Executive Ph.D. Admission & Application Process

The Office of Executive Education reviews candidate applications on an individual basis looking at both quantitative and qualitative aspects of an applicant's professional and academic background.

Program Start Dates

Boca Raton Campus: Fall 2021 classes begin August 21, 2021

Admissions Criteria

• Bachelor’s and master's degree in any discipline; no business prerequisites are required
  • Exceptional applicants with a bachelor’s degree, and extensive managerial experience, will also be considered.
• GPA approximately 3.0 or higher from all previous degrees
• A minimum of ten years of work experience plus extensive managerial experience 
• GMAT/GRE score 

The Executive Ph.D. program will have admission rounds for the Fall 2021 cohort. Please be aware of these deadlines as you are applying to the program and completing the steps outlined below. 

**Applications received after May 28, 2021 will be considered based on space availability for the Fall 2021 semester, or will be considered for early admission for Fall 2022. Contact ExecPhD@fau.edu for clarifications.

Complete the Departmental Supplemental Application

Boca Raton Campus Fall 2021: Click HERE to start/return to your Supplemental Application.

Item 1: Submit Current Resume
Current resume with three academic or professional references on last page including: reference name, title, company, contact information.

Item 2: Submit Statement of Purpose
Submit a document of two (2) to three (3) pages double-spaced explaining why you want an Executive Ph.D. (your passion and desire for entering this program and goals influencing your decision to pursue this Executive Ph.D.) and how this Executive Ph.D. will help you in your career.  This is also your opportunity to showcase your research interests to the admission’s committee.

Item 3: Submit Unofficial Transcript(s) or Unofficial Transcript Evaluation
Upload your unofficial transcript(s) from both your bachelor’s and master’s program or transcript evaluation (this step is NOT required for FAU graduates). If you only have an official copy of your transcripts or evaluation, please mail them to our office. Graduates of a foreign college who have completed an academic program equivalent to a U.S. bachelor's degree are required to submit a course-by-course evaluation from a foreign credentials evaluation service that is a member of NACES.

Item 4: Submit Unofficial GMAT/GRE Score
Applicants that have completed the GRE/GMAT, please upload your unofficial GMAT or GRE score with your application. If you do not have a score, the committee can still conduct an initial review of your application. 

Item 5: Submit Three (3) Letters of Recommendation
The supplemental application includes a "Recommendations" tab with space to enter email addresses corresponding to your recommenders. If email addresses are entered, please notify your recommenders that they can expect a request from you - via email - containing a link to our database. Alternatively, upload scanned letters of recommendation. Recommenders should be academic (professor, instructor) or professional (colleague, manager, associate) and can be a subset of your references. The letter should address your work ethic, preparedness for graduate studies, how the degree would help you advance your profession, etc. A one-page document composed of 2-3 paragraphs will suffice for this requirement for each letter.  

Interview

The admissions office will review applications based on the deadlines above and notify you of the next steps. If the admissions decision is positive, the admissions office will schedule an interview. Interviews are by invitation only and are a required step in the admissions process. The invitation to interview indicates your application has reached the stage of consideration, but it does not guarantee admission to the Executive Ph.D. program.

Decision and Next Steps

Upon successful completion of the interview, you will be informed of your admission status. Your admissions coordinator will then send you information for the next steps to complete the application process.

Additional Information

English Proficiency Exam: Non-native speakers of English must provide evidence of proficiency in English from: Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or International English Language Testing System (IELTS). Please note, applicants are responsible for making arrangements to schedule the test(s).

The minimum College of Business requirement for the TOEFL is 600 (Paper-Based Test) and 100 (Internet Based Test). The minimum College of Business requirement for IELTS is a band score of 7.0. FAU's school code for the TOEFL is 5229.

Here is the official FAU regulation on English Language Proficiency: Regulation 4.009. Non-Native speakers of English are not required to submit proof of English language proficiency if they meet one of the following:

• Completion of at least three years of secondary education from a high school based in the United States or abroad with full curriculum of instruction in English.
• Completion of at least three years of secondary education from a high school based in a country where English is the majority native-speaking language, or where English is the primary language of instruction starting in the primary grades.
• Completion of at least sixty (60) post-secondary credits or an associate degree or higher from a U.S. regionally accredited postsecondary institution or from a recognized post-secondary institution abroad with full curriculum of instruction in English