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WVU Morgantown

Ph.D. in Business Administration-Marketing

  • Overview
  • Admissions Requirements
  • Doctoral

Department website: https://business.wvu.edu/academics/marketing-department/marketing-ph-d

Degree Offered

  • Doctor of Philosophy

Nature of the Program

The Ph.D. in Business Administration with a major in Marketing is a full-time, residential program that seeks to prepare students to contribute to the marketing discipline though the discovery, development, and dissemination of knowledge. The goal is to strive for continuous improvement in training world-class researchers and college professors who are able to conduct independent, original academic research and teach university-level courses in their major areas of study.

Academic Standards

The following criteria must be met for a student to remain in good standing:

  1. Maintain a minimum 3.0 cumulative grade point average in all graduate courses taken at WVU.*
  2. Earn no more than two incomplete grades per semester, barring exceptional circumstances in which a deferment is officially granted by the Ph.D. Program Coordinator.
  3. Resolve any incomplete grade in a timely manner.
  4. Successfully complete any qualifying/summer papers and/or qualifying exams within the prescribed timeframe.
  5. Successfully complete a comprehensive exam within four years of starting the program. Failure to pass the comprehensive exam after two attempts will result in dismissal from the program.
  6. Successfully defend a dissertation proposal within five years of matriculation.
  7. Successfully defend a dissertation within seven years of matriculation.
  8. Attend scholarly presentations and interact as part of the community of scholars.
  9. Perform Graduate Assistantship duties in a satisfactory manner (if applicable).
  10. Observation of and adherence to the WVU Campus Student Code (https://studentconduct.wvu.edu/files/d/f0ae69b9-1461-45cb-81ee-40e48e2d978b/main-campus-revised-final-student-conduct-code-8-21-15c.pdf).
  11. Observation of and adherence to WVU’s Academic and Professional Standards (http://catalog.wvu.edu/graduate/enrollmentandregistration/#text).
  12. Observance of and adherence to the professional standards of the student’s home discipline, as defined by the recognized scholarly organization that governs the progression (as identified by the Program Ph.D. Committee)

*Where this condition is not met, the student will be placed on probation and a remediation plan will be developed by the Ph.D. Program Coordinator. Where the conditions of the remediation plan are not met within the prescribed timeline, the student will be dismissed from the program.

Admissions for 2026-2027

The following will be considered for admission into the program: 

  • A completed application received by December 1 is required for admission and to be considered for University fellowships. Late applications will be accepted as space is available.
  • A master’s degree or equivalent from an accredited university
  • A statement of purpose regarding the Ph.D. program describing why the applicant is pursuing a Ph.D. in Business Administration and the applicant's career aspirations upon completion of the degree
  • A current résumé
  • Two letters of reference
  • Official copies of all university transcripts with cumulative GPA scores of 3.0 or better on all undergraduate courses and 3.25 on graduate courses (based on U.S. standard of 4.0)
  • An official Graduate Management Admissions Test (GMAT) score is preferred; however, in some cases a GRE (Graduate Record Examination) may be accepted. A high GMAT/GRE score is required for admission to the PhD Program in Business Administration.
  • The John Chambers College of Business and Economics' TOEFL requirement for Ph.D. in Business Administration applicants is higher than the University's. Students whose first language is not English must obtain a score of at least 100 on the TOEFL-ibt or a score of at least 7.5 on the IELTS test to be admitted to graduate study. Go to www.toefl.org or www.ielts.org to register and find out more about the test. This is a university requirement.
  • International applicants who have received a high school diploma or a bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university in the United States, the United Kingdom, or another predominately English-speaking country usually are exempt from the TOEFL/IELTS requirement. However, applicants who only having a master's degree from one of these countries must still provide acceptable TOEFL or IELTS scores.

The entrance requirements are minimum requirements for regular admission. Since there is limited space in each year's class, meeting these entrance requirements does not guarantee admission. Applicants will not be accepted on a provisional basis.

WVU cannot accept scans, uploads, faxes, or unverified photocopies of transcripts as official.

Graduate degree-seeking applicants must send their official transcript from the undergraduate institution that granted the bachelor’s degree. It is preferred that official transcripts be sent via an online, secure service such as eScrip-Safe, National Student Clearinghouse, or Parchment to graduateadmissions@mail.wvu.edu. Alternatively, sealed, untampered, physical official transcripts can be sent to:

WVU Hub
P.O. Box 6004
Morgantown, WV 26506

International Applicants and Express Mail

International applicants and applicants using express mail, use the address below:

WVU Hub
62 Morrill Way - Suite 220
Morgantown, WV 26506

Major Code: 2128

Doctor of Philosophy

Major Requirements

Course List
Code Title Hours
A program GPA of 3.0 is required by the Chambers College.
Research Hours
Research/Dissertation36
MKTG 797
Research
Marketing Content Courses
MKTG 701Foundations of Academic Research and Writing1
MKTG 720Seminar in Buyer Behavior3
MKTG 721Special Topics in Marketing3
MKTG 731Trending Topics in Marketing Research Methods2
MKTG 740Seminar in Marketing Strategy 3
Methods and Statistics Courses
EDUC 652Statistical Methods 13
EDUC 653Statistical Methods 23
EDP 711Multivariate Methods 13
MANG 711Research Methods3
MANG 713Structural Equation Modeling3
Statistics/Research Methods Courses
ECON 725Econometrics 13
EDP 618Mixing Research Methodologies3
SOC 721Qualitative Methods3
Qualifying Exam
Comprehensive Exam
Dissertation Proposal Defense
Dissertation Defense
Total Hours72

Suggested Plan of Study

First Year
FallHoursSpringHoursSummerHours
EDUC 6523ECON 7253Qualifying Exam 
MANG 7113EDUC 6533 
MKTG 7203MKTG 7011 
 MKTG 7312 
 9 9 0
Second Year
FallHoursSpringHours 
EDP 7113EDP 6183 
MKTG 7213MANG 7133 
SOC 7213MKTG 7403 
 9 9
Third Year
FallHoursSpringHours 
MKTG 7979MKTG 7979 
Comprehensive Exam Dissertation Proposal Defense  
 9 9
Fourth Year
FallHoursSpringHours 
MKTG 7979MKTG 7979 
 Dissertation Defense  
 9 9
Total credit hours: 72
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    • D.B.A. Business Administration
    • M.B.A. Business Administration
    • M.B.A. Online Business Administration
    • Ph.D. Business Administration-​Finance
    • Ph.D. Business Administration-​Marketing
  • Business Cybersecurity Management
  • Business Data Analytics
  • Economics
  • Forensic and Fraud Examination
  • Healthcare Business Administration
  • Human Resource Leadership
  • Industrial Relations and Human Resources

WVU Morgantown

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Office of the University Registrar
P.O. Box 6878
Morgantown, WV 26506
Email: registrar@mail.wvu.edu
Phone: 304-293-5355

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