McCombs has five departmental Ph.D. programs: Accounting (ACC), Finance (FIN), Information, Risk, and Operations Management (IROM), Management (MAN), and Marketing (MKT).

Our committees consider writing ability, academic records, test scores, experience, a clear rational for research interests, and letters of recommendation. There are no test scores cutoff, but most current students have quant scores in the 95th percentile and above. We do not share any data or profiles of previously admitted students.

See our admission and enrollment statistics

The system opens in early August. The application deadline for all programs is December 15th for admission starting the following fall. Applications are accepted annually for fall admission only. A faculty supervisor is not required before applying.

To be eligible for admission consideration, applicants must meet the Office of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies minimum requirements. Those are a bachelor’s degree, 3.0 GPA, GRE or GMAT scores, language score, etc.

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Applying for the Ph.D. Program at the McCombs School of Business involves several steps, and the process typically takes a few weeks. Please note that emailing the department will not speed up the process. This process is handled by the Office of Graduate Admissions and not by the department. Each step—such as submitting your application, paying the fee, and providing required documents—requires time for processing and verification.

After submitting your application, it may take a few days for the system to display your application fee. When you upload documents or have them sent, it will also take a few days for the system to show they have been received and processed. There is no way to expedite this process. This timeline is normal and not due to a technical error.

You will be unable to upload any documents to MyStatus until your fee is paid. The MyStatus portal remains open after the deadline, so you can continue submitting required documents. We cannot advise you whether you should or should not apply, pay the fee, or submit documents.

The application fee cannot be waived by the school or the program.

These fees are set by the University. For more information about the application fee and if waivers are available from the University, please contact the Office of Graduate Admissions (OGA). You will pay your application fee via your MyStatus account 2-3 business days after submission of the application form. After paying the fee, allow a few days for the system to confirm receipt.

• Help with Letters of Recommendation: gradref@austin.utexas.edu
• Help with Transcript Questions: gradtranscript@austin.utexas.edu
• Help with Test Score Questions: giatest@austin.utexas.edu
• Help with MyStatus Issues (International Applicants): intladm@austin.utexas.edu
• Help with MyStatus Issues (US Applicants): gradus@austin.utexas.edu 

International Student and Scholar Services (ISSS) strives to provide exemplary services to the international student and scholar communityISSS will accept the Duolingo English Test (DET) as an approved measure of English proficiency, alongside TOEFL and IELTS. One of these scores must be submitted.

If you qualify for an English proficiency waiver or have questions about the tests, email them at hotline@austin.utexas.edu.

All departments have opted to not waive the test score(s). Please know that we do not offer any waivers or exceptions for this requirement. Either score is required to be considered for the program. We do not have a preference on either test.

You may upload a copy of your GRE or GMAT scores initially, but your application is not complete until we receive the official version. The code for applications is 6882.

Our system accepts letters of recommendation from Interfolio, but rating questions will show as n/a. Before the deadline, you may delete submitted documents; after the deadline you cannot. Please refrain from emailing documents to the department, as all materials must be uploaded directly through the application system.

Please do not send multiple emails or an email to multiple people. Be patient and wait until each step has been processed. Due to the large volume of emails, we kindly ask for your patience as we respond. As the McCombs Graduate Coordinator, I want to assure you that our Ph.D. committees understand the submission timeline. Upload what you can when you can.

If shortlisted, we’ll reach out to you to set up an interview or visit. Due to the high volume of applications, we’re unable to provide individual feedback or discuss specific reasons for non-selection. All applications receive full consideration until admissions goals are met. Final decisions are made after all materials have been carefully reviewed and approved by each Graduate School Committee (GSC).

As a matter of practice, the department reviews all submitted applications—even those missing required materials—out of respect for the time and effort applicants invest in preparing them.

View departmental handbooks

View departmental catalogs

The following classes are some examples taken by previous students. Once a student is accepted into one of our Ph.D. programs, you will speak with the Ph.D. advisor, and you will also be assigned a faculty supervisor. They will assist you in choosing your classes and will be the ones who approve your final selections.

Accounting (ACC):

Probability, Microeconomics, Intro to Mathematical Statistics, Regression Analysis, Behavioral Research in Accounting, Empirical Methods in Corporate Finance, Buyer Behavior, Fraud Examination, Financial Statement Analysis, etc.

Finance (FIN):

(These classes are required)
Microeconomics, Macroeconomics, Econometrics, Math for Economists, Asset Pricing Theory, Empirical Methods Asset Pricing, Corporate Finance Theory, Empirical Methods in Corporate Finance, Economics of Information, etc.

Information, Risk, and Operations Management (IROM):

Microeconomics, Econometrics, Online Learning and Optimization, Exploration of New Tech, Empirical Industrial Organization, Natural Language Processing, Research Information Systems, Applied Stochastic Process, Optimize Model Supply Chain, etc.

Management (MAN):

Social Statistics, Analytical Skills, Econometrics, Discourse and Conversation Analysis, Longitudinal Analysis, Intro to Research Methods, Seminar in Organization Theory, Contemporary Issues in Strategic Management, etc.

Marketing (MKT):

Behavioral Decision Research, Econometrics, Marketing Research Methods, Microeconomics, Marketing Models, Stat Machine Learning Optimization, Marketing Management and Strategy, etc.

Once admissions goals have been met, any remaining applications are administratively closed in the system.

If an application file has been marked complete (meaning all required documents have been received) at the time of closeout, the system will issue a formal denial. If the file is still incomplete (awaiting documents), the application will be cancelled, which we refer to as a departmental closeout.

The system automatically generates a notification reflecting the application’s status. Applications are not cancelled due to delays in receiving documents.

The Office of Graduate Admissions reserves the right to rescind an offer if a student does not uphold the standards reflected in their application.