PhD Business Administration at University of Illinois Chicago

Programme overview

The PhD in Business Administration offers two areas of inquiry, Human Resource Management (HRM) and Information and Decision Sciences (IDS). Admission is fall only and competitive.

Faculty: College of Business Administration | Department: Liautaud Graduate School of Business (HRM and IDS areas) | Duration: 96 semester hours beyond the baccalaureate (64 beyond the MBA) | Intake: Fall only | Study mode: full-time | Location: Chicago, IL, United States

What you will study

At least 32 hours of dissertation research and 48 hours of coursework: a two-course maths/statistics/computing requirement, a four-course breadth requirement and a six-course depth requirement. IDS qualifying exam covers optimization, machine learning and probability/stochastic processes; HRM students develop a journal-ready manuscript. Includes a preliminary exam and dissertation.

Official programme page

Application information

Entry requirements

Letters of recommendation: Three letters are required, ideally from individuals who are familiar with the applicant’s intellectual capabilities, perseverance, and integrity. At least one recommendation should come from an academic who is familiar with the applicant’s work.

Tuition is charged per credit, so the total depends on the modules you register for each year. Current fees are listed in the official fee schedule.

Graduate and professional programmes admit for Fall, Spring and Summer terms depending on the programme; applications for Fall 2027, Spring 2028 and Summer 2028 are expected to open on August 1, 2026.

Graduate and professional application deadlines are set per programme, with separate deadlines for domestic and international applicants for most non-online programmes; optional earlier priority, recommended or fellowship dates apply to both.

Apply through the official page: https://grad.uic.edu/admissions/

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