Departments

Ph.D. in BCIS

Ph.D. Advisor

Ph.D. Advisor
Dr. Robert Pavur
Room: BLB 319G
Phone: ((940) 565-3107
Email: Robert.pavur@unt.edu

 

Course Work

Course work requirements for the Ph.D. in Business Administration with a concentration in Business Computer Information Systems consists of major and supporting fields of at least 33 hours and a research core of 12 hours. The specific requirements of the major and supporting fields are established by each individual student's Program Committee, although 9 to 12 of the 33 hours are typically used for the supporting field. The research and foundation core, required of all business Ph.D. students, provides a common foundation in research methodology. The final requirements for the Ph.D. consist of 12 hours of pre-dissertation individual research and 12 hours of dissertation research.

Students entering the Ph.D. program have widely varying academic and professional backgrounds. Students are individually evaluated by their Degree Program Committee and a degree program is designed especially to meet their particular needs and interests. The following degree programs describe the typical requirements for some of the more common academic backgrounds entering the Business Computer Information Systems Ph.D. Program.

Research Requirements

All Ph.D. programs in Business Administration are required to complete 15 hours of approved formal course work in research methodology, 6 hours of methodological electives, and 24 hours of the independent pre-dissertation and dissertation research study. Information Systems Ph.D. students typically satisfy their research requirements with the following courses:

Research (15 hours)

Pre-Dissertation Research

Dissertation

The research core is designed to provide the student with competencies in epistemology, logic, philosophy of science, research design, analytic tools, and business research methodology. Consequently, students should take the research core courses early in their program so that they can apply the concepts learned throughout their program.

Pre-dissertation and dissertation research is not started until the student has passed his/her qualifying examinations and has been admitted to candidacy. This research is supervised by the student's major professor (Dissertation Committee Chairperson). The pre-dissertation research is oriented towards developing a defendable dissertation proposal and leads up to the development of a successful dissertation.

Students are urged to consider their research goals very early in their program. Students should coordinate their career interests, research interests, and dissertation interests with their course work. Students that attempt to complete a dissertation without the appropriate supporting course work normally do not successfully finish their program.

Begin your dissertation preparation and research starting the very first day of your Ph.D. Program.

General Deficiency Requirements

If a student does not have an academic background equivalent to the background requirements for the MBA program, then the student will be required to complete those 5000-level background courses for the MBA that are appropriate to remove the deficiencies.

MBA in BCIS Background

Students that enter the Ph.D. Program with an M.B.A. in Business Computer Information Systems should have had previous course work equivalent to the following BCIS core courses:

Although specific degree program requirements are established in advance by the student's Degree Program Committee, a typical 33 hour major and supporting field degree program for students having an M.B.A. in Business Computer Information Systems might consist of some of the following courses:

Business Computer Information Systems Major Courses

MBA Background Not in BCIS

Students that enter the Ph.D. Program with an MBA not in Business Computer Information Systems typically have satisfied the general deficiency requirements (if not, see the General Deficiency Requirements). If the student has not had course work equivalent to the BCIS deficiency requirements courses (including a working knowledge of COBOL and JAVA), then the student will be required to take those courses necessary to satisfy his or her deficiencies before starting the major field course work.

Information Systems Deficiency Requirements

Although specific degree program requirements are established in advance by the student's Degree Program Committee, a typical 33 hour major and supporting field degree program for students not having an MBA in Business Computer Information Systems might consist of some of the following courses:

Business Computer Information Systems Major Courses