Moore School of Business - Moore School of Business

The policies in this document have been approved by the Faculty of the Moore School of Business. In addition to these policies, doctoral students in the Moore School of Business are subject to the regulations of the Graduate School of the University of South Carolina as given in the University of South Carolina Graduate Studies Bulletin.

ADMISSIONS

Requirements for admission conform to the general regulations of the Graduate School of the University of South Carolina. Admission to the Ph.D. in Business Administration program depends mainly on admissions test scores (GMAT or GRE), previous academic work, letters of recommendation, and work experience. However, consideration is given to all information on the application which seems conducive to successful completion of the program.

The Associate Dean for Academic Affairs is responsible for admitting students to graduate study in the Moore School of Business subject to the guidelines and procedures established by the Ph.D. Faculty Executive Committee. Acceptance to graduate study in the Moore School of Business is contingent upon acceptance into the Graduate School of the University of South Carolina.

RESIDENCE

Residence at an approved university is required for at least three academic years, or their equivalent after the student has begun graduate work. At least two years of the three must be spent in full-time residence in the Moore School of Business, and all of them must be within eight calendar years of the date on which the degree is granted.

PH.D. ADVISORY COMMITTEE

Prior to enrollment in the Ph.D. in Business Administration program a student must select a major area of concentration. Ph.D. students in Business Administration are initially advised by a temporary advisor appointed by the Ph.D. program advisors. By the end of their first semester the Graduate Division will appoint a three-person Ph.D. advisory committee which has been recommended by the Program Area Directors. This committee will consist of two representatives from the student’s major area and one representative from the student’s cognate area of study if the cognate constitutes a minor area of study. The chairperson will be from the student’s major area. This committee will advise the student until all course work is completed and will continually review the student’s academic performance.

At any time the committee may recommend to the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs that the student be dismissed from the Ph.D. in Business Administration program. If the Associate Dean concurs with the Committee’s dismissal recommendation, the student has the right to request a written examination to demonstrate competency to continue in the program. The examination will be prepared and graded by a committee appointed by the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs. If the student elects this option, the Associate Dean will make the final continuance decision after considering the recommendation of the Ph.D. Advisory Committee and the results of the written examination.

PROGRAM OF STUDY FOR THE PH.D. IN BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

Prior to the completion of the first semester of course work all Ph.D. students must submit to the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs a "Program of Study" which indicates the courses the student is to take and which includes all approved transfer and exemption credits. The "Program of Study" must be approved by the student’s Ph.D. Advisory Committee, the Program Director of the student’s major area, and the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs. This "Program of Study" will serve as an agreement between the Moore School and the student regarding which courses the student must complete prior to the comprehensive examination. Changes in the "Program of Study" may be initiated by the student submitting a Request for Adjustment in Doctoral Program of Study form to the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs. Any changes in the "Program of Study" must be approved by the Advisory Committee, the Program Director of the student’s major area, and the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs.

TRANSFER AND/OR EXEMPTION OF COURSE WORK

Upon admission to the Ph.D. in Business Administration Program a student may be granted transfer, waiver, and/or exemption credit based upon prior equivalent course work in one of the following ways:

The exemption of prerequisite course work will be based upon an evaluation of the student’s undergraduate and/or graduate transcript(s) by the Academic Director of the student's area. If exemption credit is not granted initially by the Managing Director, the student may seek exemption by following the procedures outlined in 3.
Transfer credit may be granted for equivalent course work taken within the previous five years at another institution if the student earned at least a ‘B’ in the course. Application for transfer credit is accomplished by completing a "Request for Graduate Course Exemption, Waiver, or Transfer Credit" form and securing approval of the Ph.D. Advisory Committee, the Program Director of the area in which the transfer is requested, and the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs. Once the request is approved by all parties listed above, the Associate Dean will request that the Graduate School approve and post the transfer credits. Final approval for transfer credit is granted by the Dean of the Graduate School.
Exemption credit may be granted for equivalent course work which is over six years old and/or if the subject matter of the course to be exempted was covered in a number of courses rather than one. The procedure for obtaining exemption credit under these circumstances is the same as that for securing transfer credit except approval of the Graduate School is not required.
If exemption credit is not granted under the guidelines given in 1 or 3 above, the student may request an exemption examination to determine competency. The Program Director of the area for which exemption credit is requested is responsible for the preparation, administration, and grading of the exemption examination. Also, the Program Director is responsible for notifying in writing the student and Associate Dean of Academic Affairs of the results of the exemption examination.

