Introduction
Over the past four years, faculty at the Dr. Sam Pack College of Business (DSPCOB) have launched a series of surveys and focus groups to gauge student and alumni interest in doctoral studies. Four studies were conducted in total. These studies aimed to gauge your interest in DSPCOB launching new doctoral programs, as well as potential areas of study. We also wanted to know about other attributes that interest you. In this article, we will explore what we learned from you, with you.
There are several formats a doctoral program can follow. For example, there is the Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) and the Doctor of Business Administration (DBA). We will review program alternatives in another article. The first study was in the spring of 2021. That study’s objective was to get a sense of the degree type you were interested in, given what you may or may not already know about the types of doctoral programs and their differences. The second study was run in the summer of 2021. It had a similar objective but offered the first definitions of the differences in these programs. It also explored disciplines. In the spring of 2024, a focus group was run with a mix of current students and alumni. Similar to the surveys, it wanted to judge interest, types of programs, attributes, and study disciplines. The fourth study was a survey in fall 2024. That study continued asking about program type and focus area, but expanded into other attributes that might make a program appealing. We will review each of these and then provide a summary at the end of what we have learned.
Spring 2021, DBA vs PhD
This survey started by asking about the type of program you might be interested in, PhD vs DBA. The study intentionally did not provide any introduction to either program. 66% of the respondents indicated they were interested in a doctoral degree in a business field. Further, 56% prefer the PhD and 44% prefer the DBA.
When asked about the program format, 56% preferred part-time, 36% preferred full-time while holding a job, and 8% preferred a full-time program without a job. The preferred duration was 2-3 years (51%), with an additional 24% wanting the program to be in the 3-4 year range.
When asked about the study area, the response was overwhelmingly management and human resource management. This question allowed the respondent to self-identify the focus area. In other words, a list of alternatives was not provided; instead, a text box was offered. Full results are shown in Table 1.
Table 1. Spring 2021 discipline area preferences
| Discipline | Count | Rank |
| Management | 30 | 1 |
| HRM | 23 | 2 |
| Accounting | 10 | 3 |
| Info Systems | 9 | 4 |
| Finance | 5 | 5 |
| Marketing | 4 | 6 |
| Economics | 3 | 7 |
| Business Admin | 1 | 8 |
| Leadership | 1 | 9 |
| Public Admin | 1 | 10 |
Summer 2021 Survey
The summer 2021 survey introduced a different style of doctor of philosophy, the PhD for Executive (ePhD). We will write more about the different programs in a separate article. That study identified 105 current students and alumni interested in an ePhD. Of those, 37% were current undergraduates. Interests in various discipline areas were again surveyed. But this time, respondents were asked to rank a series of preselected alternatives. But they were also offered an “Other” alternative, accompanied by a text box. The rankings of the preselected study areas, plus the list of responses to the text box, are reported in Table 2.
Table 2. Disciplines of Interest – Ranking of Disciplines and Listing of Others
| Area | Ranking | Other | ||
| Management | 1 | Advertising | ||
| Business Analytics | 2 | Any Lean emphasis. | ||
| Human Resources MGMT | 3 | Artificial intelligence and machine learning | ||
| Strategy | 4 | Computer Security | ||
| ESFB* | 5 | De-Fi** – Blockchain Education | ||
| Logistics & Supply Chain | 6 | Economics | ||
| Accounting | 7 | Healthcare management | ||
| Information Systems | 8 | operations management | ||
| Marketing | 9 | Organizational Behavior | ||
| Finance | 10 | Organizational Design | ||
| Operations Research | 11 | Organizational Development | ||
| Taxation | ||||
| * Entrepreneurship, Small & Family Business ** Decentralized Finance | ||||
Spring 2024 Graduate Focus Group
In the spring of 2024, a group of graduate students at the end of the MBA sit down with Dr Cavazos for a short focus group session. All of those in the session were interested in a PhD program in business. This study again depended on whatever the respondent knew about the structure and types of PhD programs. As far as the objective for obtaining a PhD, half wanted to pursue teaching/academic careers, while the others wanted to pursue the degree to advance their current careers.
