LOUISIANA TECH UNIVERSITY

College of Business

Doctoral Program in Marketing

The doctoral program in marketing is designed to be a four year program.  Students finish classes in their third year and prepare for comprehensive exams.  The fourth year is dedicated to the dissertation and, ultimately, placement at a university.

Field and Related Requirements

1.  The marketing major requires eight courses (24 semester hours) in the marketing area.

MKTG 600: Survey of Marketing and Strategy                                        MKTG 601: Research Methods I

MKTG 602: Research Methods II                                                             MKTG 610: Seminar in Marketing Management

MKTG 615: Seminar in Marketing                                                            MKTG 620: Advanced Topics in Marketing Management

MKTG 637: Seminar in Buyer Behavior                                                    MKTG 640: Marketing Theory

2.  Those pursuing a Doctor of Business Administration degree with a major in marketing are required to have a minor subject field.  The minor subject fields available are:

        Accounting            Management            Economics            Finance        Computer Information Systems        Quantitative Analysis

Minors outside the College of Business are allowed on a case-by-case basis.  For example, many doctoral students in marketing have minored in psychology with classes approved by the marketing department.  The normal number of courses required in each minor subject field is three courses (9 semester hours) of graduate work. 

3.  Twenty-four hours of business core course work to acquaint the student with the functional areas of business. These courses can be waived if the student has satisfactorily completed equivalent graduate level course work at an AACSB accredited school of business.

4.  Three hours of BUSN 610, which is taught only in the Fall quarter. This course offers students an orientation to doctoral studies. Each year section focuses on a separate topic: general orientation (first year), teaching (second year) and research & presentation skills (third year).

5.  Dissertation (minimum 15 hours of BUSN 651).

Research Support Courses

Courses in mathematics, statistics, computer languages, and other selected fields will be chosen according to the major field of the student.  Normally, this group of courses will number four to six (12-18 semester hours). 

Hours Required and General Examinations

The program of study requirements listed above are independent of each other; courses taken to satisfy one requirement may not be used to satisfy any other requirement. Previous graduate work taken prior to admission to the Louisiana Tech D.B.A. program may be used to satisfy these requirements if it is deemed appropriate by the student's program committee and the Associate Dean of Graduate Studies. In compliance with University regulations, the Doctor of Business Administration degree requires the completion of 60 semester hours of graduate work beyond the baccalaureate degree. Within the credit-hour requirement is the residency requirement. To satisfy the residency requirement, a student must complete at least three consecutive quarters and a minimum of 24 semester credit hours, exclusive of research and dissertation credit, beyond the master's degree or its equivalent, on the Louisiana Tech campus. The student's advisory committee typically specifies additional coursework well beyond the 24 hour minimum residency requirement.

After the first year of course work, a statistical tools qualifier will be administered. A second year research paper and presentation is also required. Written comprehensive examinations covering the major area and the supporting area(s) are administered after the candidate has completed the relevant course work in his/her official plan of study. After the student has successfully passed all examinations and met all course and research requirements, the student will be admitted to candidacy.  A student is required to show a minimum of 15 hours credit for dissertation research by enrolling in BUSN 651, Research and Dissertation.

Dissertation

The student must exhibit original research and writing by preparing a dissertation.  A final oral examination in defense of the dissertation is administered after the dissertation is completed.  The student must complete his/her dissertation within a maximum of three calendar years after being admitted to candidacy.