sp1212

I am creating this thread out of curiosity for phd programs in business at major research institutions. This is also a follow up thread to the accounting phd thread "Creamgethemoney" created.


Is it typically more or less competitive to get into phd programs at most universities as compared to masters programs?

I would think that it would be less competitive considering the fact that there are less applicants to phd programs.

creamgethamoney

I doubt it would be less competitive because there are fewer spots open as well (some programs take <10 people), and if you look at the averages, they require extremely high GPAs/GMATs

sdmatt

much more competitive here

openedskittles

I think it would depend on where you go and what the actual business degree is. For example, a Harvard MBA is probably more selective than any finance or accounting PhD. However, the emphasis of the programs is pretty different and meant to prepare you for very different careers, so don't let it influence your decision.

nauru

Harvard MBA is not particularly selective when comparing to PhD programs at good schools. HBS MBA has 900 places vs 7000 applicants. PhD programs typically have 5-15 places and 400-500 applicants.

tbradford

Some PhD programs (especially in accounting) only take 1-4 people per year and I've yet to see a program that says they take anywhere close to 10, so it is quite selective.

sdmatt

your an idiot if you think a masters program is more competitive than a pHd. do you even know what phd programs consist of, what kind of work they do..

my guess is no. how about get a college degree.

openedskittles

The sheer number of people applying for the program shouldn't determine how selective it is, especially considering quite a few PhD applicants use going back to school as a plan B after not meeting a career goal (the same goes for a lot of JD applicants). I'd bet there are a few of those 400 applicants that have already been rejected at a top MBA school.

That said, if you move out of the top couple of MBA programs, I'm sure selectiveness goes down below that of a similarly ranked PhD program quickly. Also, if you're going to base it completely on the % of applicants accepted, than PhD programs will always be much more selective. However, following that logic, you'd have unis that are lucky to be tier 3s with PhD programs that are "more selective" than HBS.