The PhD in Business Program at Zicklin has functioned at Baruch since the 1970s. Its current executive officer, Professor Joseph Weintrop of the Accountancy Department (photograph shown right), has led the program for nine years, and he consented to answer questions about the doctoral program for the Zicklin community.

How many business schools offer doctoral programs?

AACSB reports that for the year 2010 there were 126 business schools that offered a doctoral degree in the US and 128 in non-US locations. Many of these schools do not offer a full range of programs. In 2007-08, a total of 2,084 doctoral students studied business or management in the US.

What is the approximate size of the program?

The PhD in Business Program at Zicklin has about 70 students at any one time. Over the past few years we have been able to convince students that they should not leave before they are finished with their dissertation and that the quicker they finish their degree, the higher their initial salary and the more likely they will find a job in an academic institution devoted to their research interests. Most of our students are completing their program and find work in less than 6 years.

Why is it important for Baruch to have a doctoral program, what does it contribute to the institution?

The lifeline to keeping Zicklin as one of the top business schools in the country is to make sure we provide the intellectual challenge that keeps faculty engaged in their research and teaching. As we look at the top 75 business schools in the US, we find that over 65 of them have a doctoral program. It becomes clear that top faculty want and need to be associated with a doctoral program as much as they need strong undergraduate and MBA and MS students.

A significant amount of Baruch research is jointly carried out by faculty and their doctoral students. We also find that the PhD students play a significant role in teaching. Well over 200 sections are taught each year by PhD students. All students who have successfully completed their comprehensive examinations are deemed to be academically qualified for AACSB accreditation purposes. For Baruch and other large universities, this allows this program to maintain accreditation and provides more opportunity for higher student enrollment.

How does doctoral education differ from MBA and MS programs?

There are major differences between the MBA/MS programs and the PhD in Business. The mission of the PhD program is to first give students a set of strong research skills and then have them undertake research projects that push our understanding of how business works to new frontiers. At Baruch, the business program directs its students to the doctoral programs in economics, mathematics and/or psychology to learn the basic research skills from the paradigm that they will eventually use to address their research questions. We toss in a liberal set of statistics classes, and students are then prepared to read the academic literature in their field and undertake research issues that they have learned about in their doctoral seminars. The MBA/MS programs generally spend limited time on learning the underlying research skill set needed to address issues of the business community, but rather focus on the results of that research to see how it can be carried into practice. In my field of accounting, the MS program focuses on teaching students how and when to use applied accounting policies at various companies in various industries. Our doctoral students will study what is the overall impact to the economy of such an accounting policy, and do executives of the firm adjust the application of that accounting policy as it might reflect in their individual compensation.

As students proceed through the program, how is it structured?

The program is structured so that the students are given a sound basis in their core research program as quickly as possible. It is critical to establish this baseline knowledge so that students will be able to read the research literature and undertake research projects in their first summer. All students are required to complete two major examinations before they can formally start on their dissertation. We ask that students come up with a research idea and implement that research. They make a presentation before a faculty committee. This is designed to give students direct feedback on what they expect as their work is evaluated. The other major exam is referred to as a comprehensive examination. This is usually an examination that lasts over two days and serves as a time to evaluate all of the major courses a student has taken to integrate the knowledge they have learned. Programs are trying to ensure that students can appreciate how what is learned from one course can be applied to another course. When the exams are finished, the student is then required to produce a dissertation. This is an original piece of work that represents the student coming out to the research world. It is this research that often generates the first working paper that a student uses to obtain their first academic job as they present their work in departmental research workshops at universities around the country.

How does our doctoral program train its students to conduct research and to teach?

All of the specializations are set up to bring the doctoral students up to a point where they can start research projects on their own. Although we consider all courses of importance, there are several key classes that we like our students to take in their first semester to establish the tenor of our program. For the accounting and finance students, we rely on the (Graduate Center) economics department to provide our students with a solid microeconomics class. In addition, Professor Ye of the accounting program offers an empirical financial seminar where students get exposure to a wide variety of financial databases and statistical packages so that they can quickly become involved in research projects. Our Marketing/CIS/Management group starts off by taking two rigorous statistical classes, coordinated by Professor El Barmi, and an introduction to psychology research course taught by Professor Sommer. These courses are combined with introductory courses provided by the various disciplines.

Teacher training is left to the disciplines as well. Accounting and marketing programs start their students teaching in their second year as instructors in the large lecture recitation classes. This way the only thing that the student has to focus on is delivering the 50 minute lecture. Since the material is carefully outlined, the student learns how to pace the material. Instruction is provided at the beginning of the term and there is follow-up throughout the term. For other areas, teaching days are planned to help the student. The Graduate Center also provides teaching seminars each semester.

Has our program been able to place its students well? What is the job market like currently?

Placement of students, along with research output, is one key to the success of any doctoral program. Applicants to any PhD program often ask this question. Placement in a business program needs to be evaluated across disciplines. Three components play a role in determining where our students can be placed: the market demand by discipline, the research profile of the department and the make-up of the applicant pool. We are in a somewhat unique situation at Zicklin. There are many excellent students in our program who must remain in New York for family or professional reasons. Thus you find a great number of our graduates at Fordham, St. John’s, Hofstra, Pace, Adelphi, LIU, etc. all regional schools. Most recently we have been able to convince students to leave the area and so we have major placements at Florida State, Nebraska, Lehigh, Arizona State and George Mason, to name a few. Over time we have placed students at NYU, Michigan State, and most recently, a 2010 graduate joined the Columbia Business School. In addition, the current business dean at St. Johns University and the president of Thermos Company received PhDs from our program, and several graduates hold government positions.