Business Administration/Tourism and Sport PhD

About the Program

The PhD in Business Administration program, with a concentration in Tourism and Sport, prepares individuals for advanced research and scholarship. The primary emphasis of the program is to prepare future faculty members for successful academic careers.

Time Limit for Degree Completion: 7 years

Campus Location: Main

Full-Time/Part-Time Status: Full-time study is required.

Affiliation(s): The Tourism and Sport faculty are conducting research for the following agencies: Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation, Greater Reading (PA) Convention and Visitors Bureau, Office of Travel and Tourism Industries, and Special Olympics of North America.

Accreditation: The PhD in Business Administration program, with a concentration in Tourism and Sport, is accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB International).

Job Prospects: The program is primarily dedicated to preparing well-trained PhD graduates for faculty positions at universities that offer hospitality, recreation, sport and tourism degrees.

Non-Matriculated Student Policy: Non-matriculated students are not permitted to take doctoral courses.

Financing Opportunities: Typically, all PhD students receive financial assistantship in the form of full tuition remission and a stipend in return for offering services as a Research Assistant (RA) or Teaching Assistant (TA). The level of support is based on the concentration, the applicant’s qualifications, and other competitive considerations. Students may also receive remuneration for conference travel, publications and academic achievement.

Admission Requirements and Deadlines

Application Deadline:

Fall:

January 5 – Early Deadline for Fellowship Consideration
March 1 – Final Deadline

Applications received after January 5 are reviewed on a rolling basis.

APPLY ONLINE to this Fox graduate program.

Letters of Reference:
Number Required: 2

From Whom: Letters of recommendation should be obtained from evaluators, typically college/university faculty or an immediate work supervisor, who can provide insight into your abilities and talents, as well as comment on your aptitude for graduate study.

Master's Degree in Discipline/Related Discipline: A master's degree is not required, but preferred.

Bachelor's Degree in Discipline/Related Discipline: The equivalent of a four-year U.S. baccalaureate degree from an accredited university or college is required. For three-year degrees, mark sheets must be evaluated by WES or another NACES organization.

Statement of Goals: In 500 to 1,000 words, describe your specific interest in Temple's program, research goals, career goals, and academic and research achievements.

Standardized Test Scores:
GMAT/GRE: Required. GMAT scores are preferred. Test results cannot be more than five years old. Although the applicant’s test score is an important factor in the admissions process, other factors, such as the ability to conduct research as demonstrated by academic research publications and whether your indicated research interests match with those of our faculty, are also taken into consideration.

Applicants who earned their baccalaureate degree from an institution where the language of instruction was other than English, with the exception of those who subsequently earned a master’s degree in a country where the language of instruction is English, must report scores for a standardized test of English that meet these minimums:

TOEFL iBT: 90
IELTS Academic: 7.0
Duolingo: 110
PTE Academic: 68

Resume: Current resume or CV required.

Program Requirements

General Program Requirements:
Number of Credits Required to Earn the Degree: 48

Required Courses¹:

Course List
Code	Title	Credit Hours
Core Tourism and Sport Courses
Math Preparation (August) non-credit		0
STHM 9001	Research Seminar	3
STHM 9002	Seminar in Theory Development: Tourism and Sport Concepts	3
STHM 9090	Special Topics in Tourism and Sport (2 terms)	3
Theory and Research Methods Courses ²		27
Theoretical Foundations Courses
Select a minimum of four courses (12 credits) from the following:
BA 9001	Organizations and Management Theory
BA 9002	Scientific Inquiry-Management Research
BA 9003	Seminar in Organizational Behavior
BA 9812	Innovation and Entrepreneurship in the New Economy
HRM 9011	Pro-Seminar in Human Resource Management and Organization Behavior
HRM 9021	Current Readings in Human Resource Management and Organizational Behavior
MIS 9011	Proseminar in Management Information Systems
MKTG 9001	Sem-Marketing Theory Dev
MKTG 9002	Sem-Behavior Res-Mktg
MKTG 9005	Seminar in Judgment and Decision Making
Methodological Foundations Courses
Select a minimum of three courses (9 credits) from the following:
BA 9002	Scientific Inquiry-Management Research
BA 9105	Bus Rsrch Econometrics I
BA 9106	Bus Rsch Econometrics II
BA 9201	Quant Methods in Bus Res
BA 9202	Qualitative Research Methods
HRM 9006	Doctoral Seminar in Meta-analysis and Research Synthesis Methods
STAT 8108	Applied Multivariate Analysis I
STAT 8112	Statistical Methods for Business Research I
STAT 8113	Statistical Methods for Business Research II
Electives ³		6
STHM 9482	Independent Study
STHM 9982	Independent Research
Research Courses ⁴		6
BA 9994	Preliminary Examination Preparation
BA 9998	Pre-Dissertation Research
BA 9999	Dissertation Research
Total Credit Hours		48

