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Overview

The University of North Texas G. Brint Ryan College of Business Ph.D. in Business Administration, specializing in Accounting, features rigorous training from internationally recognized faculty. Accounting Ph.D. Students are trained to conduct independent research in areas such as audit, tax, financial, or systems, using either archival or behavioral methodologies.

Our department has a strong tradition of close student-faculty collaboration. See the bottom of this page for a list faculty and their research interests.

For thorough application instructions, see the college Admission Information Page.

Typical Courses

All of our students take several accounting seminars and several statistics courses related to their research specialization.

First Year
Fall
  • Behavioral Accounting Research Seminar I
  • Mathematical Economics
  • Multiple Regression
  • Mathematical Foundations of Statistics
  • Behavioral Accounting Research Seminar II
First Year
Spring
  • Archival Accounting Research Seminar I
  • Advanced Econometrics
  • Mathematical Statistics & Stochastic Processes
  • Archival Accounting Research Seminar II
First Year
Summer
  • UNT GSTEP Teaching Seminar (usually online)
Second Year
Fall
  • Applied Econometrics
  • Panel Data Econometrics
Second Year
Spring
  • Time Series Econometrics
  • Empirical Linear Modeling

Doctoral Program Coordinator Contact Information

Dr. Jesse Robertson
Room: BLB 385K
Phone: (940) 369-8156
Email: Jesse.Robertson@unt.edu
Dr. Lili Sun
Room: BLB 385G
Phone: (940) 565-3077
Email: lili.sun@unt.edu

Frequently Asked Questions

1) How and when do I apply?

For thorough application instructions, see the college Admission Information Page.

January 15 is the formal deadline for consideration for admission in the following fall, but prospective students should apply sooner. Our application process is highly competitive, and the program might become full before the deadline. International applicants are especially urged to apply early, since application processing at the university level for international students can require many weeks.

2) What is the desired educational background of the students entering your Ph.D. program?
A master's degree in accounting, an MBA with an accounting concentration, or the equivalent is generally required.
3) What type of work experience, if any, is required or recommended before admittance into your program? Are you willing to consider well prepared students who have little or no prior work experience?
Professional work experience is strongly recommended. We will sometimes consider exceptionally strong students who have little prior full-time professional work experience.
4) What is the average GMAT/GRE score? What about English language proficiency requirements?
All applicants must submit GMAT or GRE scores. A typical GMAT score is approximately 690. We consider only students who demonstrate excellent English language writing and speaking skills.
5) What is your Ph.D. program size?
We typically admit 2-3 students per year, with approximately 10-12 students in the program at any given time.
6) What is the typical financial package for your Ph.D. students?
The typical annual stipend ranges from $28,000-$30,000, depending on if the student has a master’s degree. Most students also receive assistance that covers much of tuition and course fees.
7) Can I continue working while in your PhD. Program? How long does it take to complete your Ph.D. program?
No work outside the Ph.D. program. Our Ph.D. students must be full-time students and usually complete the program in 4 years.
8) Do you expect your students to teach during their Ph.D. program?
Most students begin teaching during their third year, one class per long semester (fall and spring). This gives our students time during their first and second years to begin developing research expertise that is critical to obtaining faculty positions.

Research Interests of UNT Accounting Faculty

Richard Cazier
The information content of firms’ narrative disclosures; the relation between disclosure and litigation risk; how the financial press influences market participants.

SSRN  |  Google Scholar
Jared Eutsler
Auditing; Audit Regulation (including PCAOB); Audit Inputs (including hiring and training of individual auditors); and Fraud.

Google Scholar
Paul D. Hutchison
Governmental accounting, environmental accounting, disclosures, research methods, cash flow management, and accounting systems.

BYU  |  Google Scholar  |  ORCID
Govind Iyer
Tax policy analysis, tax compliance, and behavioral research on the role of affect and biases on actions and decisions.
Peggy Jimenez
Judgment and decision-making of tax preparers and individual taxpayers
Peter Kipp
Information Systems and Audit.
Jose Lineros
Smart Contracts, Permissioned Blockchains, and Generative AI
Blair Marquardt
Corporate governance and financial reporting.

Google Scholar
Michael Neel
Financial reporting, with a focus on international differences and reporting incentives.

Google Scholar  |  SSRN
Chad A. Proell
Research is behavioral and currently focused on how social psychological factors affect audit quality via their influence on audit team upward communication, turnover, and decision-making.

BYU
Jesse C. Robertson
Behavioral research focused on auditor liability, auditor judgment, andprofessional skepticism.

Google Scholar  |  BYU
Pradeep Sapkota
Corporate taxation, financial reporting (including reliability, disclosure, and timeliness), and auditing (including audit quality, audit pricing, and auditor-provided tax services)
Casey Schwab
Dr. Schwab’s tax research focuses on the determinants and consequences of corporate tax behavior; his financial accounting research focuses on the quality of financial reporting. For more information and links to his publications, visit my website.
Ananth Seetharaman
Tax policy analysis, executive compensation and incentives, corporate governance.

Google Scholar
Lili Sun
Dr. Sun conducts archival research in auditing and financial accounting. Her audit research focuses on audit standards, audit quality, audit opinions, audit fees, audit delays, and auditor-client relationships. Her financial accounting research focuses on corporate disclosure, financial reporting quality, and the impact of executives on corporate disclosure and reporting.

Google Scholar  |  SSRN