Message from the Coordinator
Isenberg’s marketing PhD students are immersed in a full-time program designed to develop them as researchers and teachers and to place them in select marketing departments around the world. We provide an apprenticeship to our students, involving them in research from the earliest days of their program. Our faculty are focused on understanding consumer and corporate behavior. We have experts on a range of topics including financial well-being, services marketing, sales channels, diversity and culture, consumer well-being, social media marketing, experience design, innovation, and branding.
We support our students by offering:
- Close interactions with faculty — the marketing department provides a highly collegial atmosphere where students work with faculty to develop ideas.
- Cross-disciplinary training — students have access to the many outstanding departments at Isenberg and across the university, taking much of their coursework from experts in complementary fields.
- Dual focus on research and teaching—students receive training in how to conduct high-level research and gain teaching experience through leading classes and engaging with faculty mentors.
We welcome applicants who are inquisitive, ambitious, and determined.
Matt Thomson
Professor of Marketing
Attend Our 2025 Information Session!
The Marketing Department at the University of Massachusetts Amherst is holding an online information session regarding its PhD program in the Isenberg School of Management. The meeting will be held Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2025 at 10 a.m. EST. If you are curious or interested in an academic career, please register for the Zoom Meeting here.
If you cannot attend due to time zone or scheduling constraints, you can use the same link to request a recording of the meeting. However, we strongly encourage you to attend live so you can meet us and ask questions.
During the information session, faculty will provide an overview of our doctoral program, including coursework, research, funding, conferences, and academic job opportunities. Participants will also be able to ask questions to faculty, current students, and PhD alumni. We look forward to seeing you there. Reach out to Professor Matt Thomson, Marketing Department PhD Coordinator, with any additional questions about the program before or after the info session.
Isenberg’s PhD in marketing is a full-time, residential program designed to generate productive scholars and strong teachers. Students receive broad training in research methods and marketing theory. The flexible program lets students select their coursework to suit their research interests and real-world teaching opportunities ensure graduates smoothly transition into academic careers.
Recent marketing faculty publications have investigated myriad topics (see our Google Scholar Profile):
Students generally complete a PhD in marketing within 4-5 years. Students must take 48 hours of coursework, including marketing theory, statistics and research methods. Students complete an independent research project during their first two summers, and must pass a comprehensive exam. Students teach for three years at Isenberg and research, write and defend a dissertation.
Sample of our required marketing courses:
- Research Methods I
- Multivariate Statistics
- Marketing Management
- Consumer Behavior
- Applied Marketing Research in Sales Management
- Theory and Science in Marketing
YEAR 1: Coursework, summer paper (August).
YEAR 2: Coursework, literature exam June) summer paper (August).
YEAR 3: Dissertation proposal; Teaching
YEAR 4-5: Dissertation research; Teaching
Marketing Doctoral Candidates
