The Smith school of business at the University of Maryland is raising the bar in wooing PhD candidates by increasing the annual stipend paid to doctoral students to $32,500 - an increase of 45 per cent - plus research and travel support.
The move, part of a $12m PhD package at Maryland, comes at a time when many business schools are cutting their PhD programmes, says Howard Frank, dean of the school. This is in spite of the fact that the shortage of good PhD graduates has led to one of the biggest problems for business schools - the shortage of qualified faculty. “We hope to set an example by changing where the bar is set – so ultimately, more and more talented students will consider entering an academic career,” says Prof Frank.
Robert H. Smith, a 1950 Maryland graduate and the philanthropist who donated the naming gift to the school, contributed $6 million towards the PhD programme and this has been matched with funds from the University of Maryland and the business school itself.
As well as more money, future PhD students at Maryland will enjoy refurbished offices, opened in January this year, research support and a dissertation support office, with English language training resources.
The Smith School’s PhD program is ranked number six in the United States and 13 in the world by the Financial Times in 2008.