Students require approval from their mentor and the Concentration Director for all course selections, including those dropped and/or added.

The program of study may be individualized to a significant degree for the student's best professional and scholarly development. Students and their mentor work together to ensure students take coursework to match their research interests. Courses may be chosen from departments other than those listed with the approval of the Concentration Director and the Business Administration PhD Program Director. Potential courses are offered in such programs as Accounting, Entrepreneurship, Finance, International Business, Risk Management and Insurance, and Strategic Management.

Recommended courses include STHM 9482 and STHM 9982. With approval from the Concentration Director, students may take other electives to match their research interests.

⁴

Of the 6 required research credits, a minimum of 2 credits of BA 9999 must be taken. The other 4 credits may be taken in any combination of BA 9994, BA 9998, and BA 9999. Given that 6 credits constitute the minimum requirement, additional credits may be needed to fulfill the degree program's culminating experiences. Doctoral students must maintain continuous enrollment from matriculation to graduation.

Culminating Events:
Screening Examination:
The screening exam ensures a student is making sufficient progress in theoretical and methodological development in the first year of study. A student must pass the screening exam in order to advance to the second year of the PhD program.

Preliminary Examination:
The preliminary exam is designed to test whether the student has a comprehensive and integrated understanding of the theories, methodologies and empirical findings in Tourism and Sport. Within six months of completing the required coursework, students must take and pass a preliminary examination. A Preliminary Examination Committee is formed based on the PhD-level Tourism and Sport courses and related cognate area of specialization that a student has taken. Students are encouraged to take the preliminary examination in the first academic term of the third year. Students who fail are allowed to sit for re-examination. A second failure results in automatic dismissal from the program. Third attempts are not allowed.

The preliminary exam for the Tourism and Sport concentration is formatted with four sections: Methodology, Primary Theory Area, Cognate Research, and Field/Discipline/Application. Written by members of the committee, the questions reflect an expectation that students are familiar with the broad base of the specific domain in Tourism and Sport and specific topics chosen by the committee.

Dissertation Proposal and Defense:
Within three months of successfully passing the preliminary examination, students are expected to select a dissertation advisor and their Dissertation Advisory Committee. Students must notify the Tourism and Sport Concentration Advisor of her/his choice for advisor and committee members prior to the proposal defense date.

The dissertation proposal demonstrates the student's knowledge of and ability to conduct the proposed research. The proposal should consist of the following:

the context and background surrounding a particular research problem;
an exhaustive survey and review of literature related to the problem; and
a detailed methodological plan for investigating the problem.

The proposal should be completed and approved no more than one year after completing coursework. Upon approval, a timeline for completing the investigation and writing process is established.

A Dissertation Advisory Committee must have a minimum of three faculty members, including a chairperson. The chairperson and at least one other member must be faculty from the Tourism and Sport concentration. One member may be from outside the concentration, and this is encouraged. The chairperson must be a member of the Temple University Graduate Faculty and must be approved by the Concentration Advisor and Fox PhD office. Students are encouraged to formally defend the proposal with the Dissertation Proposal Committee’s approval no later than the end of summer of the third year.