Ph.D. in Marketing

Through close work and collaboration with renowned faculty, students in KU's doctoral program in marketing develop the skills and scholarly network to secure positions at tier 1 research universities.

What sets KU apart

  • Collaboration with globally recognized faculty: Faculty members closely supervise doctoral students in one of two tracks offered: consumer behavior or quantitative.
  • Personalized mentorship and small cohort: Each student is assigned an academic advisor, who guides you in course selection and other general academic requirements.
  • Access to premier resources: Connect with a wide range of research databases and resources to support your scholarly work.
  • Flexible timeline: Complete your doctorate in four to five years, tailored to your research and career goals.

Building your research portfolio

You'll begin to collaborate with faculty on research projects early in the program, enabling you to have more than one paper under advanced review at premier marketing journals as you begin the job search during your penultimate year in the program.

Published faculty research

Application deadlines

  • Priority: December 15

  • Final: January 10

Admissions

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  • Research

    The marketing department has young and dynamic faculty, dedicated to producing high-quality research that is published in top-tier marketing and interdisciplinary journals. Students will begin to collaborate with faculty members on research projects early in the doctoral program.

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  • Teaching

    Part of our mission is to develop effective teachers. To that end, all doctoral students are required to teach at least two sections as independent instructors. The school and university prepare and reward doctoral students for excellence in teaching through various programs and awards.

What to expect in the program

View degree requirements and a detailed list of courses in the KU Academic Catalog.

Area of concentration

With guidance from your faculty advisor, you'll select an area of concentration that aligns with your research interests and career goals.

Students can choose from traditional business disciplines, such as:

  • Accounting
  • Analytics, Information, Operations
  • Finance
  • Human Resource Management
  • Marketing
  • Organizational Behavior
  • Strategic Management

You also can create an interdisciplinary area of concentration, combining these areas or adding emphases such as international business, law, and economics.

You'll complete at least five advanced courses in your area of concentration, some of which may include those offered outside the School of Business.

Supporting areas

Your area of concentration is strengthened by one or two supporting areas that supplement and complement your research focus.

You'll take at least four advanced courses in these areas (at least two courses in each of two supporting areas, or at least four courses in one supporting area). Courses recommended for preparation for the qualifiers may not be included in satisfying the supporting area requirement.

Research methodology

For successful qualifier assessment, your program of study should include adequate preparation in research methodology.

You'll have the opportunity to develop methodological skills in:

  • Probability and statistics
  • Optimization
  • Uncertain reasoning
  • Game theory
  • Econometrics

You'll also learn to apply research methodologies such as empirical, analytical, behavioral, and computational, preparing you to tackle complex problems and produce meaningful scholarship.

Year 1

  • Coursework
  • Research

Year 2

  • Coursework
  • Research

Year 3

  • Comprehensive exams

Year 4

  • Dissertation proposal

Year 5

  • Dissertation defense

Some students can complete the program in four years.

Program faculty

Marketing doctoral students

Questions?

Contact Charly Edmonds, doctoral program director.