Ph.D. Curriculum

The purpose of the Ph.D. Program in Accounting and MIS is to improve the academic disciplines of accounting and management information systems by establishing an environment that facilitates our students' development as scholars.

All students are full-time and in residence. The Program normally takes 4-5 years, depending in part on the student's economics, mathematics, and statistics background.

The Program is characterized by the following stages:

Satisfactory performance on the Preliminary examination and the presentation of a research paper are necessary conditions to be permitted to take the Oral candidacy examination. It is expected that the students have completed the Preliminary examination and research presentation by the end of their third year in the Program.

The University specifies minimum standards for Graduate Programs in its Graduate School Handbook. The Graduate Studies Committee of the Accounting and MIS Department sets its own standards, which are sometimes more stringent but not in conflict with those of the Graduate School.

Ph.D. Coursework

In the first two years, students take 3-4 courses per quarter for all four quarters (including Summer). Many students continue to take coursework through their entire program. Usually, students begin taking Accounting or MIS seminars after the first year. The seminars are substantial courses that demand as much time as 2 or 3 of most "regular" courses.

Nearly all Ph.D. students take the introductory 3-quarter Ph.D. microeconomics sequence. Econ 804 (Fall) and 805 (Winter) are required of all students. Completion of Econ 808 in the Spring completes the microeconomics sequence and prepares the students for the Microeconomics Qualifier administered by the Economics Department. Masters passes on this examination are the way to fulfill the Economics minor. Two minors are required by the AMIS Ph.D. Program.

Courses in mathematical statistics are also a requirement. This requirement is typically satisfied by taking Stat 520 (Fall or Winter) and Stat 521 (Spring only). It can also be satisfied by taking Econ 640 (Fall) and Econ 740 (Winter).

The microeconomics and mathematical statistics courses are often the most challenging ones for our students. Unless the students come in with an exceptional background in mathematics and economics, they require some preparation work. Preparation work includes Econ 501A (preferred) or Econ 501, which are OSU's intermediate microeconomics courses for undergraduate/graduate credit. Students also take Math 151, 152, 153, and 254 or Math 161, 162 and 263 as preparation for the mathematical statistics courses and other quantitative courses.

Students are also required to take two courses that involve substantial amounts of linear algebra. Courses that qualify in this area are Math 568 (linear algebra), ISE 702 (linear programming) and Econ 741 (econometrics).

Ph.D. Seminars

The Department offers Ph.D. seminars in Accounting and MIS. Five total seminars are required, with at least three from the AMIS Department. Students can, with permission of the Graduate Studies Committee, choose to take another department's Ph.D. seminar, such as economics or finance towards the five seminars. For accounting students, the Department offers on a regular basis required seminars in managerial control, financial reporting and an interdisciplinary seminar. The interdisciplinary seminar is required for both accounting and MIS students. The Department also offers additional topics seminars in experimentation, auditing and econometrics. The MIS seminars offered on a regular basis are Perspectives on MIS Research and Topics in MIS Research.

Preliminary Examination

The purpose of the Preliminary examination is to allow the students to demonstrate they can be successful researchers in their chosen field. Several components are important to be successful. The examination is designed to provide information to the faculty and student on whether they have attained sufficient breadth and depth of knowledge.

The faculty has agreed that on the Preliminary examination students are responsible for:

The examination will include a common question to be answered by all students, whether their field is Accounting or MIS. The examination may include a take-home portion.

A more detailed, official description of this and other aspects of the Ph.D. Program can be found in the Handbook of the Graduate Studies Committee of the Department of Accounting and MIS.

Minor Areas

The most common minor areas for our students are Microeconomic Theory and Applied Statistics. Minors are designed and offered by the outside department. Some departments have standard examination procedure for granting a minor. Other departments require satisfactory grades in a specific number of courses. A list of potential minors is below.

• Microeconomic Theory
• Applied Statistics
• Finance
• Mathematical Economics
• Industrial Engineering
• Psychological Statistics

Presentation at the Thomas J. Burns Research Colloquium in Accounting and MIS

All students are required to present a paper by Spring of their third year in order to be eligible to apply to take the Oral Candidacy Examination. This presentation may be the student's proposal or it may be joint work with faculty or other Ph.D. students.

Oral Candidacy

The Accounting and MIS Department administers the Candidacy Examination in association with the Graduate School. The student must circulate the written examination, which consists normally of his or her dissertation proposal, at least two weeks prior to the date of the oral exam. This means the students must have received permission from his or her adviser well in advance of the planned date, so that an examination committee can be formed, which includes a Graduate School representative assigned by the Graduate School. Accounting and MIS rules require unanimous approval of the oral examination in order for the student to become a candidate.