FOREIGN LANGUAGE COMPETENCY
(INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MAJORS ONLY)

The candidate majoring in International Business must demonstrate both oral/aural as well as written competency. This effectiveness can be demonstrated by means of a competency examination or the successful completion of FORL 700 or its equivalent. Selection of the language must be approved by the candidate’s committee and the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs. It is recommended that students take this intensive language training prior to their overseas research activities.

INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE
(INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MAJORS ONLY)

International Business majors from the United States must spend three months overseas researching, teaching, working, and/or studying. The exact nature of this overseas experience must be approved in advance by the candidate’s Ph.D. Advisory Committee and the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs. An "Independent Study or Internship Contract" form (AS-6) must be submitted by the student.

FOREIGN LANGUAGE COMPETENCY OR INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE
(INTERNATIONAL FINANCE MAJORS ONLY)

The candidate majoring in International Finance will be required to develop a foreign language ability equivalent to that achieved in one summer session of intensive study such as FORL 700 or its equivalent. A student who has the equivalent ability upon entering the program may exempt this requirement. Each U.S. national student exempting the foreign language requirement will be placed in an internship overseas with a financial institution or market, and each internship will be for one summer.

ATTENDANCE

Students are expected to attend all regular class meetings. A report of unsatisfactory class attendance or attitude may be considered adequate grounds for requesting the student to withdraw from a course.

TEACHING AND RESEARCH

Prior to receiving a Ph.D. degree, it is a requirement that the student teach and participate in research under the direction of a faculty member in the Moore School of Business.

All Moore School of Business doctoral students are required to participate in the Instructional Development Workshop conducted by the Graduate School during the registration week prior to their initial term of enrollemnt. This workshop is designed to provide assistance to graduate teaching assistants in such areas as construction of syllabi and tests; preparation of lectures; teaching methods; and performance evaluations.

In addition to the two day workshop conducted for graduate students, an additional two day workshop is provided for international students. Such issues as the level of American student academic preparedness (especially first year undergraduate students) and classroom management are discussed as well as other valuable insights provided.

GRADUATE ASSISTANTSHIPS

Graduate assistantships are awarded by the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs based upon an individual’s past academic performance. In addition to the regulations of the Graduate School (see USC Graduate Bulletin) doctoral students receiving graduate stipends are subject to the following Graduate Division policies:

A doctoral student receiving a graduate assistantship must enroll for at least nine (9) semester hours of graduate credit during the semester when supported and at least one (1) but no more than four (4) semester hours during the summer term when supported. Simultaneous enrollment in two doctoral seminars will substitute for nine (9) semester hours during a semester.
Doctoral graduate assistants are not allowed to have additional employment within or outside the Moore School of Business.
Assistantships shall be canceled for students who do not perform their assigned duties satisfactorily.
Assistantships shall be canceled for students who do not demonstrate a quality performance in their academic program. Under no circumstances will a student be awarded a stipend or the stipend continued if his/her cumulative grade point average is below 3.0.
Doctoral students who are required to complete the entire program of study including prerequisites at USC will normally be eligible for graduate assistantship support for four years from the time of entry. The eligibility of doctoral students, who upon entering the program transfer in course work and/or have completed doctoral course work as part of their master’s program (or as a "Graduate Special" student) at USC, will be reduced according to the number of hours transferred in and/or taken as part of another program. Specifically, a student’s eligibility for support will be reduced by one semester for each nine (9) hours of course work transferred in and/or previously taken.
Doctoral students majoring in International Business are not guaranteed financial support during their overseas experience, however, the Moore School will attempt to help find such support if needed.
All "Incomplete" grades received on courses through the spring semester of an academic year must be made up by August 15th preceding the next academic year in order to be eligible for support.

