Marketing Ph.D. Program

Alicia M. Johnson, Ph.D. 2022
Assistant Professor at the University of Massachusetts Amherst

What were the most valuable skills you gained or experiences you had during your time in the program?
The most valuable skill I gained was learning how to think like an academic to create new knowledge. The hands-on opportunities, combined with my coursework and regular mentorship from my advisors, pushed me to think differently and tackle practitioner problems in ways I had never considered before. The most valuable experiences I had were forming lifelong relationships with other doctoral students in the program, many of whom I maintain close relationships with even now, years after graduating.

What does a typical day in the life of a Walton PhD student look like?
I would often go into the office, attend classes, teach, and/or develop and run studies to advance my research depending on the stage of the program and the day. I would also often work for a couple of hours in the evenings as my schedule allowed, and complete course work some weekend mornings earlier on in the program. Throughout the week, I would also meet regularly with my advisors and research collaborators, attend brown bags or research presentations, and connect with community organizations.

Garrett Rybak, Ph.D. 2022
Lt. Col. in the United States Air Force

Why did you choose Walton for a PhD in Marketing, and why should prospective students do the same?
I chose Walton for my PhD in Marketing because of the research productivity of the faculty, the abundance of resources and facilities to conduct research, and the alignment of faculty interests with my own. What I didn’t realize until after I started the program was the most critical to my development. Yes, the faculty are some of the most prolific researchers in the discipline, but they also maintain a culture of teamwork and co-creation with their students. Even though I had limited research experience, the Marketing faculty treated me as a collaborative member on all projects, and they spent countless hours helping me transform my research ideas into publications.

What were the most valuable skills you gained or experiences you had during your time in the program?
The most valuable skills I learned from the program include hands-on experience conducting research, crafting theoretical developments backed by rigorous statistical analysis, and navigating the publication and review process. Much like an apprenticeship, the best way to learn these processes is to do them, and the Walton program offered me ample opportunities to partner with faculty members on their research or to collaboratively explore my own. Additionally, the course offerings gave me an in-depth knowledge of experimental design and statistical analysis with a foundation steeped in the marketing, consumer behavior, and psychology literatures. The experiences and knowledge from this program have given me the proficiency necessary to publish in Marketing’s top journals.

Anything else you would like to share?
There is one thing I would like to emphasize. Prospective PhD students should choose a program based on the quality of the faculty and alignment with their research interests. The faculty at Walton were devoted to my success as a researcher and exceeded all my expectations.

Atmadeep Mukherjee, Ph.D. 2022
Assistant Professor at Weber State University

Why did you choose Walton for a PhD in Marketing, and why should prospective students do the same?
I chose the Walton PhD for three key reasons: my research interests matched with the research areas of the faculty, a very collegial and collaborative atmosphere, and the generous monthly stipend.

What were the most valuable skills you gained or experiences you had during your time in the program?
I believe the most valuable skills that I gained while in the program to succeed as an Assistant Professor were effective and efficient time management, the need to develop a research pipeline along with a research network to contribute to the discipline, and all the scholarly skills needed to be a prolific researcher and educator.

What does a typical day in the life of a Walton PhD student look like?
My typical day at Walton was divided into three key sections: classes and associated activities, research activities such as data collection and manuscript preparation, and a significant portion was devoted to reading.

Sarah Grace, Ph.D. 2021
Teaching Assistant Professor at the University of Arkansas

Why did you choose Walton for a PhD in Marketing, and why should prospective students do the same?
The kindness I experienced from the faculty at Walton is unmatched. I will never forget that the Marketing doctoral program chair answered a random call from the graduate admissions office and was able, willing, and excited to share more about the marketing doctoral program with me (on a random Tuesday in July!). This strong initial impression was solidified by every touchpoint with faculty thereafter.

What were the most valuable skills you gained or experiences you had during your time in the program?
The PhD program teaches you how to think theoretically, which is an opportunity I’ve never quite encountered in my decade of corporate life, and a skill you don’t usually learn in an undergraduate or MBA program. That’s what sets the PhD apart: can you test, expand, or even refute theory? We do this through different research techniques, and that’s also a lot of what I learned how to do in the PhD program.

What does a typical day in the life of a Walton PhD student look like?
I followed the principles of “deep work” and fought to maintain a solid writing practice (of 3-4 hour blocks) throughout the entirety of my PhD program, and that’s the best advice I could give to any doc student. Writing is thinking, and if you’re going to advance knowledge in any substantial way, you must have dedicated time for thinking. Of course, you also have to balance this idealism with attending classes your first two years, teaching a class your second-fourth years, and collaborating with faculty on research projects.

Anything else you would like to share? The people at Walton make the difference.