As far as the group saw things, factors that made it difficult to pursue a PhD were costs, time commitment, and the possibility that they might have to leave their current jobs. As for the characteristics that would make a program appealing, part-time, flexible or Hybrid/Online options were desirable. When asked about a program structure, an executive design was preferred over a traditional one. Part-time, flexible, affordable, and high-quality were the characteristics that were important considerations. All participants preferred areas of study within management (makes sense, they are MBA students, with a particular interest in leadership and strategy.
Fall 2024 Graduate and Alumni Survey
This study started by assessing familiarity with different types of doctoral programs. In the sample, 63% of respondents were familiar with a traditional PhD. 39% were familiar with the DBA, and 24% were familiar with an executive PhD. 249 respondents were interested in doctoral studies. After defining the three types of doctoral programs, 44% reported interest in an executive PhD, 14% were interested in a traditional PhD, and 37% were interested in the DBA.
As for characteristics, 81% wanted an online program, and they wanted the program to be part-time. We then explored disciplines of interest. A predefined list of six disciplines in the DSPCOB was offered as alternatives. Management overwhelmingly carried the day at 56%. The full results are reported in Table 3.
Table 3. Fall 2024 Interest in Predefined Study Disciplines
| Discipline | Count | Percentage |
| Management | 138 | 55.9% |
| Information Systems | 31 | 12.6% |
| Business Analytics | 31 | 12.6% |
| Finance | 16 | 6.5% |
| Accounting | 14 | 5.7% |
| Marketing | 14 | 5.7% |
A final question was asked of those who responded that they were interested in management. That question examined interest in various subdisciplines in management. Leadership accounted for 28% of responses, and HRM accounted for another 20%. The full results are reported in Table 4.
Table 4. Fall 2024 Survey – Management Study Areas of Interest
| Disciplinary area | Count | Percent |
| Leadership | 38 | 27.5% |
| Human Resource Management | 28 | 20.3% |
| General Management (a broad survey of management) | 18 | 13.0% |
| Operations Management | 17 | 12.3% |
| Organizational Behavior | 12 | 8.7% |
| Entrepreneurship | 9 | 6.5% |
| Strategy | 7 | 5.1% |
| Supply Chain Management | 7 | 5.1% |
What we learned
Several recurring themes emerge from this series of studies. There is little interest in a traditional, on-campus, full-time program. Most interest oscillates around the executive PhD and DBA designs. Unquestionably, a part-time program is preferred. A program that is online or in some form of hybrid configuration is desired., It must be completed in under four years, preferably in two or three.
As for concentrations or study disciplinary areas, management is the absolute number 1 area of interest. But management is so broad. If we examine the 2024 results again and exclude management while considering its subdisciplines, a merger of Tables 3 and 4, minus management, we arrive at Table 5. The patterns seen in this study are consistent with those before it. However, we must be vigilant, as sample respondents have some flexibility.
Table 5. Fall 2024 Graduate & Alumni Survey – Combined Results
| Count | Rank | |
| Leadership | 38 | 1 |
| Information Systems | 31 | 2 |
| Business Analytics | 31 | 3 |
| Human Resource Management | 28 | 4 |
| General management | 18 | 5 |
| Operations management | 17 | 6 |
| Finance | 16 | 7 |
| Accounting | 14 | 8 |
| Marketing | 14 | 9 |
| Organizational Behavior | 12 | 10 |
| Entrepreneurship | 9 | 11 |
| Strategy | 7 | 12 |
| Supply Chain Management | 7 | 13 |
Conclusion
We would like to thank everyone who participated for taking the time to participate in one or more of these studies. Know that since 2021, we have continually looked back at these results and will continue to use them to guide the DSPCOB entry into doctoral studies. We will continue using these results as we move forward in the development phase.