| Admissions |
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2008 Recruiting Calendar
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Date
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Time
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City
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Venue
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Event
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Additional Information
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Saturday, |
Noon - 3:00pm
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Irvine, CA
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UC Irvine
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California Diversity Forum
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|
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Monday, |
Noon - 1:00pm
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Palo Alto , CA
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Stanford University - Graduate School of Business
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Doctoral in Business Information Session
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|
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Monday, |
4:30-5:30pm
|
Berkeley, CA
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UC Berkeley, Haas School of Business
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Doctoral in Business Information Session
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|
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Tuesday, |
Noon - 1pm
|
Los Angeles, CA
|
University of Southern California, Marshall School of Business
|
Doctoral in Business Information Session
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|
|
Tuesday, |
3:00 - 4:00pm
|
Los Angeles, CA
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Univ CA - Los Angeles, The Anderson School
|
Doctoral in Business Information Session
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|
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Thursday, |
TBA
|
Washington, DC
|
UC Berkeley in Washington Program
|
Doctoral in Business Forum
|
|
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Wednesday November 12, 2008
|
TBA
|
Chicago, IL
|
TBA
|
Doctoral in Business Forum
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Thank you for your interest in the Marshall Ph.D. Program! The application period for the Fall 2008 semester has ended. The application for the Fall 2009 semester will be available through this web site sometime this summer. The deadline will be in December 2008.
How to Apply for Admission
Submit an on-line application to the Ph.D. program through the Marshall School of Business Admissions web site. The link to the application system will be posted on this page when the application is ready.
Once you access the online application system, use the "Apply Now" box at the top of the page. International applicants are advised to see the instructions for International Students published in the USC Graduate Admissions Application Booklet.
Make sure to upload into the "Essays and Documents" section of your application your responses to the essay questions identified in the Ph.D. Program section under the "Downloadable Forms" link.
Admissions Criteria
The Ph.D. program in business administration welcomes applications from students with high intellectual aptitude who plan careers in academic research and teaching. We encourage students with strong backgrounds in mathematics, economics, psychology, sociology, computer science, engineering or sciences to apply for admission. A Master's degree (including an MBA) is not a requirement for entry into the Ph.D. program; students may enter with only a bachelor's degree. Official transcripts are required to verify any degrees and prior coursework.
The selection criteria include the rigor of the undergraduate curriculum, academic performance, scores on the GRE or GMAT, and the quality of the applicant's statement of purpose and personal references. One year of college calculus or its equivalent is preferred for admission; matrix algebra, introductory mathematical statistics, and intermediate economic theory are very desirable.
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GMAT/GRE: Admission to the Ph.D. program requires valid GMAT or GRE scores. GMAT and GRE test scores are valid for five years. Competitive candidates usually have GMAT scores well above 650 or GRE verbal and quantitative scores above the 80th percentile in each section.
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TOEFL: The Ph.D. program is designed to prepare students to one day teach and publish in English. Hence, it is critical that our students can read, write, and speak English fluently. A strong TOEFL score is an excellent indicator of English fluency, so all international students who have NOT earned a bachelor's degree or its equivalent in an English-speaking country are required to submit a TOEFL score. Permanent citizens are exempt from the TOEFL as well. Scores of 650 paper-based, 280 computer-based, or 100 internet-based are considered to be competitive. TOEFL scores are valid for two years from the intended date of enrollment. As such, 2008 applicants must have taken the TOEFL no earlier than August 2006.
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Letters of Recommendation: Applicants should secure at least three letters of recommendation. The Ph.D. committee prefers that all recommendations be written by academics familiar with the applicant's scholastic and research capabilities. It is particularly valuable to have letters of recommendation from faculty members with whom the student has worked in a research capacity. An applicant who has been away from an academic environment for a long period of time may substitute references from non-academics.
Please send ALL supplemental materials (transcripts, GMAT/GRE scores, and TOEFL scores) directly to the Marshall Ph.D. Office.
Letters of recommendation should only be sent to our office if your recommender does not wish to use the online recommendation system.
The address is:
The Ph.D. Program Office
Marshall School of Business
University of Southern California
3660 Trousdale Parkway, ACC 214
Los Angeles, CA 90089-0442
Program Deadline
The program application deadline each year is December 15th. All supplemental materials, including official score reports, must be received before then. If December 15th falls on a weekend, the application and materials will be due by the following Monday.
After Submitting the Application
Once you submit an application to the Marshall Ph.D. Program, you can log back into the online system to check the status of your application and materials. Due to the large volume of applications we receive each year, it may take a few weeks for us to fully process any received documents. Please be patient and continue to check the online system for updates to your file.
Campus Interviews
After reviewing the applications, the departments may contact the top-ranked candidates for interviews. In cases where in-person interviews cannot be arranged, telephone interviews will be substituted. While we do not require in-person interviews, we encourage applicants to visit the campus when possible.
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