Fordham University’s Gabelli School of Business has achieved a new milestone with the launch of its first doctoral degree program.
Thanks to a gift from Mario Gabelli, GABELLI ’65, the new Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) program in business administration will welcome its first cohort in the fall of 2016. The five-year program will feature a cross-disciplinary study of the major areas of business education, as well as an intensive research component.
“This is our opportunity to ground research strongly at the graduate level,” said Donna Rapaccioli, PhD, dean of the Gabelli School of Business. “These students will be able to develop papers alongside our faculty for journal submission. We will also, for the first time, have Fordham represented at doctoral colloquia at major conferences.”
In addition to expanding opportunities for current students and faculty, the presence of a terminal degree program promises to attract high-caliber scholars and new talent to the Gabelli School, Rapaccioli said. This will not only enrich the mentorship between faculty and students, but it will also prepare students as scholars in their own right.
“The education they receive at Fordham will kindle their careers as junior faculty, and as they move on to other universities to teach, Fordham-generated scholarship will begin to spread across the country and worldwide,” she said.
The new doctoral program is in keeping with the school’s mission to distinguish itself as a research-intensive business school, said Iftekhar Hasan, PhD, professor of finance and Corrigan Chair in International Business and Finance.
“Research is an integral part of academic life,” said Hasan, who is spearheading the program’s development. “This particular program will create an environment that not only enhances the current commitment to research, but will also create a new hub of research activity at Fordham.”
The program is structured around two areas of focus, Hasan said: capital markets and strategy and decision-making. Students will receive a uniquely interdisciplinary doctoral education that encompasses economic theory—including finance and accounting—and contemporary studies in management, marketing, information systems, and media theory.
In addition to the PhD program, the business school has another advanced degree in the pipeline, a Doctor of Professional Studies (DPS), which will provide doctoral-level training to business practitioners. The PhD, meanwhile, is geared toward research academics.
“The intention of this program is to create future educators,” Hasan said. “It has been our Jesuit tradition for hundreds of years to create light in areas of darkness—to bring new knowledge and education around the world.
“Our University’s business program has been in the forefront for years in creating industry leaders, and now we are taking a step forward to create research-intensive future educators.”
