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)

Sociology

• Sociological Theory: Seminar (Sociology 204)
• Organizational Analysis: Seminar (Sociology 224)

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:

Consumer Behavior

Research Methods Courses

• Intermediate Statistical Analysis in Psychology (Psychology 1950)
• Multivariate Analysis in Psychology (Psychology 1952)
• Intermediate Quantitative Research Methods (Sociology 202)
• Advanced Quantitative Research Methods (Sociology 203a)
• Analysis of Longitudinal Data (Sociology 203b)

Research Design Courses

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

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 (Economics 2140)
• Advanced Applied Econometrics (Economics 2144)
• Advanced Quantitative Methods II (KSG API 210i)
• Probability Theory (Statistics 210)
• Statistical Inference (Statistics 211)
• Bayesian Data Analysis (Statistics 220)
• Incomplete Multivariate Data (Statistics 232)

Quantitative Research Design Courses

• Advanced Quantitative Research Methodology (Gov 2001)
• Program Evaluation: Estimating Program Effectiveness with Empirical Analysis (HKS API-208)
• Statistical Methods for Evaluating Causal Effects (Econ 1127)

Additional Doctoral Courses (7 courses)

Marketing students are required to take five additional 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

Quantitative-track students are required to complete:

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

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 must teach or assist with teaching in a formally offered course for one full academic term. This engagement should include, at least, 8 hours of front-of-class teaching and 16 hours of teaching preparation time. The requirement may be fulfilled by completing a teaching fellow or instructor assignment at a Harvard University.

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.