UMass Boston

UMass Boston's Business Administration PhD - Finance track is a full-time, in-residence program lasting 4 to 5 years. The program prepares students to be academic researchers, tenure-track professors, or for careers in government organizations and the private sector.

The finance track provides a unique curriculum. It’s taught by both accounting and finance faculty and demands competency tests in both subject areas. Additionally, the curriculum has been updated to include state-of-the-art classes in data science (natural language processing, machine learning, and textual analysis). This new emphasis on data science provides students the tools needed to differentiate their research in a very competitive area. Learn more about students' job placements.

Students accepted into the program generally qualify for a stipend ($31,000 per year for four years, subject to satisfactory academic progress) and full tuition credits. Students may also apply for grants for conference participation. Travel grants annually fund academic conference presentations. Additionally, teaching opportunities and summer internships at financial institutions are encouraged to complement the stipend.

Small class sizes (4-6 students) allow closer interaction with faculty publishing in top-ranked journals to develop research niches. We organized international conferences to signal that competence (Corporate Social Responsibility in 2019, 2021, and 2023). Mindful of the teaching career – a course on teaching skills is also part of the required curriculum. Recognizing the diverse insights other disciplines may bring, students can attend classes from two additional tracks of our PhD Business Administration program – the Organizations & Social Change and Information Systems for Data Science track. Competency tests in Accounting are also part of the required curriculum.

Who Should Apply

The finance program track is designed for students who are interested in pursuing a full-time doctoral program specializing in areas such as:

• corporate finance (e.g., corporate governance and control, executive compensation, capital structure, payout policy, raising capital, and corporate social responsibility)
• investments and asset pricing (e.g., asset management and portfolio analysis, market microstructure, stock-price modeling, fixed-income market, derivative markets, financial systems in emerging markets)
• accounting (e.g., financial reporting, accounting anomalies, managerial accounting)

Curriculum

The program is designed to give students a solid foundation in finance, economics, accounting, and econometrics in the first year through coursework. The intensity of the coursework takes into consideration that applicants come from multiple disciplines. To proceed, students take a qualifying exam in the summer of their first year. The second year is dedicated solely to seminar courses, with some covering investments, asset pricing, corporate finance, and accounting. Courses are designed to prepare students for taking on instructor duties in their third year.

View the Finance Track curriculum.

Faculty

Our faculty has published in the most prestigious journals in finance and accounting. Recent publications include articles listed in the FT-50 list of the highest-ranked journals in business, including in Journal of Finance, Journal of Financial Economics, Review of Financial Studies, Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Management Science, Journal of Accounting Research, Accounting Review, Journal of Business Ethics, and Journal of International Business Studies.

Learn more about the Accounting & Finance faculty.

Data analytics has become a critical need in industries ranging from health care and financial services to marketing and government. Leveraging the strengths of the College of Management's faculty, the University of Massachusetts Boston is offering a cutting-edge and flexible doctoral program in this field.

Positioned at the intersection of technology, business, and strategy, UMass Boston's Business Administration PhD - Information Systems for Data Science and Management track allows students to have a holistic view of data science and its role in the competition. Students will get exposed to various state-of-art research streams in information systems and data science, with a relative focus on data analytical techniques from a design science perspective and the application and management of data analytics in business settings from an organizational perspective. The program offers students the flexibility to investigate other topics they find interesting in data science and technology fields.

Who Should Apply

All students with master's degrees who are interested in information technology and data analytics are welcome to apply. Students with degrees in quantitative fields such as statistics, economics, math, computer science, management sciences, information systems, and other related disciplines are particularly encouraged to apply. A master's degree in these related fields is a plus, although not required. Previous full-time working experiences in related positions are also a plus.

Impact

Rapid increases in the amount of published data results in a data deluge that imposes significant challenges in data analytics. By offering a carefully tailored combination of courses in information technology, applied statistics, and business analytics, our PhD program provides rigorous and in-depth courses of study with emphasis on various research methodologies, tools for data analytics, and relevant academic skill sets involving research design, literature review, theoretical development, empirical validation, and academic writing. Our program also provides students with extensive knowledge in the various emerging research areas in information systems (IS) field through IS research seminars and research collaboration opportunities with faculty members.

Academic advisors will help students configure a program of study which includes a rigorous sequence of courses in a variety of research methodologies, theories, and topics. Students will develop theoretical and methodological competencies in a variety of topics in the field of information systems and data science. Students will develop teaching competences through the teaching seminar, GA assignments to support a professor, and independently deliver courses. In addition to course work, students will actively engage in research with faculty members.

View the Information Systems for Data Science and Management curriculum.

