Welcome to Queen's PhD Program Overview

Queen’s School of Business PhD program prepares you to take a leading role in the next generation of scholars and researchers. In a world that increasingly values knowledge, you will have the skills and expertise to make a significant and lasting contribution.

The doctoral program is tailored to your interests. It features a series of challenging courses, research opportunities, and the preparation and defense of a thesis on an original topic. It is based on a major/minor structure that allows you to hone your analytic and research skills and offers the tools to generate advanced research.

The School of Business is home to a strong research environment. As a doctoral student, you will have the opporunity to:

• Deeply explore issues that interest you.
• Collaborate with leading faculty who are widely published in peer-reviewed journals.
• Attend seminars led by visiting scholars from universities around the world.
• Work in a supportive environment that sets you up for success.

Hear about this exciting and innovative program from Director Julian Barling.

Program Structure

Prior to the start of your studies, you meet with the Associate Dean Julian Barling and Associate Director Annette Lilly to discuss your program.

The doctoral program is based on a major/minor structure. You select:

• one major, comprising five courses and a comprehensive examination chosen from
  • accounting
  • finance
  • management information systems
  • marketing
  • organizational behaviour
  • management science/operations research
  • managerial economics
• one minor, comprising three courses from within or outside of Queen’s School of Business
• one elective
• one quantitative methods course
• one research methods course
• one additional quantitative/research methods course
• a non-credit teaching course

Timeline to Completion

The PhD program begins each year in September and normally requires four to five years of full-time study. There is no provision for part-time study. In addition to regular course work, the first term is spent in a research workshop, where you work closely with faculty to develop research skills.

In year two, you complete course requirements and take a comprehensive examination during the summer. In years three and four, you develop and defend a thesis proposal and then complete and defend the dissertation.

Review the timeline in the Graduate Programs brochure.