PhD in Business with a Specialization in Accounting

Join bright motivated individuals looking to launch a successful career in academia as a student in the LeBow PhD in Business program with a specialization in accounting. As a LeBow PhD student, take advantage of a wide-range of opportunities, enhancing a competence in research and teaching at multiple levels throughout the program.

Our faculty take pride in working closely with our PhD students, developing and refining the skills necessary for conducting and publishing academic research and achieving strong placements in their field. In fact, PhD students choosing the accounting specialization are encouraged to co-author research papers with faculty members, other students and alumni. As a result, our PhD students frequently produce quality academic publications before graduating from the program.

Meet current accounting PhD students

Faculty

The faculty in the Department of Accounting have a strong commitment to academic research. Their research focuses on current issues in the areas of financial accounting, managerial accounting, taxation and auditing. Faculty publish in top academic journals such as:

• The Accounting Review
• Review of Accounting Studies
• Contemporary Accounting Research
• Journal of Accounting & Economics
• Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting
• Journal of Accounting and Public Policy

Meet accounting faculty

Accounting PhD Coursework

All PhD students enroll in the accounting seminar courses offered each term (except summer), and audit these courses after reaching candidacy (year 3+). In addition to the accounting courses, first- and second-year students take PhD courses in statistics, management, economics and finance, which focus on theory and research methods.

Accounting Seminars

• Research Methodology in Accounting
• Applied Research in Accounting
• Empirical Research in Accounting I
• Empirical Research in Accounting II
• Seminar in Financial Accounting Research
• Seminar in Managerial Accounting Research
• Seminar in Auditing Research

Research Methodology

• Statistics for Behavior Science
• Multivariate Analysis 1
• Multivariate Analysis 2
• Econometrics 1
• Research Analysis in Behavioral Sciences
• Foundation of Research

Elective Courses

Students enroll in elective courses (with the approval of the Accounting Coordinator) relevant to their research interests. A typical student enrolls in three PhD courses per term during their first year in the program and two or three PhD courses per term during their second year in the program. In addition, each student must pass the core exam at the end of the first year, which includes the presentation of their first-year paper and pass the candidacy exam at the end of the second year, which includes the presentation of their second-year paper. These papers are expected to demonstrate a student’s ability to conduct, present and communicate their academic research. Moreover, it is expected that one of these papers will be accepted for presentation at a national conference and eventually be accepted for publication in a high-quality academic journal.

Additional Requirements and Features

Dissertation

The successful defense of one’s research is the final step to the PhD program. In the Accounting Department, PhD students, with the approval of their dissertation supervisor, either propose and defend a PhD dissertation or a three-essay dissertation.

Teaching

Teaching is an important part of our PhD program and an essential part of an academic career. Therefore, in order to grow as an instructor, each PhD student is assigned two classes to teach during their third and fourth years in the program.

Assistantships and Financial Aid

LeBow and Drexel provide PhD students with training in how to be highly effective teachers in their first and second years. Typically, after the candidacy exam has been passed, doctoral candidates in LeBow assume teaching duties as sole instructors for three courses total before graduating the program.

Learn more about assistantships and aid