Ph.D.

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International Business

IB doctoral advisor: Professor J. Jay Choi (jjchoi@temple.edu)

Program Overview

The primary goal of the PhD program in International Business (IB) is to prepare students for successful research and teaching careers at reputable national and international institutions in International Business or related disciplines. Temple IB Faculty has been ranked #4 in the world in international business research productivity by the Asia Pacific Journal of Management, and the Fox School is one of the 31 schools and universities nationwide awarded a grant for Center for International Business and Education Research (CIBER) from the U.S. Department of Education. It is also home to the Journal of International Management, edited by Professor Masaaki (Mike) Kotabe, and to International Finance Review, an annual book series edited by Professor J. Jay Choi.

The IB doctoral program emphasizes interdisciplinary international business research, and students are required to combine a functional business minor (strategy, marketing, or finance) and IB required courses as well as basic theory and method courses. Our graduates had initial academic appointments at Indiana University, Rutgers University, University of Hawaii, University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee, Wayne State University, Northeastern University, Beijing University and others.

Mentorship

All students will be assigned to a mentor during the time from the beginning of their first year to the end of the fall term of the second year. The mentor’s relationship will be in the form of an “apprenticeship” resulting in greater potential for high-quality joint research. The mentor offers guidance on research projects, advice on professional development, and help on developing the student’s research portfolio. While the IB and functional doctoral advisors stand ready to assist, it is the responsibility of the student to seek mentorship and to take advantage to work with renounced IB faculty. Failure to identify and match with a mentor by the end of the second year of study will be viewed as failure to progress in the program. Funding for summer research or data acquisition is available for faculty-sponsored co-research from the CIBER, department or school resources.

Curriculum

The IB PhD program involves coursework for two or two and a half years, a preliminary exam in statistics (after the first year), a completed research paper (by the end of the second year), an IB comprehensive exam (after all coursework is completed), and a dissertation. In addition, PhD students must meet teaching and residence requirements. The average expected time to completion is five years.

Course Requirements

The PhD curriculum consists of a total of 16 PhD-level courses (48 credit hours), which include:

1 Pro-seminar/special topics course (SGM9090, FIN9090, or MKT9090)
7 Theory and Research Methods courses
STAT8112 – Statistical Methods in Business Research I
STAT8113 – Statistical Methods in Business Research II (multivariate)
BA9105 – Business Econometric Analysis I
BA9106 – Business Econometric Analysis II
BA9103 – Economic Theory of Choice
BA 9104 – Game Theory
BA9001 – Organization and Management Theory
4 Concentration seminars
IB 9001: Theory of International Business and Multinational Firms
IB 9002: Empirical Research in International Business
FIN9004/BA9212: Seminar in International Finance
GSM9001: Strategy I (Strategy Formulation and International Business)
4 Functional minor or elective courses
Select 3 courses in strategy, finance or marketing, plus 1 free elective, with the approval of the IB doctoral advisor.

Research Paper Requirement

By the end of their second year, students are required to complete a research paper with a faculty in IB and/or in functional discipline. The paper should be of sufficient quality to be submitted to a major conference and, later, developed into a submission to a top journal. Students also are expected to present this paper at an internal departmental seminar.