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Department of Accountancy
University of Illinois
360 Wohlers Hall
1206 South Sixth Street
Champaign, Illinois 61820
Phone: 217-333-0857
Fax: 217-244-0902
Email: accy@illinois.edu


Accountancy Ph.D. Preliminary Examination Policy and Procedures

 

OBJECTIVES OF THE PRELIMINARY EXAMINATION

The preliminary examination is an evaluation of a student’s qualifications for further advanced
study and independent research. Satisfactory completion of the examination is necessary to
enter the final stage of the doctoral program, which is devoted to research, the dissertation, and
the final examination. The main objectives of the preliminary examination are to assess: 1) the
student’s ability to integrate the material learned in the program of study preceding the
examination and 2) the student’s development of knowledge, skill and intellectual maturity
sufficient to complete the independent research stage of the Ph.D. program. Traditionally, the
preliminary examination was an oral examination offered immediately before the dissertation
stage. However, most departments have developed the practice of offering a written
examination before the oral examination is administered. Consistent with this practice, the
Accountancy Department offers two examinations: first, a written Accountancy Core
Examination and second, an oral Dissertation Proposal Defense.

The Accountancy Core Examination
 The objectives of the Accountancy Core Examination are to assess the student’s abilities

  1. To integrate substantive accounting and interdisciplinary knowledge, covered in the Ph.D. program’s common core courses, into coherent theoretical structures, and to apply such knowledge in
    1. Developing relevant and interesting research questions and
    2. Evaluating research paradigms/approaches appropriate for addressing those questions; and
  2. To critically analyze current accounting research.

This examination is designed to measure whether students possess the knowledge and ability necessary for further advanced study and independent research.

Given the objectives of this examination, most questions will not have a single “correct” answer. The criteria for evaluation, therefore, shall include

  1. Relevance of the answer (i.e., is the student discussing the issues raised by the question, and not other issues?),
  2. Cohesion of the answer (i.e., is the answer well organized, with each part supporting the whole answer?) and
  3. Evidence in the answer that the student possesses knowledge of the relevant research literature (i.e., does the answer reflect a knowledge of the research literature pertinent to the issue(s) raised by the question?) [The indication of a knowledge of the relevant research literature should not be interpreted to mean the ability to make specific research citations or references, but rather an understanding of the concepts that have been studied by the literature as a whole.]

Answers must be written in a sufficiently understandable form (i.e., English grammar and structure) so that graders can make their evaluations.

Students should expect to pass the Accountancy Core Examination on their first attempt. Students who fail an examination must petition the Director of the Ph.D. program for permission to take another examination. The petition must show extenuating circumstances and outline a sufficient program of remedial studies developed in consultation with and approved by the student’s coursework advisory committee and/or mentor. Students should expect that petitions for more than one reexamination will rarely be granted. When a petition to retake the Accountancy Core Examination is denied, the prior failure(s) will be evidence of unsatisfactory progress toward completion of the degree, and the student’s program shall be terminated.

Dissertation Proposal Defense

Before commencement of the final stage of the Ph.D. program (i.e., the independent research stage), each student must develop a satisfactory proposal of the research to be included in the dissertation. After presentation to the faculty in a scheduled forum, the written dissertation proposal will be the subject for the oral Dissertation Proposal Defense. The main objectives of this second part of the preliminary examination are to ensure adequate preparation to conduct advanced independent study and scholarly research, and for the dissertation supervisory committee and the student to come to an agreement on the research to be included in the dissertation. The doctoral dissertation for the Ph.D. in Accountancy shall represent an independent, advanced research effort. Judgment by the student’s dissertation supervisory committee as to the merits of the proposed research shall be based upon the following criteria:

  1. Substantive originality,
  2. Propriety and sufficiency of research methods, and
  3. Potential contribution to the accounting literature.

