Eligibility

No. We only require a four-year bachelor's degree or its equivalent. However, about 60% of our applicants do have a relevant master's degree.

Yes, if your university will not let you access or send official transcripts, we can temporarily use the scanned copies from your application for review purposes. However, if you were offered admission, you would need to submit official transcripts before your offer was processed. Please note, status of transcripts in Wolverine Access will remain as Not Received until official copies are sent directly to Rackham.

Given the complex nature of the admissions process, we are not able to make any preliminary judgments about the competitiveness of an applicant's credentials. If you are interested in our program, we encourage you to apply. You also can view our class profile page to see a basic statistical breakdown of students who have been admitted to the program, but please note these are general benchmarks, not minimum requirements.

We do not have a conditional admission process. We must have all the required items before we review your application and make a decision regarding admission.

We do not have a transfer process. If you applied and were admitted to our program, you would be starting your PhD over from the beginning.

Application Requirements

Yes, you should be able to log into your account and change the information. Please contact help@applyweb.com if you have issues with the form.

No

Ideally, letters should be submitted by the application deadline but recommenders can submit letters at any time, even after the deadline. Please remind them that their letters should be submitted as soon as possible. Please note, applications are reviewed shortly after the application deadline and missing letters may negatively impact your application. See more details within the application.

Our TOEFL/ETS institution code is 1839. You do not need to include a department code. *Please note: You must use the ETS code 1839 (Rackham Graduate School code). We are not able to access scores sent to the code 2528 (general Ross School of Business code).

Faculty begin reviewing applications shortly after the deadline, so please make sure your scores are reported to us as soon as they are available.

Applicants who have earned or will earn a Bachelor's or Master's degree from a U.S. institution (or from an international institution where the language of instruction is exclusively English) are exempt from submitting TOEFL scores. There is no formal waiver required. Please see the Rackham Graduate School's website for complete details on this policy.

No. We are not able to switch documents in your application after it has been submitted.

Please do not submit financial information at the time of application. Please see the Rackham website for more information.

You only may apply online. We will provide printed and printable copies of the application only when an applicant has severely restricted access to the Internet. Contact the Doctoral Studies Program office to request these materials.

No. Applicants should follow the directions on the Application Requirements page regarding submission of documents.

Our application system shuts down and we will not accept applications past the deadline.

We will not review incomplete applications until we have received all supporting documentation. You must submit the online application by the stated deadline. See all application requirements for more details.

We require all materials to be submitted online along with your application. We will not accept any hard copies of documents. Any documentation submitted to us becomes the property of the University of Michigan and cannot be returned to the applicant. 

Note: Any documentation submitted in support of the application becomes the property of the University of Michigan and cannot be returned to the applicant.

Please look at the Credentials tab. As long as everything is listed as received, your application is complete.

You should narrow down your choice before applying and apply to one area only. Even when affiliated with one department, you can still take courses in other departments.

At the top of the second page of the application, you will find the section where you choose a department. You must click the link that says "Choose Subplan" and then select one of the seven areas of concentration.

Program Details

The number of admitted students varies by area. The average is one to three students per area.

On average, we admit approximately 5% of the applicant pool.

On average, students require five years to complete the program (even with a previous MBA) - two years of coursework and approximately three years of research and dissertation writing.

Michigan Ross provides full funding to doctoral students, which includes five years of full tuition, health insurance, and a generous stipend package that combines both fellowship funding and a graduate assistantship. An additional application for financial aid is not required.

The PhD program is on the Ross campus to facilitate a more immersive experience and collaboration with Ross faculty.

We are very fortunate at Michigan Ross to have several funding sources to support doctoral student research as well as collaborative research with faculty members. Our students regularly apply and receive grants of varying amounts to conduct their work.

Ross PhD graduates go onto careers and placements at top business schools and organizations around the world.

Our students live all over Ann Arbor. Some opt for off-campus housing downtown or on the outskirts of Ann Arbor, while others choose on-campus housing.

Most PhD students do not interact regularly with the MBA students, but occasionally you can take classes together and interact throughout the building. MBA students have many clubs and activities in which some PhD students participate.