Management PhD Residence and Registration Requirements

Students in residence are expected to devote their time and energy to graduate studies on the main campus under the guidance of the departmental doctoral program coordinator early in the program and the advisory committee, especially the chairperson, later in the program.

Major purposes

The residence requirements for graduate degrees are intended to insure that the student has an opportunity to benefit from the advantages of a university environment. These advantages include the accessibility of computing facilities, library, laboratory, and other physical facilities as well as the opportunity to participate in seminars and a variety of cultural activities. Just as important to the graduate students are the advantages of becoming acquainted with the faculty and other students on both a social and a professional basis.

Another major purpose of the residence requirements is to give the faculty the opportunity to properly assess doctoral students’ professional development, guide and direct their studies, and determine their competency. A major component of the students’ professional development involves the socialization experiences involved in working collaboratively on research with their advisor or other faculty.

Minimum residency

Students who enter a Texas A&M doctoral program with a baccalaureate degree must spend a minimum of two academic years in resident study on the campus at College Station. Students who hold a masters degree when they enter doctoral degree programs must spend at least one academic year in resident study on the campus. In either case, one academic year beyond the first year of graduate study must be in continuous residence on the campus of Texas A&M University at College Station. For the PhD program with a major in management, one academic year is defined as two adjacent regular semesters.

Minimum registration

Doctoral students at Mays Business School, including those who hold university fellowships, are required to register for a minimum of nine semester credit hours during both the fall and spring semester and for six semester credit hours during the combined summer sessions (three hours each session). These credit hours may come from a combination of regularly schedules courses and MGMT 691 (research) credit.

In absentia registration

Doctoral students admitted to candidacy and no longer in residence, but who are still engaged in research for their dissertations, must register in absentia for four hours of MGMT 691 (research) credit each semester and each 10-week summer term until all requirements for the degree have been completed. Questions relating to residency status will be resolved by the Associate Dean for Research and PhD Programs at Mays Business School.

Records

The student should assume responsibility for his/her records at Mays. The student should coordinate with the departmental PhD coordinator and chair of the advisory committee to assure that all required forms are filed and approved.

The Associate Dean for Research and PhD Programs and the departmental PhD coordinator should be notified of changes in course of study, changes of address and telephone numbers, and any other information pertinent to the individual student records.

After the necessary departmental approvals (signatures) are obtained, all completed forms are to be submitted through the Office of the Associate Dean for Research and PhD Programs to the Office of Graduate Studies. This will assure accurate records of the student’s progress toward degree completion.