At the end of the first year, students also fill out a comprehensive plan of study with the help of a specialty advisor who is interested in the student's area of research. Students begin their accounting doctoral coursework in the Fall semester of the second year. Students are also expected to complete a research project during the Summer semester of their second year in residence. This project is substantially the student's effort under the overall guidance of a sponsoring faculty person. The major written comprehensive examination in accounting is administered at the end of the third year in residence.
Many students take additional coursework related to their thesis.
An oral comprehensive examination and a proposal defense are required before the student can formally submit and defend his or her thesis to the graduate college. Typically, students enter the job market at the beginning of their fifth year. The initial contact with recruiting universities often takes place at the annual meeting of the American Accounting Association in August. The job market does not usually clear until May of the following year. Almost all of our students take academic positions.