Ph.D. in Marketing
The Ph.D. in Marketing program prepares students for an academic career conducting research in and teaching marketing. As a doctoral marketing student, you will be working with faculty who are outstanding researchers, have work published in the field's top journals, and who have extensive experience successfully advising doctoral students.
Our faculty in marketing conducts research on a wide variety of marketing issues, using diverse methodologies for modeling consumer and firm behavior, such as statistical, econometric, and machine learning models; models and theories from the behavioral sciences such as psychology, sociology, and behavioral economics; and economic, game-theoretic and industrial organization models.
Application Information
The UCR School of Business only accepts Ph.D. applications every few years. The next application cycle for the Marketing area will be for a program start in Fall 2026. Applications will be open in late 2025, due in January 2026.
Program Outline
The following is a brief overview of the Ph.D. in Marketing program and its requirements. More details can be found in the Ph.D. handbook. The average time for completion of the program is five years. A student’s duration in the program will be devoted to research, core curriculum coursework and teaching assistantships, if applicable.
The program generally follows a three-phase sequence:
1. Beginning research with supervision, core curriculum coursework and a teaching assistantship, if applicable.
2. Continuing research, qualifying examination and advancement to candidacy.
3. Final dissertation research, including data collection, write-up and defense of the dissertation.