PhD in Accounting

Isenberg's accounting department is renowned as one of the top doctoral programs in the nation for judgment and decision making research in auditing and financial accounting. Our students have the opportunity to work with faculty who perform world-class research using experimental and archival research methods.

Students graduate as captivating and practiced scholars who are already well on their way to making meaningful contributions in their field. On every level, we give our candidates the support they need. In particular, we offer:

• Outstanding faculty who rank #2 in the nation for auditor judgment and decision making research, #5 in the nation for financial accounting judgment and decision making research, #5 for all accounting judgment and decision making research overall, and tied for 8th for auditing research overall (source: 2020 BYU faculty rankings, top 6 accounting journals, past decade).
• A small program that allows students to interact closely with faculty to co-author research projects. Our students have excellent success publishing dissertations and other research in top accounting journals.
• A personal and collaborative culture, where PhD students and faculty are colleagues. In all, Isenberg is the place to ask and answer pressing questions, to help make advances in the field of accounting, and to build and launch a career.

Yoon Ju Kang

Associate Professor and Richard Dieter MS ’66 and Susan C. Dieter Endowed Faculty Fellow

• Access to Berthiaume Behavioral Research Lab with eye-tracking, facial analysis, and GSR technology
• Top doctoral program in the nation for judgment and decision making research
• Guaranteed graduate assistantship funding ($40,000+ per year) and benefits for 5 years
• Quality, personalized mentorship with 1:1 student-to-faculty ratio
• Opportunities to learn from top scholars, with research faculty bringing diverse expertise

• Application Deadline: December 15

  Reach out to PhD Coordinator Yoon-Ju Kang at ykang@umass.edu for more information.

Your roadmap to a PhD—designed to help you make a lasting impact through research and scholarship.

Years 1 & 2: Coursework

• Students complete 45 credits of coursework and milestone exams, building a foundation in strategic management theory and research methods
• Flexibility to customize much of the curriculum across the university
• Sample courses include:
  • Behavioral Accounting Research
  • Archival Accounting Research
  • Advanced Behavioral Accounting Research
  • Experimental & Causal Inference Methods
  • Regression & Advanced Modeling
  • Predictive Analytics & Machine Learning
  • Qualitative & Mixed Methods

Years 3 & 4 : Dissertation & Teaching

• Focus on dissertation proposal, research, and defense
• Teaching requirement up to three to four courses, gaining valuable classroom experience

Take the next step by contacting our admissions team!

To apply, you'll need: 

• GRE or GMAT scores
• Official transcripts
• Personal statement and resume
• Short essay response
• Letters of recommendation
• English proficiency scores (if applicable)

For questions, contact doctoral_program@isenberg.umass.edu.