The goal of our Ph.D. program is to prepare students for research-oriented academic careers. The Ph.D. program is full time and usually takes four or five years to complete. The program emphasizes the use of knowledge from economics, finance, decision theory and statistics in order to examine issues in financial and managerial accounting research. Accounting PhD Coordinator: Ed Owens

Throughout their experience, students work closely with faculty and the other Ph.D. students. Small class sizes and a low student-to-faculty ratio ensure that all students benefit from the attention and expertise of respected experts in their fields. Each student’s program of study is tailored to the student’s needs and interests. Students work with their department PhD Committee or Supervisory Committee Chair to design their program of study. Below is an illustrative list of classes that might be used to compose a program of study.

A minimum of 15 major field, 9 allied field, and 15 research competency credit hours are required. Three credit hours in research must be a Philosophy of Science course. Students are also required to take an effective teaching course, which is held the week between spring and summer semesters of their first year. Once students have completed all the necessary requirements to advance to candidacy, they are then required to complete a minimum of 14 hours of thesis research.

“One of our highest callings in academia is to develop and train new scholars. At the Eccles School, we do this in large part by including Ph.D. students in research projects early on, with the hope that they become coauthors. Moreover, in every project I have coauthored with an Eccles Ph.D. student, I have learned as much from them as they have learned from me. Our collaborative environment positions our students well to pursue careers at top-tier research universities.”
— Associate Professor Ed Owens 

To learn more about each course, read the course descriptions in the General Catalog and Class Schedules.

Program Highlights

Top-Ranked Speakers
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Our Accounting Research Seminar Series brings numerous scholars to campus each year, which provides our Ph.D. students exposure to cutting-edge research and valuable networking opportunities.
History of Placement Success
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Recent placements include Duke University and the University of Georgia
Utah Winter Accounting Conference
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UWAC, held every February, is one of the more prominent non-journal accounting conferences held in the profession each year and is attended by dozens of top accounting scholars from universities around the world.
Breadth of Faculty Expertise
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Our numerous tenured faculty have collective expertise in a wide array of research areas and are therefore able to advise students and chair dissertation committees across numerous topical areas, including most areas of capital markets research, as well as managerial accounting and compensation research.

“Faculty members are supportive and approachable whenever a student needs guidance and feedback. They consider students as future colleagues and provide an opportunity to do research.”
—Eunyoung Lee, PhD Student 

Typical Program of Study

  • ACCTG 7110: Seminal Works in Capital Markets Research
  • ACCTG 7120: Advanced Capital Markets Research
  • ACCTG 7130: Information Economics Seminar
  • ACCTG 7840: Corporate Governance Seminar

  • FINAN 7801: Foundations of Finance I
  • FINAN 7802: Foundations of Finance II
  • FINAN 7841: Advanced Corporate Finance
  • FINAN 7850: Empirical Research in Financial Management

  • FINAN 7811: Microeconomics I
  • FINAN 7812: Microeconomics II: Game Theory
  • FINAN 7821: Econometrics I
  • FINAN 7822: Econometrics II
  • MGT 7100: Research Design

  • MGT 7200: Cross-Discipline Seminar

  • MGT 7300: Effective Teaching

Ideal Candidates

There are no formal education requirements other than a bachelor’s degree. Specifically, an MBA or Master of Accountancy is not required.

We seek applicants who have strong interests in pursuing academic careers and have the skills necessary to successfully complete the program and conduct accounting research. Ideal candidates are motivated, are naturally curious, understand accounting and its role in business and the economy, and have strong quantitative skills (e.g., mathematics and statistics), data analysis skills (e.g., computer programming or statistical programming), and written and verbal communication skills. Additional coursework can be provided to compensate for a lack of quantitative background in cases where the faculty believe an applicant’s other qualifications are exceptional.

The Ph.D. accounting track is not accepting applications for Fall Semester 2025.

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