Doctoral students who have been awarded stipends for the academic year or one semester must reapply each term for a graduate assistantship. It is the intent of the Graduate Division to continue graduate assistantship awards for students who are performing their assigned duties satisfactorily; demonstrating a quality performance in their academic work; and are within the time guidelines, so long as resources permit.

Please note the following:

A graduate assistant’s reduced tuition does not include the University’s activities fee which entitles the student to tickets for athletics events and usage of the University’s Thomson Student Health Center.
The University reserves the right to alter its tuition and fees without notice.

DOCTORAL EXAMINATIONS

ADMISSION TO CANDIDACY

The Graduate School requires that each Ph.D. student pass a qualifying examination to be admitted to candidacy. The purpose of this written and/or oral examination is to establish at an early date whether the student should be allowed to continue in the program and is given no later than the end of the student’s third term in the program.

The qualifying examination will be given by a committee of at least three faculty members appointed by the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs. The student will unconditionally pass or unconditionally fail the qualifying examination. The Associate Dean will be notified in writing by the chairperson of the examination committee of the results. Students who fail the qualifying examination will be dismissed from the Ph.D. in Business Administration Program by the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs.

THE COMPREHENSIVE EXAMINATION

All Ph.D. students must successfully complete a comprehensive examination consisting of two parts: (1) a written part followed by (2) an oral part. The student must complete all course work as designated in his/her "Program of Study" prior to taking the comprehensive examination. The Ph.D. Comprehensive Examination is normally offered three times each year. Examination dates are scheduled by the Program Director in each academic area. Doctoral students will be notified by their Program Director at least 60 days prior to the Comprehensive Examination of the specific exam dates, and it is the students’ responsibility to inform the Program Director of his/her intentions to take the comprehensive examination at least 30 days prior to the examination period. The Program Director will notify the Managing Director of the Ph.D. Program of the students in their area taking the examination and the scheduled date for the exam.

The oral part of the comprehensive examination may not be taken until the student has passed the written portion of the comprehensive examination.

THE WRITTEN PART OF THE COMPREHENSIVE EXAMINATION

Students will sit for a single written exam administered by the examining committee of the student’s major area. The examining committee may choose to include questions related to the student’s cognate area.

The Program Directors will be responsible for having the written examination developed for their areas. At least three faculty members must be involved in making up and grading the written examination. The written examination committee should complete grading of the written comprehensive examination within fifteen (15) working days. Extensions of time can be approved by the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs. The student will either unconditionally pass or unconditionally fail the written examination. The student has the right to discuss formally the results of the written examination with the Program Director of the area administering the examination and the chairperson of the written examination committee. At the student’s request, the discussion of the results of the written section will take place no later than 72 hours before the oral part of the comprehensive exam. Should a student fail the written examination, the Program Director of the area in which the student failed must notify in writing both the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and the student of those topics in which the student is deficient. A student failing the written examination may retake it at any time after receiving approval of the Program Director and the Associate Dean of Academic Affairs.

If a written examination is failed twice, the student will have failed the Comprehensive Examination twice and will be dismissed from the doctoral program by the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs.

THE ORAL PART OF THE COMPREHENSIVE EXAMINATION

The oral part of the Comprehensive Examination must be taken within ten working days of the date on which the passing results are reported to the Graduate Division. In unusual circumstances the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs may modify the time requirement. However, under no circumstances will the oral part of the comprehensive examination be given until the written part has been passed.

The Oral Examining Committee will be appointed by the Ph.D. Program Advisor and will consist of at least four members, at least one of whom must be from an academic area other than that in which the student has majored. The chairperson of the Oral Examining Committee will be from the student’s major area of study. The student will have the opportunity to discuss the appointment of members of the Oral Examining Committee with the Ph.D. Program Advisor before the committee is finalized. However, the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs will make the final decision on faculty to serve on the Oral Examining Committee.

It is the responsibility of the chairperson of the Oral Examining Committee to establish the procedures to be followed by the Oral Examining Committee. The student is responsible for demonstrating the capability to integrate the content of the core courses, the major area, and the cognate area. The Oral Examining Committee will be responsible for determining such competency. Any full-time faculty member may attend the oral part of the Comprehensive Examination. After the questioning the student will leave the room and all committee members and non-committee members will be allowed to discuss the student’s performance. Following the discussion, all non-committee members will leave the room and the committee members will vote by secret ballot. The decision to pass must be made with no more than one negative vote. The student either unconditionally passes or unconditionally fails the oral part of the Comprehensive Examination.

