Why PhD Business?

[YoungEconomist]

I was recently talking with one of my professors and let him know that I want to get a PhD in Economics. After giving me some advice he asked, have you ever thought of a PhD in Business? And I (truthfully) answered no.

I realized at that point that I have no idea about what a PhD in Business is. I am hoping that you guys can enlighten me. I just want to get some general ideas of what PhD Business is like (so feel free to offer any advice that will be helpful even if not related to my direct questions).

• Why do people get PhD in Business?
• What interests you guys about PhD in Business?
• What do PhDs in Business study?
• How is PhD in Business similar to PhD in Economics? How is PhD in Business different from PhD in Economics?
• How competitive is it to get a PhD in Business?
• What careers (besides academia) do people with PhD in Business get?
• Any links, books, etc that will help me see if this is something I might be interested would also be greatly appreciated.

[apropos]

Originally Posted by YoungEconomist

I was recently talking with one of my professors and let him know that I want to get a PhD in Economics. After giving me some advice he asked, have you ever thought of a PhD in Business? And I (truthfully) answered no.

I realized at that point that I have no idea about what a PhD in Business is. I am hoping that you guys can enlighten me. I just want to get some general ideas of what PhD Business is like (so feel free to offer any advice that will be helpful even if not related to my direct questions).

• Why do people get PhD in Business?
• What interests you guys about PhD in Business?
• What do PhDs in Business study?
• How is PhD in Business similar to PhD in Economics? How is PhD in Business different from PhD in Economics?
• How competitive is it to get a PhD in Business?
• What careers (besides academia) do people with PhD in Business get?
• Any links, books, etc that will help me see if this is something I might be interested would also be greatly appreciated.

The Economics Ph.D. admissions guide on www.econphd.net has a good section on the Business schools. I personally view Business Ph.D. programs such Finance or Strategy as a kind of Economics Ph.D. programs where you're constrained to a specific field from the beginning. Why go there instead of a traditional Economics department? Many reasons. GSB's tend to fund and treat their students well (e.g. it's less likely that you will have to TA or that they will weed out unnecessarily too many people through prelims) and the student to faculty ratio is better (so you might get more attention). On the downside, it's going to be hard to get a job at an Economics department due to the perception that most Business school Ph.D. programs are less rigorous, and you will have to compete with Economics Ph.Ds. on the Business school job market.