PH.D. PROGRAM OVERVIEW

The Institute of Entrepreneurship and Innovation at University of Missouri-Kansas City delivers exceptional entrepreneurship education and research programs. It was ranked among the top 25 graduate entrepreneurship programs in the United States by the Princeton Review. Eight full-time faculty members in Entrepreneurship and Innovation at IEI are productive scholars who regularly publish in top-tier academic journals in entrepreneurship and related fields. We are committed to building one of the best doctoral programs in the country and training the next generation of entrepreneurship professors. 

The program will have theoretical and methodological rigor that is designed to position it among the 10 best entrepreneurship programs in the world.  Students will complete two sequences of courses, one dealing with existing research in the areas of entrepreneurship and innovation and a second dealing with research methodologies.  Through these courses, students will develop a solid grounding in the entrepreneurship and innovation literatures.  In addition, students will develop the research skills needed to (1) identify compelling research questions, (2) use theory to identify possible answers to those research question, (3) frame research projects to explore the validity of those answers, and (4) analyze the data generated by that research project using the statistical tools and techniques necessary for publication in leading management journals.  All students in the program will take 6 to 9 hours of courses a semester for first two years and 3 to 6 hours of courses a semester afterwards while working as research assistants for designated faculty and conducting dissertation research.

Program Structure

Total credits required for graduation: 45 credit hours
Total residency requirements, if any: 42 credit hours

Core Theory Classes (4 courses with 3 credits each; 12 total credit hours):

  • Doctoral Seminar in Theoretical Foundations of Entrepreneurship I

  • Foundations Entrepreneurship

  • Doctoral Seminar in Theories of the Firm and Strategy

  • Technology, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship

Research Classes (5 courses with 3 credits each; 15 total credit hours):

  • Multivariate Statistical Methods-I

  • Multivariate Statistical Methods-II

  • Structural Equation Modeling

Two Elective Courses (6 total credit hours)

Depending on a student’s background, additional graduate-level classes may be required.


Research Paper
Each student must complete at least four research papers to graduate. The first-year paper must be submitted to a national research conference by the 15th of the second January after the student is admitted to the program. All other papers must be submitted to top refereed academic journals by August 15 each year thereafter, and at least one of the papers must be at “revise/resubmit” stage before the student graduates from the program. Failure to meet these research and publication requirements will result in the student being placed on probation or being dismissed from the program.

These research papers must be approved by a faculty member for the submission. The research project is supervised by a faculty advisor on a topic selected by the student and approved by the faculty advisor. The faculty advisor will set a deadline by which the doctoral student must complete an independent research paper and present the findings in a research workshop. These research papers could be part of the student’s dissertation if the dissertation committee approves.

Comprehensive Exam
Students are expected to take their comprehensive exams after the completion of their second year.  They must pass written and oral comprehensive examinations in Entrepreneurship Theory and Research Methods before starting their fourth academic year in the program. Exams are administered by the IEI faculty during the summer. Students who fail a comprehensive exam may retake the exam. However, a second failure will result in termination from the program.

Comprehensive examinations in the co-discipline may also be required either as part of major comprehensive exams or as separate exams.

Dissertation
In addition to the course work, research papers, and comprehensive exams, each Ph.D. candidate must successfully complete a dissertation in Entrepreneurship. The dissertation must be an original and independent piece of work.

Each dissertation is supervised by a five-member dissertation committee. The proposal must be approved by the dissertation committee before the end of the student’s fourth year in the program. After the dissertation has been written to the satisfaction of the dissertation committee, the student presents the dissertation to the faculty and other Ph.D. students, and the student must defend the dissertation in a final oral examination by the committee.  All dissertation requirements must be completed by the end of the sixth year in the program.

Teaching effectiveness training
All first-year students are required to participate in a UMKC’s teaching effectiveness training program.  International students must pass a SPEAK test as part of the training.  Teaching assistants assigned to teach core courses will receive additional guidance from faculty course coordinators. Each student will have the opportunity to independently teach at least two classes before graduating.

Financial support
There are no assistantships available for students entering the program Fall 2013. Assistantships may become available for later years. All students are encouraged to compete for the UMKC graduate fellowships.

Evaluation
A student must complete a formal evaluation by the supervisor committee every year during the summer. Students are expected to maintain a minimum cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 3.3. Unsatisfactory performance on any of the requirements can lead to termination from the program.
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