Students should expect to pass the Dissertation Proposal Defense on their first attempt. Students who fail a defense must petition the Director of the Ph.D. program for permission to have another defense. The petition must show extenuating circumstances and outline a sufficient program of remedial actions developed in consultation with and approved by the student’s dissertation supervisory committee. Students should expect that more than one such petition will rarely be approved. When a petition to have an additional defense is denied, the prior failure(s) will be evidence of unsatisfactory progress toward completion of the degree, and the student’s program shall be terminated.

A student who has passed the Accountancy Core Examination and the Dissertation Proposal Defense shall be formally advanced to the final (third) stage of the Ph.D. program. These students have a high probability of successful and timely completion of the Ph.D. program.

CONTENT AND PROCEDURES OF THE PRELIMINARY EXAMINATION

Accountancy Core Examination

The Accountancy Department’s Ph.D. Program Committee shall have responsibility for thepreparation, administration and evaluation of the Accountancy Core Examination. This exam shall be offered each January, scheduled between the end of the fall semester and the beginning of the spring semester. Further, if two or more students request the examination, it shall be offered each August, prior to the beginning of the fall term.

The Accountancy Core Examination shall consist of:

  1. A written critique of a research paper designated by the committee (20%–40% of exam weight) and
  2. A series of questions (no more than six and no less than two) to be answered in written form (80%–60% of exam weight).

This examination shall be based upon the body of knowledge derived from the Ph.D. program’s background requirements and common core course requirements (see Exhibit 1 for a current listing). Some questions, however, may come from other areas as a method of assessing the generality of the student’s knowledge and the ability to apply that knowledge to settings that differ from those encountered in courses.

Grades shall be assigned to the critique and the individual examination questions using the scale presented in Exhibit 2. To pass the exam, the student must:

  1. Achieve an overall grade of at least 3.0, and
  2. Achieve a grade of at least 3.0 on individual parts constituting at least 70% of the exam weight (see above).

If a student satisfies the second criterion, but has an overall average grade between 2.8 and 3.0, the Ph.D. Program Committee shall review that student’s examination in its entirety, as well as other evidence from the student’s program of core coursework. Based on this review, the committee shall make an overall pass or fail recommendation to the Director of the Ph.D. program. The committee shall perform a similar review for any student who satisfies the first criterion, but does not satisfy the second due to one or more individual parts with grades between 2.8 and 3.0.

Dissertation Proposal Defense

Prior to submitting the dissertation proposal as the subject for the Dissertation Proposal Defense, the student shall present the proposal to the faculty at a regularly scheduled Accountancy Forum. Before presenting the proposal to the faculty in an Accountancy Forum,

  1. The student shall have completed all program course requirements,
  2. The dissertation proposal shall be evaluated as acceptable by all members of the student’s dissertation supervisory committee, and
  3. The student shall have the approval of the Director of the Ph.D. program.

To schedule a date for the Accountancy Forum, the student must provide the Ph.D. program director with

  1. The written version of the dissertation proposal to be presented in Forum, and
  2. A letter signed by every member of the student’s dissertation supervisory committee, indicating that the proposal is acceptable and is, therefore, ready to be presented in an Accountancy Forum.

These items must be received by the Ph.D. program director at least 14 days prior to the scheduled Forum date. All dissertation forum dates must be scheduled during either the Fall or Spring semester at the usual forum time on a date when classes are in session (e.g., not during the final examination week or on a holiday). Both the written proposal and the letter listed above must be received before a Forum date can be scheduled. Dissertation forum dates will be scheduled on a first-come, first-served basis.

Subsequent to the Forum presentation, the student shall revise the dissertation proposal to incorporate the relevant comments of faculty and other interested persons made both during the forum and in other applicable venues. Sufficient time must be allowed between the forum and the Dissertation Proposal Defense to allow for this revision. If, in the dissertation supervisory committee’s judgment, substantial revision is necessary, the revised dissertation proposal shall be presented in another Accountancy Forum.

