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Darla Moore School of Business

Ph.D. Programs in International Business and International Finance

International Business Program Overview

Currently accepting applications for Fall 2020.

Doctoral students in international business have a close working relationship with the faculty, often participating in joint research projects. Students also have the opportunity to become involved in research at or through South Carolina's Center for International Business Education and Research (CIBER).

The objective of the doctoral program with emphasis in international business is to prepare students for academic careers. In addition to extensive course work in international business, students are required to develop a cognate or area of functional specialization. Students often select cognate course work in areas such as sociology, psychology, anthropology, international studies and management. Students are encouraged to use the cognate to develop a program of study that establishes a strong multidisciplinary foundation supporting their functional specialization and individual research interests. Quantitative methods courses complement the international business and cognate courses to develop a strong foundation for academic research.

Program of Study

The international business concentration consists of at least 48 hours of course work. The courses offered in the international business area are:

  • IBUS 801 Ph.D. Seminar in International Business I
  • IBUS 802 Ph.D. Seminar in International Business II
  • IBUS 811 Ph.D. Seminar in International Finance I
  • IBUS 820 Ph.D. Seminar in International Marketing
  • IBUS 830 Ph.D. Seminar in International Management
  • IBUS 850 Ph.D. Seminar on Cultural Frameworks and Research

Download a list of research interests of our tenure track faculty [pdf].

International Finance Program Overview

Currently accepting applications for Fall 2020.

We are interested in equipping students who have strong interest in international finance to become leading scholars in this field. We encourage students to pursue research topics applying core finance concepts to the international arena. We also encourage interdisciplinary research with a focus on global finance. 

Program of Study

Building on the strengths of the international business and the finance faculties, the international finance concentration incorporates doctoral courses in international business and finance areas as follows:

  • Sociological and Political Perspectives of International Business
  • Economic Perspectives and International Business Theories
  • Psychological and Cultural Perspectives/Strategy
  • Financial Markets and Governance/MNC Financial Management
  • Advanced Topics in International Finance
  • MNC Management and MNC Subsidiary
  • Emerging Market/Sustainability
  • Doctoral Seminars in Finance
  • Principles of Finance
  • Corporate Finance
  • Asset Pricing
  • Empirical Methods in Financial Research

To equip students to research and publish in top finance and international business journals, the doctoral core also includes a substantial background in econometrics, mathematical statistics and stochastic processes, along with other statistical techniques applicable to extending the theoretical and empirical understanding of international finance.

Research and Teaching Support

Doctoral students in international finance have a close working relationship with the faculty, often participating in joint research projects. Students also have the opportunity to become involved in research at or through South Carolina's Center for International Business Education and Research. When doctoral students present papers in major academic conferences, financial aid might be given to cover some of the costs.

Within the international business department, there is a computer room and an international business library for students’ use. The Moore School has a business library with an extensive collection of books, magazines and academic journals. The school subscribes to many useful electronic databases such as Datastream, Worldscope, Bloomberg, CRSP, COMPUSTAT, LexisNexis Academic, Wall Street Journal (Pro Quest Direct), EBSCO Business Source Premier, JSTOR and more. Students can download data and articles easily.

Doctoral students are required to teach one or two undergraduate business courses within their program of study. The intention is to let them gain some teaching experience before they enter the academic job market. The students will not be asked to teach many courses since their primary focus is academic research.

Evaluation

Besides examinations in the regular courses, students are expected to take a comprehensive examination at the end of the second academic year. In the fall semester of the third year, students are required to make a presentation of an academic paper they have written in front of the faculty and fellow doctoral students. The purpose is to encourage students to work on high-quality research papers early in the program. In the third academic year, students are expected to defend their dissertation proposal. A formal defense of the finished dissertation is made before students graduate from the program.

Download a list of research interests of our tenure track faculty [pdf].

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