; Empirical Methodological Tools Seminar, focusing on research design, identification strategies, and empirical techniques; the Audit Archival Research Seminar, examining audit markets, regulation, and auditor behavior using archival data; the Behavioral Seminar, exploring the application of psychological theory to accounting and auditing.

There are two tracks in the program: 

1. Psychology-based accounting research.
2. Economics-based accounting research.

Students studying psychology-based accounting research do additional coursework in marketing, management, psychology, statistics, communications, and education (depending on their specific interests and the available courses).

Students studying economics-based accounting research do additional coursework in economics and finance. Some also earn master's in economics degrees as a part of their Ph.D. coursework.

First-Year Paper

Students work closely with a faculty advisor who is assigned based on the student's research interests. In the summer following the first year, and with the consent of the student’s faculty advisor, the paper may be a replication of research (with recommendations for future research) or an original research project. The student shall present their completed, sole-authored paper to the research faculty at a brownbag no later than the third week of the student’s third semester in the program.

Second-Year Paper

Students work closely with a faculty advisor who is assigned based on the student's research interests. In addition, each student will need to form an advisory committee. The student is responsible for initiating, developing and completing the second-year paper. The paper serves as the written component of the qualifying exam. The student shall present the sole-authored paper to the faculty and doctoral students at a workshop no later than Oct. 31st of the student’s third year in the program. The presentation serves as the oral component of the qualifying examination.

Advisory Committee

In consultation with the student and the research faculty, the Von Allmen School of Accountancy director of graduate studies shall determine/approve the members of the advisory committee by Dec. 31st of the student’s second year in the program. Typically, the faculty advisor will serve as the chair of the advisory committee. The composition of this advisory committee shall comply with UK Graduate School policies.

To assist with formation of the advisory committee, the student should identify an outside committee member. This outside member must be selected from a discipline outside of business administration, which includes the Von Allmen School of Accounting, John Maze Stewart Department of Finance and Quantitative Methods, Department of Marketing and Supply Chain, and Department of Management. For example, faculty from economics, statistics, psychology, and computer science can serve as outside members for doctoral students in business administration.

The Committee:

• Advises the student.
• Approves the plan of study.
• Determines whether the student advances to dissertation work.

After students pass their qualifying exam, their advisory committees can be reformulated to closely reflect each student's specific dissertation interests.

The advisory committee's functions include:

• Assessment of the dissertation proposal.
• Oversight of the research efforts.
• Approval of the dissertation defense here.

Qualifying Examination

The second-year paper serves as the as the written component of the qualifying exam. The second-year paper presentation serves as the oral component of the qualifying examination.

Dissertation

Students are admitted to candidacy for the Ph.D. degree after they have successfully passed the qualifying exam (i.e., second-year paper and presentation). Doctoral students are encouraged to begin identifying a dissertation topic and developing ideas about how to investigate the topic fairly early (e.g., in the second year of study). This helps students to progress through the program in a timely manner.

The Von Allmen School of Accountancy strongly encourages each student to have completed dissertation work before leaving UK to begin employment. Long-distance, part-time efforts at completing a dissertation are problematic for both the faculty and the student. Dissertation efforts may involve theoretical, analytical and/or empirical (e.g., survey, field, experimental) research.

A dissertation must significantly contribute to the accounting discipline; it must clearly enlarge the existing body of accounting knowledge. The student's coursework provides a foundation for conceiving and carrying out research work.

The student’s advisory committee from the qualifying exam functions as the dissertation committee. However, the composition of the committee can be modified if needed. Members of the School of Accountancy faculty serve on the student's advisory committee to offer stimulation, guidance and feedback over the course of the research work. The committee's chairperson tends to be especially influential in this regard. Successful dissertation efforts also depend heavily on the student's dedication, work ethic, creativity and ability to communicate effectively.