The PhD Program at the University of Colorado’s Leeds School of Business prepares doctoral students for research careers at leading universities. Our program is small enough to ensure that all students can receive the mentoring needed to innovate at the frontier of their disciplines, whether Accounting, Finance, Marketing, Organizational Behavior, Information Systems, and Strategy, Entrepreneurship and Operations Management. Our program equips doctoral students with a deep understanding of the most influential research in their disciplines, as well as the tools necessary to contribute state-of-the-art research advancing these disciplines. In addition to the creation of knowledge, our program also supports the dissemination of that knowledge from classrooms to the profession at large.

Approximately 40 PhD students are enrolled in the program. The number is small so that students can benefit from a high faculty-to-student ratio. In this setting, faculty encourage graduate students to present at conferences, co-author papers, and develop successful dissertations that appear in academic journals.

Doctoral students in the PhD Program work with faculty as research assistants and they teach classes. This prepares scholars for academic careers (at professorial positions in colleges and universities) as seen by the 100 percent placement rate for graduates.

"The cohort of doctoral students at Leeds has been such a gift — people of varying ages from different countries have all come together to form a supportive and uplifting group."

Lisa Barnes ('23 PhD), Assistant Professor, Drexel University  

“The PhD program at Leeds prepared me well for an academic career in finance. The faculty are very approachable and gave me a lot of individual attention during my five years at Leeds. Throughout the program, I was given opportunities to co-author with senior faculty, present my research at both domestic and international conferences, and develop my own research agenda.”

Jordan Martel (’18 PhD), Visiting Assistant Professor, Indiana University

"My advisor, Jeff York, has been a huge part of my success. I met Jeff almost ten years ago when I was a MBA student—and when I made the decision to pursue a PhD years later, I knew he was the person I wanted to work with and learn from. Could not have asked for a better advisor and mentor!"

Elizabeth Embry ('23 PhD), Assistant Professor, University of Kansas