Faculty Research

More than a dozen dedicated faculty members are devoted to student learning, with additional faculty serving in supporting roles. They are leaders in their fields who regularly publish scholarly articles in top academic journals. The program involves close, apprentice-like working relationships with faculty members, and students are introduced early to the world of conferences and publishing. Doctoral students are paired with faculty advisors based on their area of interest. This intense mentorship program allows students to learn the crafts of research and teaching in a highly collaborative environment. A sampling of faculty projects includes:

• cybersecurity analytics for massive communication graphs
• home health care management for dually diagnosed Individuals with mental and physical health problems
• characterizing managers' decision making patterns under uncertain and competitive environment
• business intelligence as an IT-enabled agile and competitive business platform
• social media, big data, and Innovation: an investigation of the software industry in India
• strategic use of cloud computing and data assets for sustainable competitive advantage
• decision modeling applications to areas such as technology development, policy, resource management
• abysmal behavior in online social networks
• the role of health IT in hospital acquisitions
• social influence on Bayesian learning process in post-adoption stage

Learn more about faculty and their research.

Career Possibilities

There are two main career opportunities for the individuals graduated from this program. They can pursue a career in academia as a faculty member or join an organization as a data scientist. In the first case, they can educate other data scientists and conduct state of the art research to be published in peer-reviewed journals.

For the second, students can become data scientists who use the acquired knowledge to excel the effectiveness of data collection and analytics in their organization and improve its competitiveness in today’s economy.

UMass Boston's Business Administration PhD - Organizations and Social Change (OSC) program has gained a strong international reputation for its distinctive focus on issues at the intersection of business and society and its explicit commitment to diverse perspectives, theories, and methodologies. The program examines how business and organizations structure societies, economies, and our identities, sometimes in harmful ways, but also how business and organizations can be engines for positive change.

This full-time, on-campus program is led by a high-quality faculty who are committed to supportive supervision and mentoring of students. Students are eligible for four years of financial support and enjoy opportunities to collaborate with faculty on research projects. Graduates of the program, which is primarily designed to train students for academic careers, have secured positions in well-known universities, while others have pursued successful careers in consulting and nonprofits.

The program is part of the AACSB-accredited College of Management at UMass Boston. The university is guided by a mission of social justice and community involvement. It is an extraordinary place to learn about the relevance of business and organizations in addressing societal issues.

Who Should Apply

The Organizations and Social Change program track is designed for students who are interested in pursuing a full-time doctoral program specializing in areas such as:

• social responsibility and sustainability
• social entrepreneurship
• sustainable economic development
• stakeholder engagement in corporate governance
• contemporary human resource management, such as diversity and contingent labor
• cultural and economic impacts of globalization
• transnational identities of consumers and employees
• gender equality and organizations
• multi-sector partnerships for poverty alleviation and development

Prospective students with prior degrees in management, sociology, economics, political science, or other relevant areas are encouraged to apply. Most successful applicants have a master’s degree. Prior research experience (e.g., data analysis, literature reviews, academic writing) is highly recommended. Students accepted into the program are offered full tuition credits and a $31,000 stipend to help defray living costs for up to four years. Travel grants annually fund academic conference presentations.

View the Organizations and Social Change Track curriculum.

Research

Doctoral students are paired with faculty advisors based on their area of interest. This intense mentorship program allows students to learn the crafts of research and teaching in a highly collaborative environment. Students are introduced early to academic research and publishing. Current and former PhD students of the OSC track regularly publish in highly regarded journals, typically together with faculty, and have been involved in impactful community projects and action-oriented research.

Faculty of the OSC track possess international reputations in their fields and are actively engaged in academic and practice-oriented research, and publishing in highly regarded outlets on inequality, sustainability, social entrepreneurship, and diversity. Their expertise in organizations and social change brings them into close contact with business, entrepreneurs, government agencies, and nonprofits.

This year, Professor Maureen Scully was awarded the highly prestigious Joanne Martin Trailblazer Award from the Organization and Management Theory Division of the Academy of Management (2020). She also won the Donald Shephard Endowed Award for Research, College of Management, UMass Boston (2020).

Learn more about faculty and their research.

Career Possibilities

Students in the OSC track will be positioned to pursue academic careers at universities and research institutions. Program graduates have successfully published in highly regarded academic journals and found excellent academic positions at institutions in North America and Europe.

The OSC PhD degree has qualified students for faculty positions in various departments, including entrepreneurship, strategy, management, and public affairs. They teach courses in organization theory, strategy, business and society, sustainability, business ethics, and international business. Several graduates have taken leadership positions in nonprofit organizations, research centers, and consulting.