Below please find the program requirements for a students in Marketing. Doctoral students in Marketing generally complete the program in five years.

A minimum of 13 semester courses at doctoral level are required. Each semester students will consult with the Marketing faculty coordinators to receive approval of their course selections.

Foundational Courses (2 courses)

Students in the Marketing program choose one of the following sequences

Microeconomics

• Microeconomic Theory I (HBS 4010/Economics 2020a)
• Microeconomic Theory II (HBS 4011/Economics 2020b)

Psychology

• Social Behavior in Organizations: Research Seminar (Psychology 2630)
• Advanced Social Psychology (Psychology 2500)

Research Methods Courses (4 courses)

Students must take four research methods courses, including at least one course in research design.

Research methods courses that meet this requirement include, but are not limited to:

Quantitative Research Methods

Research Methods Courses

• Introduction to Econometrics (Economics 1123)
• Introduction to Applied Econometrics (Economics 2120);(prerequisite Economics 2110; the pre-req will count towards 4 course requirement)
• Econometric Methods II (Economics 2115)
• Advanced Applied Econometrics (Economics 2144)
• Industrial Organization (Economics 2610)
• Statistical Methods for Evaluating Causal Effects (Econ 1127)
• Advanced Quantitative Methods II (KSG API 210i)
• Machine Learning and Big Data Analytics (HKS API 222)
• Statsitical Machine Learning (Statistics 195)
• Probability Theory (Statistics 210)
• Statistical Inference (Statistics 211)
• Bayesian Data Analysis (Statistics 220)
• Incomplete Multivariate Data (Statistics 232)
• Sequential Decision Making (Statistics 234)
• Advanced Demand Modeling (MIT 1.205)
• Advanced Natural Language Processing (MIT 6.864)
• Bayesian Modeling Inference (MIT 6.435)
• Inference Causal Parameters (MIT 14.388)

Quantitative Research Design Courses

• Advanced Quantitative Research Methodology (Gov 2001)
• Program Evaluation: Estimating Program Effectiveness with Empirical Analysis (HKS API-208)

Consumer Behavior

Research Methods Courses

• Intermediate Statistical Analysis in Psychology (Psychology 1950)
• Multivariate Analysis in Psychology (Psychology 1952)

Research Design Courses

• Design of Field Research Methods (HBS 4070)
• Experimental Methods (HBS 4435)
• Field Experiments (HBS 4430)

Additional Doctoral Courses (7 courses)

Marketing students are required to take five additional doctoral courses.

Quantitative-track students are required to complete:

• Consumer Behavior (HBS 4630)
• Marketing Models (HBS 4660)
• Two breadth courses
• Three elective doctoral courses

Consumer Behavior-track students are required to complete:

• Consumer Behavior (HBS 4630)
• Marketing Models (HBS 4660)
• Micro Topics in Organizational Behavior (HBS 4882)
• Behavioral Approaches to Decision Making and Negotiation (HBS 4420)
• Two breadth courses
• One elective doctoral course

MBA Courses (2 courses)

All students without an MBA degree are required to complete two case-based HBS MBA courses.

Seminars

Students are strongly encouraged to attend and participate in seminars throughout their program. Students are expected to attend the Marketing Unit Seminars.

To remain in good academic standing, doctoral students are expected to maintain a B grade point average.

Students are required to complete a teaching engagement of one full academic term that includes at least 8 hours, or 3 class sessions, of front-of-class teaching experience and at least 16 hours of teaching preparation time.

Students are required to pass the Special Field Exam at the end of the second year or beginning of the third year. This exam has two parts: a written exam and an oral exam based on a research paper a student has written.

By the end of their third year, all students are required to obtain approval of their dissertation proposal by their Dissertation Chair.

Students are required to complete a dissertation proposal oral examination. In evaluating the student’s performance at the orals, the Dissertation Committee will take into account the quality of the student’s oral presentation, the quality of the student’s responses to questions from the Dissertation Committee, and the written material prepared prior to the oral date.

Students are required to write a dissertation, which typically takes the form of three publishable papers, to the satisfaction of their Dissertation Committee. The dissertation defense is oral and open to the public.