PhD in Accounting Program
Fall 2024 Cohort
We are accepting applications for the Fall 2024 Cohort.
Focus
Our PhD in Accounting (PhD) is a rigorous research degree designed to provide experienced professionals with the advanced skills and credentials required to secure and succeed in full-time, tenure-track faculty positions at accredited institutions. This program offers a concentration in accounting and is delivered through on-campus residency requirements that are fulfilled while the student maintains his/her current position.
Recent Recognition
The PhD program was recognized in 2019 for "Innovations and Best Practices in Canada, Latin America and the United States" by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. Read more in
Mission
The mission of the PhD Program is to develop experienced accounting professionals into exceptional academics and teachers capable of producing advanced practice-relevant research grounded in the ethical foundation of our institution’s Ignatian identity. These scholars will understand the global environment of academia and demonstrate advanced research, communication and teaching skills. They will be poised to make a transformational contribution to both academia and business and, in the words of St. Ignatius, they will thus be positioned to “set the world on fire.”
Motivation
The PhD Program was created in direct response to specific calls made by the Pathways Commission (led by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the American Accounting Association) to mitigate the accounting faculty shortage crisis and advance the practice relevancy of doctoral education. The program incorporates many of the innovative recommendations provided by our business accrediting body, the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) in their manuscript “,” 2013.
Diligence
The PhD Program is housed in our AACSB Accredited Kania School of Management. Prior to the program’s launch, our distinguished program faculty studied, published extensively, and were interviewed on the topic of doctoral programs for experienced accounting professionals in journals such as Accounting Horizons, the Journal of Accounting Education, the Journal of Accountancy, Strategic Finance, and Management Accounting Quarterly, among others. In addition, several of our accounting faculty have transitioned from senior roles in practice to distinguished careers in academia. This experience uniquely positions our faculty to provide valuable guidance and mentoring to others making such a transition, helping to ensure the success of our PhD students. Lastly, our PhD Program Director served on the Pathways Commission's Nontraditional Doctoral Education Task Force.
Why Choose Scranton?
- As a Jesuit University, we are dedicated to developing the whole person and giving graduates the foundation they need to succeed in their personal, public and professional lives
- Our Kania School of Management is accredited by AACSB International, the highest standard of achievement held by less than 5% of business schools worldwide
- Flexible and rigorous research-based curriculum designed to provide experienced professionals with the skills and credentials required to secure and succeed in full-time, tenure-track faculty positions at accredited institutions
- On-campus residencies delivered over 2-4 weekends per semester that enable a student to maintain his/her current position
- Small program cohort size of 10 or less (compared to the typical 15-25) that includes one area of concentration (accounting) to ensure individual attention and mentoring on each student’s development and research
- Distinguished program faculty who have published extensively and were interviewed on the topic of doctoral programs for experienced accounting professionals in journals such as the Journal of Accountancy, Accounting Horizons, Strategic Finance and Management Accounting Quarterly, among others
- Our Online Master of Accountancy Program
- Our Undergraduate Accounting Program ranked No. 17 in the country by U.S. News & World Report
- Several our accounting faculty have transitioned from senior roles in practice to distinguished careers in academia
Learn More
Interested in our Accounting Ph.D.?
In the News
Accounting Department Earns National Ranking
Our Accounting Department recently ranked fourth in the world and its faculty ranked among the top internationally for academic and practice research.
PhD Student Co-Authors Textbook
PhD student Gregory Kogan co-authored a data analytics textbook that was published in 2021.