After a satisfactory Accountancy Forum presentation, the dissertation proposal shall be submitted as the subject for the oral Dissertation Proposal Defense. This examination should be held as soon as possible after the student has had time to respond appropriately to comments received at the Accountancy Forum presentation. One output from this oral examination shall be a written proposal, filed with the Department, which contains a complete statement of the required research. This proposal shall only be altered by mutual consent (of the dissertation supervisory committee and the student) or because of subsequent events which were not reasonably foreseeable at the time of this examination.

Scheduling the Series of Examinations

The Accountancy Core Examination should be taken as soon as possible after the student successfully completes the Ph.D. program’s common core course requirements (see Exhibit 1). The coursework advisory committees and faculty mentors shall have primary responsibility for ensuring that the Accountancy Core Examination is taken in a timely manner.

The Dissertation Proposal Defense shall be taken as soon as possible after:

  1. Successful completion of the Accountancy Core Examination,
  2. Successful completion of all Ph.D. program course requirements,
  3. Approval of all members of a student’s dissertation supervisory committee,
  4. Presentation of the dissertation proposal in an Accountancy Forum, and
  5. Appropriate revision of the proposal in response to comments made during the Accountancy Forum and other applicable venues.

The dissertation supervisory committees shall have the primary responsibility for ensuring that the Dissertation Proposal Defense is conducted in a timely manner. Prior to the Accountancy Forum presentation, the student must request that the Graduate College appoint his (her) doctoral committee (which has the same membership as the dissertation supervisory committee). The following procedure must be followed to appoint the dissertation supervisory committee:

  1. The student shall contact each committee member and verify that they are willing to serve.
  2. The student should also verify that the composition of the committee meets graduate college requirements.
  3. The student should provide a letter to the Ph.D. program director indicating the proposed committee membership. This letter should include the signature of every committee member, indicating that they are willing to serve on the committee. In addition, the letter should include a working title for the dissertation and a brief description of the dissertation topic.

The Ph.D. program director and the Department Head must approve the dissertation committee request. The student shall receive written notification from the Department Head of the approved committee.

EXHIBIT 1: Courses Covered on Accountancy Core Examination

As listed in the current program, these courses are:

I. Background requirements covered on the Core Examination:

  • The equivalent of an AACSB accredited undergraduate degree in business with a major in accountancy.
  • An intermediate undergraduate course in microeconomics.
  • Undergraduate courses in calculus (both differential and integral) and linear algebra.

Program course requirements covered on the Core Examination:

  • Microeconomics at the level typically required for first-year Economics Ph.D. students (ECON 400).
  • A one-course introduction to mathematical statistics and probability theory.
  • An introductory applied statistics course (e.g., ECON 470 or PSYCH 306) or an additional course in mathematical statistics (STAT 311).
  • Accountancy Core:
    • Research methodology in accounting (ACCY 492).
    • Contemporary research in accounting.
      • Topics in behavioral sciences applied to accounting (ACCY 493B)
      • Topics in economic theory applied to accounting (ACCY 485)
      • Topics in empirical finance applied to accounting (ACCY 493C)

        •  

EXHIBIT 2: Accountancy Core Examination Grading Scale

Each question/critique is assigned a grade between 0 and 5 (decimal grades may be used). This scale is NOT intended to be equivalent to letter grades.

Numeric Score Verbal Equivalent

Remarks
5 Distinguished An outstanding performance at a level which would be expected to occur occasionally.
4 Good A strong performance at a level which would be expected to occur frequently.
3* Satisfactory The minimum passing performance.
2 Unsatisfactory A failing performance with some redeeming features. Shows some familiarity with the material.
1 Very Unsatisfactory A failing performance with few redeeming features which would be expected to occur occasionally.
0 Complete Failure A failing performance with no redeeming features which would be expected to occur infrequently.


* A passing student is expected to perform at the satisfactory level (3.0) or higher when averaged over all parts of the exam. A score less than 3.0, but greater than or equal to 2.8 is a borderline performance. A passing student may perform in this range on some parts of the exam, but not overall.

UIUC College of Business Department of Accountancy