A Doctor of Philosophy degree is the highest degree obtained at a university. Upon receiving your Ph.D., you will be qualified to instruct students and conduct research as a faculty member at a college or university.

An individual who pursues a Ph.D. is one interested in the dissemination and furthering of knowledge. The decision to receive a Ph.D. should be determined by your desire to teach business courses at a university, and continue conducting research in your area of expertise. If you are more inclined to pursue a career in the commercial sector, obtaining a Ph.D. may not help you meet your goals.

The program generally takes 4-5 years of full time study.

You do not need to apply separately for financial assistance.

Admitted students receive

  • Research or teaching assistantship with a competitive stipend
  • Tuition waiver for four years
  • $500+ annual research account
  • Health insurance for student

No, the Ph.D. program is full-time, and requires your presence for the entire period of study.

As our Ph.D. program is full time, students cannot work while enrolled in the program.

All of our areas of specialization are very selective. Most years we have over 200 applicants and approximately 15 students enroll each fall.

Yes, the faculty are involved extensively in the students’ academic pursuits. The classroom sizes are small, and there is a lot of collaborative research.

Yes. All students are required to teach at least one course.

The faculty members are very involved in student placement. They write letters of recommendation and draw from their connections and relationships with colleagues at other universities to help connect students with the best institution for the student.

To help with the costs, you will receive:

  • Research or teaching assistantship with a competitive stipend
  • $500+ annual research account
  • Health insurance for student

No, the Ph.D. program is intended for students planning to work in a university or academic setting. An MBA is more suited for students desiring to work in the commercial sector.

No, the program always begins in the fall.

No. Applicants are not required to have an MBA or another Master’s degree. However, applicants do need to have an undergraduate degree.

No. Our Ph.D. program is designed to be completed in 4-5 years regardless if you already have a Master’s degree or not.

Yes. Your undergraduate degree will need to be complete prior to the start of the Ph.D. program.

Yes. We consider applicants with degrees from all disciplines.

No, although it is acceptable for applicants to have work experience prior to starting our program.

No, they are not.

For Fall entrance to the program, the application deadline to the Business Administration Ph.D. Program is December 1 of the prior year. Applications received by December 1 will receive first consideration.. Any applications received after the deadline will be considered only on the basis of availability.

Materials for the Business Administration Ph.D. Program Application:

Note: If any of the above are not included in your online application it will be considered incomplete.You may not edit the online application once submitted.

All materials should be submitted through the online application. Either official or unofficial transcripts should be uploaded with the online application. If admitted, you will be required to submit official transcripts.

University of Utah Graduate School
Admissions Office
201 S. 1460 E. Rm 250SSB
Salt Lake City, Utah 84112-9057

Successful applicants usually have a minimum GMAT/GRE score of 650 or higher and a minimum undergraduate GPA of 3.0 or higher. However, on average, those admitted have an average GMAT score above 700 and an average undergraduate GPA above 3.6. It is not possible to estimate your chances for admission to the program without information contained in the application and supporting documents.

You will need to submit a new application and pay the application fee. Your transcripts should still be on record. Note: You will want to verify that they are still on record with the Graduate Admissions Office. Your GMAT/GRE scores will still be valid if they are not older than five years.

To check your status with the graduate school, check the ApplyYourself Application Network.

After the admissions process is complete, you can expect to receive two letters in the mail. The first letter will be from the David Eccles School of Business Ph.D. Program and the other from the University of Utah Admissions Office indicating whether you were accepted or denied admission. These letters will be sent mid-March. If admitted, you will receive an orientation packet letting you know what to expect next, and when to arrive.

To apply to our program, you must take either the Graduate Management Admissions Test (GMAT) or the Graduate Records Exam (GRE) by December prior to the year you would like to begin. We will accept both GMAT and GRE scores. If you do not include your score with your application it will be considered incomplete.

Score reports cannot be older than five years at the time of application.

No, although competitive applicants generally have GMAT scores of 650 or above and GRE scores that are at least at the 80th percentile or above (in both the verbal and quantitative areas). Most admitted applicants score close to 700 on the GMAT.

International applicants, whose native language is not English, including permanent residents who have had their PR card for less than 5 years, must submit the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language). Score reports must be sent directly to the University of Utah Graduate Admissions Office by the Educational Testing Service. Use the institution code 4853. Applicants must score at least 100 on the TOEFL iBT or 7.5 on the IELTS for admission to the Business Administration PhD Program. Test scores must not be more than two years old at the time of admission. Work experience in the U.S. will not waive the TOEFL exam. 

Exception: The University Of Utah Office Of Admissions will waive the English proficiency requirement if the applicant receives a Bachelor’s degree at a U.S. institution or from an institution in a country listed below:

  • Australia
  • Canada (except Quebec)
  • Ireland
  • New Zealand
  • South Africa
  • United Kingdom
  • Some Caribbean countries may qualify upon request to be reviewed

* The University of Utah reserves the right to require English proficiency from any applicant if deemed necessary by a university official.

* If an applicant meets one of the requirements and then leaves the country for two or more years, then the waiver is void with the exception of applicants from the list of approved countries.

* If an applicant does not meet any of the approved waivers, an email request may be sent to iao@sa.utah.edu. Please include your name, date of birth, and any circumstances you deem applicable for consideration.

For more information, please contact the International Admissions Office at 801-581-3091 or by emailing International Student Admissions at iao@sa.utah.edu.

The Graduate School requires all graduate students who are non-native speakers of North American English to be cleared by the ITA Program in order to be eligible for a tuition benefit for teaching assistantships.

Screening for oral English proficiency is done prior to beginning the program, and pre-semester workshops prepare ITAs for their teaching assignments.

Refer to question above: How do I apply?

Yes, on the online application form you will be asked to submit the name and email address of each recommender. An email will be sent to those recommenders with instructions on how to electronically submit the letter. We will not accept any letters that are not sent through the ApplyYourself network.

Three letters is the maximum we will accept.

When you fill out the online application, select “Business Administration PhD” as the graduate degree. In the application, you will indicate your specialization (Accounting, Finance, OB, Strategy, Marketing, IS, Operations).

You must narrow down your choice before applying and apply to one area only. Even when affiliated with one department, you can still take courses in other departments.

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