If the student fails the oral part of the Comprehensive Examination, the chairperson of the Oral Examining Committee will discuss formally with the student those parts of the exam which were failed. This information will be transmitted in writing by the chairperson to the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs with a copy being sent to the Graduate School. The student may retake the oral part of the Comprehensive Examination after receiving approval of the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs. Should the oral part of the comprehensive be failed twice, the student will have failed the Comprehensive Examination and will be dismissed from the doctoral program by the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs.

The chairperson of the Oral Examining Committee is responsible for making policy decisions concerning any issues which may arise during the course of the oral part of the Comprehensive Examination which are not covered by this policy statement and/or policies of the Graduate School. The Oral Examining Committee is discharged when the chairperson of the committee reports the results of the oral examination to the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs. However, if a student does not successfully complete the oral part of the Comprehensive Examination, the same committee will normally reexamine the student.

THE DISSERTATION

The dissertation committee must be approved by the Program Director of the student’s major area, the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, and the Dean of the Graduate School. The Committee will consist of at least four members, at least one of whom must be from outside the student’s major area of concentration. The student is expected to submit the names of faculty whom he/she would like to serve on the dissertation committee no later than three months after the successful completion of the comprehensive examination. However, the composition of the committee may differ from the suggestions submitted.

The student must successfully defend a written dissertation proposal before the dissertation committee. The dissertation proposal defense will be open to faculty and Ph.D. students.

The candidate must present a completed dissertation which gives evidence of original and significant research not later than five years after successfully completing the comprehensive examination. The dissertation of International Finance majors must involve a substantial international or comparative content. If the candidate does not meet the five-year requirement, the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs will dismiss the candidate from the Ph.D. program. The dissertation is not completed until it has been successfully defended before the dissertation committee with no more than one negative vote. All full-time faculty members will be allowed to attend and participate in the student’s dissertation defense. General requirements concerning clearance for degree, library deposit, etc., are described in the Bulletin of the Graduate School. According to University policy, students working only on dissertations are subject to the following regulation:

During the preparation of the dissertation, any student who wishes to use University facilities, or to confer with the faculty, on dissertation work must be officially enrolled for dissertation credit. Completion of a minimum of 12 credits in Dissertation Preparation is required of all doctoral candidates.

Therefore, students who have completed all required course work and are preparing for or have completed the Ph.D. Comprehensive Examination are required to enroll in at least one semester hour of course work each fall and spring semester until graduation.

GENERAL FACULTY PARTICIPATION

Any Moore School of Business faculty member may participate in any Ph.D. in Business Administration student’s qualifying examination, oral part of the comprehensive examination, dissertation proposal defense, or dissertation defense. However, only the committee members can be present when a vote is taken on the outcome of examinations and defenses.

The Managing Director of the Ph.D. Program is responsible for notifying all faculty members concerning the time and location of examinations and defenses.

TEACHING GUIDANCE

The responsibility for providing teaching guidance for all doctoral candidates in Business Administration will rest with the Program Director of the area in which the student is teaching regardless of the student’s major. The Program Director will appoint a person (or committee) to be responsible for teaching guidance. This person will visit the student’s class at least two complete sessions and will be responsible for aiding the student in developing a course syllabus, counseling the student on lesson plans and tests, and providing the student with feedback concerning his/her teaching effectiveness.

The person (or committee) providing teaching guidance will submit a written report on the student’s teaching effectiveness to the Program Director of the area in which the student is teaching and to the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs prior to the beginning of the next term.

CONCLUDING STATEMENT

The Associate Dean for Academic Affairs is responsible for making policy decisions concerning any issues not specifically covered in this policy statement, the Doctoral Programs in Business Administration Brochure, or the University of South Carolina Graduate Studies Bulletin.

(Effective Fall Term, 1999)

Ph.D. Programs

Policy Statement for Ph.D. in Business Administration