Applicant Profile

Each year, the PhD Program at the Robert H. Smith School of Business receives hundreds of applications from qualified individuals for the limited number of spots available in our program. Our students come to the program with a variety of experiences and interests from countries around the world.

Individuals applying should have a desire to pursue research not only for the dissertation but to produce research that can be published throughout their time as a student and later as a faculty member at a research academic institution. Because research requires strong analytical skills, individuals holding the equivalent of a bachelor's degree and two semesters of quantitative course work at the college level (i.e., mathematics, statistics, economics, etc.) are eligible to apply for admission to the PhD Program. Our admission selection committees look for complete and competitive applicants as well as the ability to conduct, analyze, write and present research. The profile of a competitive applicant is as follows:

  • GPA – overall undergraduate GPA 3.4 or higher and overall graduate GPA 3.8 or higher. (University of Maryland Graduate School states that the overall GPA for either level of education should be lower than 3.0)
  • Test Scores
    • GMAT test scores = 700 or higher.
    • GRE test scores = 700 for Verbal scoring, 700 or higher for Quantitative scoring, scoring in the 95percentile for Analytical Writing.
    • GRE Revised test scores = 165 for Verbal Scoring and 165 for Quantitative scoring, scoring in the 96 percentile for Analytical writing.
    • English Proficiency minimum requirements– for international students only.
    • TOEFL – 100
    • IELTS - 7
  • Letters of Recommendation (preferably from academic sources) should be from individuals that are reputable in their field.
  • Statement of Goals and Research Interests should clearly display your goals and forecast how you plan to be successful in the program as well your desire to do research. Also, you should write about the specific research you are interested in and how it fits with current research being done at the Smith School of Business.

Application Deadline is December 15!