Program Objectives

The Program is Designed to Achieve the Following Specific Objectives:

• To equip students with advanced knowledge and skills to critically analyze complex business problems and propose innovative solutions.
• To equip students with knowledge and skills to critically evaluate the extant research, design and conduct original, high-quality research, and contribute new knowledge to their chosen areas of specialization.
• To develop students’ ability to effectively disseminate research findings through written publications and oral presentations.
• To develop students’ ability to apply research findings to real-world business challenges and contribute to informed decision-making.
• To enhance students' teamwork abilities, enabling them to effectively collaborate with researchers within and outside their chosen areas of specialization.
• To foster students’ commitment and concern for high ethical standards in business research, teaching, and service.

Program Design

Duration

The proposed PhD in Business Administration will require 48 credit hours of academic work and about 3 years to complete.

Specializations

The program will offer students the opportunity to specialize in one of the following:

• Accounting
• Finance
• Supply Chain & Operations Management
• Human Resources Management
• Business Management

Program Design

In program design, emphasis was placed on including elements addressing:

• Exploring the global business environment
• Examining sustainable business models and corporate responsibility initiatives that address environmental, social, and governance (ESG) concerns
• Analyzing the impact of emerging digital technologies on business performance and strategy
• Fostering an entrepreneurial mindset that encourages innovative business solutions

Program Learning Outcomes

Knowledge

Upon completion of the UBT PhD program, students will be able to:

• Explain contemporary industry, academic and public policy challenges in their chosen areas of specialization.
• Explain conceptual and theoretical frameworks for understanding and synthesizing those challenges.
• Explain epistemological foundations of, and methods for conducting research in their chosen areas of specialization.

Skills

Upon completion of the UBT PhD program, students will be able to:

• Evaluate the extant literature in their chosen areas of specialization and construct literature reviews to identify avenues for contributing to the body of knowledge in the specialization.
• Design and conduct original, high-quality research within their chosen areas of specialization.
• Disseminate research findings through journal publications and conference presentations.
• Apply research findings to real-world business challenges and contribute to informed decision-making.

Values

Upon completion of the UBT PhD program, students will be able to:

• Demonstrate commitment to intellectual curiosity, with a deep desire to explore and expand knowledge in their chosen areas of specialization.
• Demonstrate commitment to excellence in research, teaching, and service as applicable.
• Demonstrate commitment to high ethical standards in conducting research, teaching, and service as applicable.
• Demonstrate commitment to social responsibility, by recognizing the impact of business on society and the need to promote sustainable and socially responsible business practices.
• Demonstrate commitment to lifelong learning by valuing continuous learning and staying up to date on emerging trends and developments in their chosen areas of specialization.

Program Structure

The program’s design and pedagogy emphasize combining theoretical knowledge and methodological rigor to develop graduates’ ability to conduct original theoretical or applied research in their chosen areas of specialization. Coursework is designed to provide detailed knowledge of essential theories in the field, advanced research methods and approaches to empirical research. The program’s course offering will be distributed as follows:

• Core courses – 12 credit hours
• Specialization courses – 12 credit hours
• Methodology courses – 12 credit hours
• Dissertation – 12 credit hours

Pre-PhD (Deficiency) Courses (No credit)

Students admitted into the program who do not have a prior academic degree in business administration will be required to complete all or some of the following UBT courses prior to taking any PhD-level courses:

• ACCT 512 Managerial Accounting
• FIN 511 Financial Management
• OPM 511 Operations Management
• HRM 512 Human Resources Management
• IBM 511 International Business Management
• EPR 511 Entrepreneurship
• Business Research Methods (Proposed New Course)

Core Courses (12 credit hours)

All students will be required to take the following core courses:

• Theories of Sustainable Business – 3 credit hours
• Digital Transformation in Business – 3 credit hours
• Corporate Governance Theory and Practice – 3 credit hours
• Theories of Corporate Social Responsibility – 3 credit hours

These courses are chosen to align with the three earlier identified UBT strategic imperatives, which are (i) sustainability and corporate social responsibility, (ii) digital transformation, and (iii) internationalization.

Methodology Courses (12 credit hours)

All students will be required to complete the following research methods courses:

• Research Design and Methodology – 3 credit hours
• Qualitative Research Methods – 3 credit hours
• Advanced Qualitative Research Methods – 3 credit hours
• Multivariate Data Analysis – 3 credit hours

Specialization Courses (12 credit hours)

Each student will be required to complete 12 credit hours of specialization courses as follows. Brief descriptions for each course are provided in a later section.

Accounting Specialization

• Financial Accounting Theory
• Financial Reporting and Analysis
• Capital Markets Research
• Business Econometrics

Finance Specialization

• Corporate Finance Theory
• Capital Asset Pricing
• Capital Markets Research
• Business Econometrics

Supply Chain & Operations Management Specialization

• Operations Management Theory
• Optimization Techniques
• Stochastic Processes
• Business Econometrics

Human Resources Management

• Strategic Human Resource Management
• Labor and Employee Relations
• Strategic Workforce Planning
• HR Technology and Analytics

International Business Management

• International Business Theory (or International Trade Theory)
• International Marketing
• International Finance
• International Management

Dissertation (12 credit hours)

All students will be required to complete a dissertation as part of graduation requirements. This will earn 12 credit hours.

Admission Requirements

The following are requirements for admission to the PhD in Business Administration program:

• The applicant must hold a master’s degree in business administration or a related subject from a Saudi university or a foreign recognized college or university with a grade of “very good” or GPA = 4.5/5 or equivalent.
• In case a student has a master’s degree that is not in business administration, the committee may select some pre-courses that the student must take before enrolling in the PhD program. If the degree is not from a Saudi university, the student must obtain an attestation of certificate from the Saudi embassy in the issuing country.
• The Deanship of Graduate Studies may accept “high good” and “good” grades, but the student average grade should not be less than very good in major field courses which the student intends to enroll in it.
• If the student’s master’s degree was conducted in a language other than English, the student must pass one of the following English language tests: TOEFL with a score of 65 or IELTS with a score of 6.
• The student must pass the admission committee interview and submit two scientific recommendations from university professors who have previously taught him.
• The university and/or the college may add any other conditions that it deems necessary for admission.