Marketing Phd with no MBA?

[phdconfessional]

I graduated Summa Cum Laude from Western Kentucky University with a 3.8 GPA. I also graduated from the Honors College, which entailed completing a thesis project. My major was Corporate Communication with a minor in Marketing. I have 3 years full time marketing experience since I graduated. I am wanting to pursue my Phd in Marketing. I have yet to take my GMAT. How likely am I to get into a Phd program without having an MBA? Or is it almost necessary to get my MBA first? Will I be prepared enough to enter into a Phd program? Any advice would be appreciated

[Hanu]

Hey Mariah,

I am a graduate with very similar profile as yours. The only difference is - I have already taken my GMAT. I contacted a professor in UFL to answer same query of mine. Quoting him -

"It isn't mandatory to have a Master's degree, but that would likely improve your chances greatly. Work experience would count for something but wouldn't likely be given heavy weight, unless you were using it to motivate some research direction. I don't know that taking another job in research would do a whole lot to improve your chances. I think that it will be a bit difficult for your application to stand out unless you get a Master's degree or make a connection with a professor whose research interests you"

I had asked him if taking another job in the core research area would improve my chances in a Doctoral program. Hope this helps!

[phdconfessional]

Hey Mariah,

I am a graduate with very similar profile as yours. The only difference is - I have already taken my GMAT. I contacted a professor in UFL to answer same query of mine. Quoting him -

"It isn't mandatory to have a Master's degree, but that would likely improve your chances greatly. Work experience would count for something but wouldn't likely be given heavy weight, unless you were using it to motivate some research direction. I don't know that taking another job in research would do a whole lot to improve your chances. I think that it will be a bit difficult for your application to stand out unless you get a Master's degree or make a connection with a professor whose research interests you"

I had asked him if taking another job in the core research area would improve my chances in a Doctoral program. Hope this helps!

Thank you, that is helpful. I was suspecting that may be the case, so I am going to apply to an MBA program and Phd programs for Fall 2011. Let me know if you get into a Phd program, I would love to hear how it all goes!

[socialpsych]

If you have already had exposure to marketing and know what you want to study, I think a research-focused master's would be much better than an MBA. The MBA is not at all a prerequisite to the PhD. They are simply different kinds of degrees: the MBA is general and practice-oriented, and the PhD is specific and research-oriented. If your ultimate goal is to go into academia, I think an MBA would be a waste of time.

For what it's worth, a conversation on this very topic has been going on for a while over at TestMagic.

Good luck!

[marion]

Ask admissions. It may be easier than you think. Will depend where you go. You'll get credits.

Best.

[morug]

Hey Mariah,

I am a graduate with very similar profile as yours. The only difference is - I have already taken my GMAT. I contacted a professor in UFL to answer same query of mine. Quoting him -

"It isn't mandatory to have a Master's degree, but that would likely improve your chances greatly. Work experience would count for something but wouldn't likely be given heavy weight, unless you were using it to motivate some research direction. I don't know that taking another job in research would do a whole lot to improve your chances. I think that it will be a bit difficult for your application to stand out unless you get a Master's degree or make a connection with a professor whose research interests you"

I had asked him if taking another job in the core research area would improve my chances in a Doctoral program. Hope this helps!

I'm very surprised this response came from Warrington.

So much so that I am not sure that I believe you.

MBA has absolutely nothing to do with PhD.

A PhD is an academic research degree, IT IS NOT FOR BECOMING A BUSINESSMAN/WOMAN.

Almost no respectable academic has an MBA, because it would have been a huge waste of time and money.

In addition, although an MBA might be a slight positive, the first gut reaction from academics would be "why did this candidate waste time getting a professional degree? are they sure they want to become scientific researchers?"