Experiences

Ph.D. Student Community

We typically have between 10 and 15 doctoral students enrolled in the doctoral program in the Department of Marketing. Here is what some of them have to say about their Mays experience. You can learn more about the research profile of all our students by visiting the Ph.D. Student Directory.

Joon Ho Lim

“I am interested in studying inter-disciplinary questions using a unique empirical approach. Mays Marketing faculty encourages me to study marketing topics that cut across different disciplines using state-of-the-art econometric methods. Collaboration with them helps me to conduct innovative research. The resources at Mays Business School and Texas A&M University are just amazing. I am proud to be part of the community.”

Nooshin Warren

“Four years ago, when I was searching different universities to apply for Ph.D. in Business Administration – Marketing, my biggest concern was to pick a department whose faculty’s research interests were close to mine. Texas A&M University’s marketing department was one that best fit my criteria. However, through the years I realized there is much more to it. Entering a Ph.D. program is a very challenging commitment. Not only I needed faculty members who have the knowledge and experience to guide me through, I also needed a warm supportive smart group of people to help me with picking a suitable research area that is most appropriate based on my abilities and finding my way on the path to become a top-notch researcher. I was lucky enough to join a community at Mays Business School’s marketing department who are supportive in every step of the way. The faculty members in our department, especially my advisor Dr. Alina Sorescu, helped me find my own path and pursue my interest in studying the financial effects of innovation strategy. The faculty have offered me their time and invaluable comments and suggestions every time I asked. The department has also supported me financially so I could attend to major conferences and consortia.

In addition to our great community of scholars, we have a warm noncompetitive environment among my fellow doctoral students and a friendship which is based on trust and helping each other through the challenging times. And last but not least we have a group of administrative staff that will go over and beyond to help us with any official processes and greet us every morning with smiles.

The bottom line is, Mays Business School and our marketing department has supported me in any possible way to achieve my goals. Today, after four years I’m more motivated than ever and can’t imagine myself being in a better program.”

Krista Li

“The Mays Business School is one of the best business schools for a serious student to pursue Ph.D. studies. All faculty are very kind, available, and supportive. They respect Ph.D. students as colleagues and provide all resources that we need be successful as researchers.”“The Marketing department has a diverse group of productive faculty with expertise in quantitative, managerial, and behavioral marketing research. Finding an overlap between students’ and faculty’s research interests has been a natural and easy process. I have benefited from discussing research ideas and collaborating on research projects with multiple faculty members in the department. It really helped me to build up my toolboxes of research methods and gain new perspectives.”

“Presenting research in front of our department members has always been a rewarding and challenging experience, because there will be a lot of good questions asked by the audience. It shows how active the group is involved in research, and also is a testimony of the learning we can gain by being a member of this active group.”

“This Marketing department is a big family, full of energy, enthusiasm, genuine caring and support for each other. I have really enjoyed each and every day of my Ph.D. life in this department.”

Distinguished Former Students

Our doctoral students go on to become productive scholars at top universities around the world. Here is how a few of our alumni look back to their time in the doctoral program:

Satish Jayachandran James F. Kane Professor of BusinessDarla Moore School of BusinessUniversity of South Carolina

I joined the Ph.D. program in Business Administration – Marketing after several years of work rather unsure of the nature of the career that was ahead of me. I was lucky to find myself surrounded by superb academics such as Rajan Varadarajan and Len Berry. They were excellent researchers who made enormous contributions to knowledge. They were wonderful and caring teachers. More than all that, they were willing to serve – the profession, the college, and the university. Thus, the Ph.D. program in Marketing at Mays provided me not merely with the sound technical training that a research career needs, but also with role models that shaped my conception of the role of an academic.

Tarun Kushwaha Associate Professor of MarketingKenan-Flagler Business SchoolUniversity of North Carolina

The Ph.D. program at Texas A&M was defining time of my academic career. The program was designed to be rigorous yet flexible. The size and the scope of university of Texas A&M’s stature permits students to take wide variety of courses in Economics, Statistics, Psychology, and Management. This cross-functional training helped me quite a bit in developing my dissertation as well as define my research stream. The supportive atmosphere of the department and my advisor’s encouragement to foster independent thought helped me to create my own identity from the very start of the program. The open door policy of the faculty meant that I could seek guidance from any of the world renowned scholars with diverse set of research interests. During the program I made long lasting personal and professional relationships with other Ph.D. students in the school, leading to frequent academic collaborations.

The A&M program was terrific! A good doctoral program is an apprenticeship in academic research. You learn by working with faculty on their research, and then on your own research. Mays Marketing has top-notch thinkers in consumer behavior, strategy, services marketing, and empirical modeling, so it’s easy to find a faculty member to work with as your research interests evolve. I also discovered gifted teachers who were excited to show me how to become an effective teacher.

Thomas Dotzel Assistant ProfessorDesautels Faculty of Management McGill University

Getting my Ph.D. from the Mays Business School was one of the most rewarding experiences in my life and provided a great foundation for my academic career. For five years, I was surrounded by top researchers and teachers who are highly accomplished in their respective research area. This gave me the opportunity to grow and pursue the type of research I was most interested in at the very highest level. However, what I appreciated the most was that this academic rigor was always paired with a fantastic level of collegiality. Not only my advisers (Profs. Berry and Shankar) were deeply invested in my training but all faculty members were always willing to take time out of their busy schedule to help me succeed. This collegial support also translated to the group of Ph.D. students who worked together and helped each other throughout the program. When I graduated, I felt I was well prepared to make the transition from a student to a professor because not only had I acquired the skills for high quality research and teaching, I can also rely on a great professional network of colleagues and friends.

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