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All You Wanted to know About PhD in Marketing After MBA
Posted by: abhimukh19 September 20, 2013
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While reading your marketing textbooks, did
you ever wonder how the theories you read
came into existence? Who exactly discovered
that under certain circumstances, we will pay
more for a product instead of travelling to
another nearby location (behavioral pricing)? Or
who came up with the thought that Dove
shampoo is a good idea but Dove laundry
cleaner may not be (brand extensions)? And did
you wonder, why some people swear by Apple
while others swear by Google (brand loyalty,
brand person relationships)?
These, and almost all other theoretical concepts in marketing, were developed by professors of marketing
working in research universities. And how did they end up becoming professors? Well, they did a PhD.
In this article, I would try to give a brief overview of the admissions process for PhD programs in
marketing. Some of the things discussed here may be applicable to PhD in business in general. But, given
my limited knowledge, I will stick to marketing. Also this article discusses the PhD programs which are of
US-style (4-5 years duration). Other good PhD programs exist such as the British and Australian PhD
programs and if you are interested in that, this may be less applicable to you.
The first thing that one should understand before deciding on a PhD in marketing is the fact that the
opportunities post PhD are mostly limited to academics. There may be some positions available in the
industry. But in almost all cases, people start their careers as an assistant professor in a university.
Academics, from what I have heard (and have experienced a bit), is an extremely rewarding career. You
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Choosing on you PhD program
are practically your own boss. You
can decide what you want to work on,
when you want to work and with
whom you want to work. The school
generally has some publications,
teaching and service standards. As
long as you meet those standards,
nobody will question you. The lifestyle
is quite good as well. There is, of
course, a very high workload. But, if
you love research and teaching, you
wont mind the work load. Also,
internationally, business school
professors are paid quite well.
Three Broad Areas Under Marketing
Marketing has three broad areas viz. consumer behavior (CB), quantitative modelling and marketing
strategy. Then there are sub-areas. For example, in consumer behavior, you can research on consumer
culture theory. In quantitative modelling, you have the choice of analytical or empirical modelling. While
applying for your PhD, you should have at least good idea of which of the 3 broad areas you want to
research on. This is because your decision of where to apply will depend on the track you choose.
Deciding on the set of schools to apply to, is in my opinion, the next most important task. Head over to the
UTD Top 100 rankings and rank schools by publication output in the top journals of your area. For
example, if you are applying to consumer behavior, you should select Journal of Consumer Research and
Journal of Marketing Research (maybe Journal of Marketing as well). However, this list is indicative. Once
you have the rankings, go to each schools website and check out the work being done by professors.
Some lower ranked schools may have some amazing professors who publish in allied journals (such as
psychology journals for CB professors) and therefore, the UTD rankings may not reflect this. If you like the
work of the professors in a particular school, the next step is to see the profiles of PhD students and
placements of previously graduated students. Once you see a fit, you can consider applying to that
school.
To be eligible to apply, most universities specify a minimum 4 years bachelors degree. However, you will
notice that most Indian applicants have a masters degree. Prior work-experience is not a necessary
condition but some amount of work-ex is good to have. Also, if you have prior research experience, that
is extremely favorable to your chances of getting an admit.
PhD Admission Package
Your admissions package will consist of the following:
Statement of Purpose(SOP): Your motivation of why you want to leave an industry career and
embrace an academic career
Letters of Recommendations(LOR): Most schools require 3 LORs from professors who know about
your work. Nowadays, in most schools, the recommenders have to submit the LORs online. Professors
are busy people. Approach them well in advance. LOR plays a very important role if the recommender
is research active and can actually evaluate your research potential.
GMAT score: There is no cut-off. The average scores of previous cohorts are generally provided in the
program websites of most schools. A score of more than 700 will generally put you in the consideration
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The Financials
set in many schools.
TOEFL score
Academic transcripts: If your degree is from a large Government university, do apply for transcripts
well in advance.
Nowadays, many schools accept scanned copies of the application material. If you need to send them by
post, keep a buffer for unforeseen events such as postal delays. Most courier companies will take around
5-7 working days to deliver your application package to US/Europe. I had used DHL University Express and
found them to be quite reliable. The deadline for application is generally the January of the year, or
December of the previous year, the program begins.
Once the school evaluates your application, they will hold a telephonic interview. In some cases, if the
school is really sure about you, they may arrange a fly-out for you to visit their campus. The interview for
PhD is not stressful. In most schools, PhD students are treated as junior colleagues. So, the interviewers
are more interested in examining your motivation for research and whether you will be a good fit for the
department.
The Financials
Lets move on to financials. You should earmark
around Rs. 30,000 for GMAT and TOEFL (test fee
and materials). Also, almost all schools have an
application fee ranging from US$70 to US$100.
Typically, people apply to 10-12 schools. So, in
total, you should earmark around Rs. 1 Lakh for
the application process.
Now, you must be wondering about how you will
survive for 5 years without pay and pay for your
tuitions. Well, you dont have to worry. Almost all
business PhD programs waive your tuition
requirements for at least 4 years. Additionally, you
are given a modest stipend which is comfortable for a single person (but may be a stretch for a couple and
may require major lifestyle adjustments). Also, note that in some schools, the stipend may be taxable.
Another factor to look at is the city where you will be staying for the next 5 years. If it is a big metropolitan
city, you will end up spending more each month. A major cost head is housing. Do find out whether the
school provides university housing (and for how long).
This article is in no way meant to be comprehensive. The application stage itself requires a lot of hard work
including researching about schools, professors and areas. Typically, one should start preparing the
application package (GMAT, TOEFL, SOP, LORs etc.) at least 6-8 months before the application deadline.
The aim of this article was to distill the basic application process to the PhD program. There are numerous
useful resources on web. I found these particularly helpful:
1. UTD Top 100 Rankings
2. A blog by Prof. Gaurav Sabnis. Old but still very useful.
3. Urch forum for PhD in Business. Extremely helpful people.
4. GMAT Club for your GMAT preparations
5. AMAs Doctoral Special Interest Group
6. DocSIGs Who Went Where survey. A great resource to know about salary levels for starting assistant
professors in US universities
7. Marketing PhD academic job exchange
About the Author
Shankha Basu, is currently pursuing PhD in marketing (consumer behavior) at Nanyang Technological
University. He is an alumnus of SPJIMR (Batch of 2010), Mumbai and has previously worked with Axis Bank
as a Manager in Retail Liabilities Strategy and Retail Banking. He is well known for his knowledge in the
domain of marketing. He is an active participant when it comes to helping aspirants, MBA students and
MBA professionals in the domain of career guidance.
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