Degree Requirements

The Entrepreneurship PhD is a full-time, four-year, residential program. (Part-time and remote participation are not possible.) The first two years involve 36 hours of formal coursework, with the rest comprising independent research, teaching, and other activities. 

Besides required courses in entrepreneurship theory and research methods students take EDA 6302: Teaching and Learning in Higher Education to develop an understanding of curricular issues, course development and content, teaching techniques, and learning theories. Upon completion of this course, students undergo a teaching apprenticeship during the second year of the program. During the third year in the program students transition from apprentice to professor of record for one course per semester.

Admission to doctoral candidacy requires passing a comprehensive qualifying examination. Students also enroll in summer research practicums (6 hours) and complete three hours of prospectus research.

After admission to candidacy, students complete nine hours of dissertation work. Completion of the program requires the production and defense of a dissertation on an important issue in entrepreneurship theory, history, policy, or practice, under the supervision of a faculty adviser and committee. 

The program is designed to be completed in four years, and financial support is guaranteed for that period. A self-funded fifth year is possible, but not a sixth.