PhD in Marketing
Open any basic Marketing textbook, and you will notice that the material is organized around the ingredients of the “Marketing Mix”, or the 4Ps – the Product, its Price, the Place (channels of distribution) and Promotion. This organizing framework was invented at the University of Minnesota, by then doctoral student Gene McCarthy in the 1960s, which is roughly when the first behavioral lab featuring a one-way mirror was built in a Business School, at the University of Minnesota!
About the Program
Welcome Video
Learn about unique aspects of the Carlson School's Marketing PhD program in this welcome introduction from former PhD Coordinator and current Department Chair Prof. Akshay Rao.
Institute for Research in Marketing
The Institute for Research in Marketing (IRM) connects you to the local business community, and provides access to data and funding opportunities for your research.
Outcomes
One of the oldest Marketing PhD programs in the country, our alums have gone on to distinguished academic careers at various illustrious Business schools. Several have served as editors of top-flight Marketing journals, and have published highly impactful research in the finest journals in the field.
Our PhD program is key to the research enterprise in the department, because students learn from our faculty, contribute to their research program, and go on to become ambassadors of our research tradition.
Alumni Perspectives
Raghunath Singh Rao
"It has been over 15 years since I graduated from Carlson’s Marketing PhD Program. However, the memory of the time spent there and the intellectual joy of being surrounded by some of the finest minds is still very vivid. I got the best training you can hope for (my Microeconomics professor, Leo Hurwicz, turned out to be a Nobel Prize winner!) through rigorous coursework in Economics, Statistics, and, of course, from the enormously talented marketing faculty at Carlson. The marketing faculty at Carlson was eclectic, productive, and very supportive of Ph.D. students. Their doors were always open for us, and they treated us more like colleagues than students: I have formed life-long bonds with Carlson faculty and my peers, published with them, and continue working with many of them. It remains an inspirational place with warmth and extraordinary intellectual vibrancy. Carlson School at the University of Minnesota is the best place in the world to get your PhD, and I feel fortunate to have spent my PhD journey there!”
Professor, Director PhD Program in Marketing
McCombs School of Business at The University of Texas at Austin
512-232-3748
Lan Nguyen Chaplin
"The training I received in the Ph.D. program at the Carlson School of Management laid the foundation for me to conduct rigorous research while also honoring my values like making time for family, kindness and generosity . The faculty challenged me in ways I didn’t even think was possible but I always felt supported because they mentored with kindness and were very generous when it came to sharing their time, expertise and network. After 20 years as a professor, I can still say that some of my proudest discoveries of who I am and what I’m capable of are from when I was a doctoral student. That’s how much of an impact the marketing faculty had on me personally and professionally."
Professor, Department of Integrated Marketing Communications
Northwestern University
Maria Rodas
“My experience at the Carlson School of Management was transformative. The program honed my ability to critically evaluate and create knowledge, a skill I value immensely. The relationships I forged with esteemed scholars in the field were invaluable, shaping my research approach and influencing my career. Carlson's rigor and mentorship continue to enrich my contributions to marketing research.”
Assistant Professor of Marketing
Gies College of Business, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign