Earning a PhD in consumer behavior is no easy feat, and usually requires a number of steps, beginning with gaining admission to a doctoral program. Each program is different, but candidates must usually take a certain set number of consumer behavior and marketing courses, both required and elective, as well as conducting original research. Some schools also require PhD students to teach undergraduate courses.
Consumer behavior is usually categorized as a social science, often combining elements of business marketing, demographics analysis, and consumer psychology. Universities that offer a specific PhD in consumer behavior usually do so in conjunction with their business school programs. Admission is usually competitive, as these programs are relatively rare. It is usually easier to get a PhD in marketing or business more generally than it is to gain a PhD in consumer behavior in its own right.
Most PhD programs have exhaustive admissions requirements. Applicants must usually submit essays detailing their interest in studying consumer behavior and the market effects of buyer decision making, along with recommendation letters from employers or professors. Results of standardized admission tests are also almost always required, as are undergraduate transcripts.
Different schools have different background course requirements, but an undergraduate degree is essential. Some programs require applicants to have undergraduate degrees in the social sciences, particularly marketing, sociology, or economics. Others will accept any undergraduate degree, so long as students have a demonstrated interest or course experience in pre-determined core areas.
Admission is only the first step. Once accepted, PhD in consumer behavior candidates must take a battery of courses. Many schools grant their doctoral students some leeway in setting their own course schedule and curriculum, but certain classes are usually required.
Teaching is often also a program requirement, though this varies greatly from university to university. Required teaching is most common in schools that provide PhD students with a research stipend throughout the course of their studies. Even if not required, PhD candidates are often encouraged to teach or provide research assistance to undergraduate students. This both furthers their own knowledge and can help fund the costs of their education.
Most PhD programs are designed to take upwards of five years, with the first occupied by class work, the latter taken up with research. Individual research in a crucial part of any PhD in consumer behavior program. Candidates must meet with a faculty advisor to design a comprehensive research project, most commonly known as a dissertation. A consumer behavior dissertation usually incorporates original research on some question of marketplace buying behavior or sales strategies, often incorporating a number of behavioral variables. The finished dissertation must usually be defended before a panel of tenured faculty before a student can earn a PhD.