Haas Ph.D. Program
Curriculum
There are specific requirements for the doctoral program in each field of study. The faculty group can specify how certain departmental requirements are to be met and can add requirements or increase minimum standards. Optional courses may be taken in addition to the required courses, not instead of them. Students must consult with their field advisor to ensure that their choices make a sensible program.
Course Requirements
Summer Session:
- Econ 204 (Pre-requisite for Econ 201A.)
Consumer Behavior Track
Required Marketing Courses:
- Buyer Behavior (PHDBA 269A)
- Special Research Topics in Marketing (PHDBA 269D)
- Choice Modeling (PHDBA 269B) or Marketing Strategy (PHDBA 269C)
Other Required Courses:
- Micro-Economics (Econ 101A or 201A)
- Psychological Statistics and Data Analysis (Psych 205A & B)
- One Seminar on Social Psychology (e.g., Psych 250B, Psych 290J)
- One Seminar on Cognitive Psychology (e.g., Psych 290Q, Psych 210C) or Behavioral Decision Theory
Suggestions:
- One Seminar on the Psych/Econ Interface (e.g., Econ 219B)
- Intro to Econometrics (e.g., Econ 240A-B)
Marketing Science Track
Required Marketing Courses:
- Choice Modeling (PHDBA 269B)
- Marketing Strategy (PHDBA 269C)
- Buyer Behavior (PHDBA 269A) or Special Research Topics in Marketing (PHDBA 269D)
Other Required Courses:
- Economic Theory (Econ 201A & B)
- Math for Economists (Econ 204) Required pre-requisite for Econ 201.
- Intro to Econometrics (Econ 240A-B)
- Econometrics (Econ 241A)
- Industrial Organization (Econ 220A-B)
Suggestions:
- Additional methodology courses in outside department.
Consumer Behavior and Marketing Science Track
Electives:
- At least three electives to be approved by student's advisor.
Field Exam
The field exam is taken in summer between the second and third year. This is an open book exam with two components: breadth and depth. The breadth portion of the exam is based on the basic discipline and required courses on topics outside areas of student expertise (usually Choice Models and Marketing Strategy). The student will be asked to select four questions from a larger set. The depth portion of the exam is based on general knowledge in consumer behavior and decision making, and the student's area of research.
In preparation for the depth portion of the exam, the student will be given a list of approximately 50 papers. The student will answer four questions related to these papers. Expected time is 4 hours. The second portion of the exam will have two questions about the student’s area of research. In the third portion of the exam, the student will be given a paper to review which should be submitted within 24 hours.
Additional requirements
Second-year paper: The second-year paper is done under the supervision of a faculty member and can be completed either as an independent study or a joint research project. The paper must be of publishable quality.
End of Second-year Overall Evaluation: At the end of the second year the faculty will conduct an overall evaluation of each student's record, which includes performance in the courses taken, performance in the written examination, quality of second-year paper, quality of the presentation based on the second-year paper, and general relation of the student with the program.
Oral examination
Students submit and defend their dissertation proposals in the oral qualifying examination. The objective is to determine whether students have the intellectual capacity and academic preparation to complete the program. Successful completion of prior phases of the program and a well-defined research proposal are required.
Dissertation
A dissertation is the formulation and completion of a major research project and its written presentation. It is the last step in the program.
