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Minor in Business
The minor in Business is intended for students pursuing a PhD in a program or department other than the GSB. In almost all cases the minor in Business compliments the primary doctoral program of the student, e.g. Economics, Political Science, Psychology, etc. It is granted concurrently with the PhD according to the usual rules of Stanford University. A student pursuing the PhD in one field in the GSB may not pursue a minor in a second field.
A common misconception regarding the PhD minor in Business is that the curriculum is setup resembling a mini-MBA of sorts. Courses offered at the doctoral level are not practical business courses and most have rigorous and/or advanced prerequisite requirements for which most graduate students are not eligible. Students wishing to acquire a strong sense of the fundamentals of business should consider Stanford's Graduate School of Business Summer Institute for Entrepreneurship. The Summer Institute for Entrepreneurship is an intensive four-week entrepreneurship program for current students engaged in graduate-level studies outside the field of business. The coursework covers all the general management disciplines: accounting, finance, statistics, economics, strategy, operations, marketing, organizational behavior and human resources. This program specifically offers opportunities for graduate students in other disciplines to get the tools needed to help bring their academic ideas into the marketplace.
Students interested in the minor in Business should submit a statement of purpose outlining how the minor will compliment their current doctoral program, their Stanford transcript, and a timeline for completing courses and the field examination. After discussion with the field liaison and the director of the program, the student will be informed of the decision to accept their proposed plan of study for the Business minor. After approval, the student must submit the "Application for a PhD Minor" form listing the exact requirements to be fulfilled for a minor in Business and approved by both the major and minor departments. Applications must be submitted at least two quarters before their graduation date.
Note also that students who are accepted are entirely responsible for funding all the coursework they will have to complete.
Minimum Requirements:
The student must complete, with a grade of P or better, at least five regularly scheduled doctoral level courses in the GSB, related to the field of the minor (a minimum of 20 units at or above the 200 level). Individual fields may require additional or more specific requirements. Directed Reading (BUS 691) and Dissertation Research (BUS 692) are not allowed as acceptable course work.
- The student must successfully complete a portion of the major field examination. Individual fields will establish standards for the "successful completion" and define "portion" as they wish. The field may require that the student sit for the entire exam. Specific requirements may be tailored to the cases of individual students and their particular interests.
- A member of the GSB faculty from the minor field must be present at the student's University Oral Examination.
The above are minimum requirements, and may be modified as the individual field faculty specify. This may include additional course work, including courses in other departments, a required grade of P+, or other more rigorous specifications.