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Doctorate Degree

Interested in developing your research skills and becoming an accounting academic?

The doctoral program at Virginia Tech prepares students for successful careers at top business schools in the U.S. and around the world. We heavily emphasize research skills, which students develop over 4 to 5 years through coursework, research-focused program requirements, regular faculty interactions, and co-authored projects. 

The Ph.D. program application for Fall 2024 will open August 1, 2023. We encourage you to apply here by December 15.

Our faculty are experts in a variety of research methods (archival, experimental, and qualitative) and topics (audit, financial, managerial, governance, and tax), giving each student a personalized experience that caters to their unique area of interest.

#17 on BYU’s ranking of PhD graduate publications in the last 6 years

Find your fit:
Our faculty have the 11th most publications based on BYU’s author rankings for the last six years. Examples of the faculty’s elite publications from the past 5 years can be found here:

Our Ph.D. Students

  • Our Ph.D. students are a collaborative group with diverse interests and experience.
  • Current student profiles can be found in the directory.
  • We’re proud of our students for several recent awards and achievements, including:

Coursework (2.5 years):

  • Students must complete a minimum of 90 graduate credit hours, including dissertation hours.
  • We currently offer accounting seminars taught by Dr. Sarah Stein (research methods), Dr. Jeff Pittman (audit archival), Dr. Sudip Bhattacharjee (experimental), and Dr. Liang Tan (financial archival).

Weekly workshops on Friday mornings

First year paper and presentation

Second year paper and presentation

Comprehensive exam

Dissertation

The Ph.D. Program is a full-time job. All offers include graduate assistantships to compensate you for research and/or teaching appointments. Generally, in the first two years, our students serve as a research assistant in one semester and a teaching assistant in the other semester. Students showing high performance in their coursework and research projects will not be required to teach in subsequent years.

The compensation for the assistantship includes a full tuition waiver, health insurance, and a monthly cash stipend.

Additional funding is available for coding camp, conference attendance, and research support (e.g., computer, software, data).

Recent Ph.D. Student Placements

2023

  • Gabe DiYorio, Fairfield University
  • Karneisha Wolfe, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
  • Mark Zhang, Belmont University

2022

  • Delia Valentine, University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee

2021

  • Adam Du Pon, Georgia Southern University
  • Carissa Malone, North Carolina State University
  • Mike Truelson, Mississippi State University

Ph.D. Program Social Events

Graduation celebration

 Bowling event with the Ph.D. committee

 Social following a research workshop

 Social to celebrate milestones

 Ph.D. student wedding reception

 Service event to give back to the community