Admissions

The Ph.D. program at Sullivan University has four major objectives:

The Ph.D. program at Sullivan University has four major objectives:

• To prepare students to conduct scholarly research relevant to the management of organizations in the public and private sectors;
• To prepare students for responsible positions in private and public sectors;
• To prepare management practitioners to develop research and application skills that will enable them to serve as leaders and scholars in their organizations;
• To help public and private sector organizations solve critical problems, make better decisions, and foster environments built on performance excellence.

Admission Requirements & Procedures

Admission into the Ph.D. program in Management is selective and contingent upon an applicant’s satisfying a number of conditions. Primary factors considered include the applicant’s overall undergraduate and graduate grade point averages, a minimal number of years’ experience in a professional managerial capacity, career interests and goals discussed in an essay, professional recommendations, and the applicant’s appropriateness for Ph.D. study and ability to handle advanced-level research. Applicants who seek admission into the Ph.D. program must submit the following materials for consideration by the Ph.D. Admissions Committee within five (5) days prior to the start of Ph.D. studies:

• Complete the Graduate School application form;
• Submit a nonrefundable $100 enrollment fee;
• Provide official transcripts indicating a completed, related master’s degree and bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited university or from a non-U.S. institution with comparable accreditation. A minimum of a 3.25 on a 4.0 scale for master’s course work is required.
• Present a current resume that indicates a minimum of five years of professional managerial experience in business, government, or not-for-profit management.
• Submit contact information for three references from past or current employers, university professors, or professional associations. Personal references from family, friends, and others are not acceptable.
• Provide a 500-1,000 word essay describing how your goals and experiences make you a superior candidate to pursue research and studies in management.

The additional admission requirement applies to international applicants without a U.S. graduate degree:

• Take the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) exam or the International English Language Testing System (ILITS) exam. A TOEFL score of at least 200 on the Internet-based exam or 575 on the paper version is required. Alternatively, a score of at least 6.5 is required for the ILITS exam. Submit results to the Ph.D. Admissions Committee to consider as part of the application process.

The Ph.D. admissions process has two stages. First, an applicant must submit all required documentation to the Ph.D. Admissions Committee within five days prior to the start of Ph.D. courses. Second, all members of the Ph.D. Admissions Committee review the application package, which includes all required documents, and decide whether to admit or not to admit the applicant into the Ph.D. program. All decisions rendered by the committee and approved by the Dean of the Graduate School are considered final.

Admissions Cycles

The Ph.D. program admits students two times per year. Applicants selected to participate in the Ph.D. program may elect to start at the beginning of Sullivan University’s fall or spring academic terms. All materials must be received no later than five days prior to beginning the academic term for which the applicant seeks admission. Applicants will be made aware of their status no later than two days prior to the start of the academic term.