Postgraduate Programs 2021/22
Master of Philosophy and Doctor of Philosophy Programs in Accounting
Award Title

Doctor of Philosophy in Accounting

Master of Philosophy in Accounting

Program Short Name

PhD(ACCT)

MPhil(ACCT)

Mode of Study

Both full- and part-time

Normative Program Duration

MPhil
Full-time: 2 years
Part-time: 4 years
 

PhD
Full-time: 3 years (with a relevant research master’s degree), 4 years (without a relevant research master’s degree)
Part-time: 6 years

Program Advisor

PhD/MPhil Programs Director:
Prof Shiheng WANG, Associate Professor of Accounting

Enquiry

The Master of Philosophy (MPhil) Program is a research-oriented degree that aims to prepare students for a research and teaching career in universities and research institutes. A candidate for an MPhil degree is expected to demonstrate knowledge in the discipline and to synthesize and create new knowledge, making a contribution to the field. Students intending to do a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Program in Accounting at HKUST should consider entering the MPhil Program to acquire the training necessary for a PhD degree.

The PhD Program follows a strong research-intensive tradition on the North American model. It is designed to enable students to gain a deep knowledge of management in general, to develop a concentration in a specialized field, and to provide opportunities for students to do significant original research in their chosen area. PhD students are offered intensive and targeted research training and exceptional collaboration opportunities with faculty to prepare them for their future careers in teaching and/or research.

On successful completion of the MPhil program, graduates will be able to:

  1. Demonstrate a sound grasp of the literature in their specialized area of accounting research;
  2. Apply their specialized knowledge to solve related business problems in an innovative fashion;
  3. Demonstrate a broad based knowledge of core business functions related to accounting research;
  4. Integrate functional knowledge to solve business problems within their specialized area of accounting research;
  5. Teach independent courses or lead lab/tutorial sessions effectively; and
  6. Present their discipline knowledge clearly to layman.

 

On successful completion of the PhD program, graduates will be able to:

  1. Demonstrate a sound grasp of the literature in their specialized area of accounting research;
  2. Apply their specialized knowledge to solve related business problems in an innovative fashion;
  3. Demonstrate a broad based knowledge of core business functions related to accounting research;
  4. Integrate functional knowledge to solve business problems within their specialized area of accounting research;
  5. Teach independent courses or lead lab/tutorial sessions effectively; and
  6. Present their discipline knowledge clearly to layman.

The program is offered by the Department of Accounting with the following research foci:
 

Research Foci

  • Financial accounting and capital markets

  • International accounting

  • China-related topics

  • Earnings management

  • Financial media

  • Real effect of accounting information

  • Contracting

  • Auditing and corporate governance

  1. Minimum Credit Requirement

MPhil: 35 credits
PhD: 38 credits
 

  1. Credit Transfer

PhD students who have taken the HKUST MPhil Program in Accounting will be granted credit transfer to the PhD Program. Students who have taken an MPhil program or equivalent in other universities may be granted credit transfer on a case-by-case basis, up to a maximum of 32 credits.
 

  1. Introductory Quantitative Requirement

Unless students have clearly demonstrated sufficient knowledge in the area, students entering the MPhil or PhD Program are required to take the following two mathematics-oriented courses in the first regular term of study. The credits earned from these two courses cannot be counted toward the degree requirements.
 

ECON 5100
ISOM 5540

 

  1. Course Requirement

MPhil:
At least 35 credits in the sequence suggested below. Students may be required to take additional courses related to their research topics, as requested by their thesis supervisors.

Year 1 – Fall Term

ACCT 5150
ECON 5210
FINA 5120
LANG 5002


Year 1 – Spring Term

ACCT 7720
ECON 5220
FINA 5210


Year 2 – Fall Term

FINA 7900C
orFINA 7900D
ISOM 5550
MGMT 5230


Year 2 – Spring Term

ACCT 7730
ECON 5300


PhD:
At least 38 credits including the following. Students may be required to take additional courses related to their research topics, as requested by their thesis supervisors.
 

  1. Required Courses

ACCT 5150
ACCT 7720
ACCT 7730
ECON 5210
ECON 5220
ECON 5300
FINA 5120
FINA 5210
LANG 5002

 

  1. General Management Courses

Any one of the following:

ISOM 5270
ISOM 5700
MARK 5120
MGMT 5230

 

  1. Cross-discipline Research Courses

Any one of the following:

FINA 7900C
FINA 7900D

 

  1. Graduate Teaching Assistant Training

PDEV 6800

 

All full-time RPg students are required to complete PDEV 6800. The course is composed of a 10-hour training offered by the Center for Education Innovation (CEI), and session(s) of instructional delivery to be assigned by the respective departments. Upon satisfactory completion of the training conducted by CEI, MPhil students are required to give at least one 30-minute session of instructional delivery in front of a group of students for one term. PhD students are required to give at least one such session each in two different terms. The instructional delivery will be formally assessed.
 

  1. Professional Development Course Requirement

PDEV 6770


Students are required to complete PDEV 6770. The 1 credit earned from PDEV 6770 cannot be counted toward the credit requirements.

PhD students who are HKUST MPhil graduates and have completed PDEV 6770 or other professional development courses offered by the University before may be exempted from taking PDEV 6770, subject to prior approval of the School.

 

SBMT 6780


Students are required to complete SBMT 6780. The 1 credit earned from SBMT 6780 cannot be counted toward the credit requirements.

PhD students who are HKUST MPhil graduates and have completed SBMT 6780 or other professional development courses offered by the University before may be exempted from taking SBMT 6780, subject to prior approval of the School.
 

  1. English Language Requirement

LANG 5000


Full-time RPg students are required to take an English Language Proficiency Assessment (ELPA) Speaking Test administered by the Center for Language Education before the start of their first term of study. Students whose ELPA Speaking Test score is below Level 4, or who failed to take the test in their first term of study, are required to take LANG 5000 until they pass the course by attaining at least Level 4 in the ELPA Speaking Test before graduation. The 1 credit earned from LANG 5000 cannot be counted toward the credit requirements.

 

  1. PhD Qualifying Examination

All PhD students must pass a qualifying examination.

Students admitted via the HKUST MPhil Program in Accounting will take the qualifying examination in the Summer of the second year of MPhil study. Students who fail the qualifying examination in the first attempt can retake the examination once and must pass the examination no later than December of the first year of PhD study.

Students admitted with an equivalent research master’s degree should take the qualifying examination in the Summer of the first year of PhD study. Students who fail the qualifying examination in the first attempt can retake the examination once and must pass the examination no later than December of the second year of PhD study.

Students admitted without an equivalent research master’s degree should take the qualifying examination in the Summer of the second year of PhD study. Students who fail the qualifying examination in the first attempt can retake the examination once and must pass the examination no later than December of the third year of PhD study.
 

  1. Research Paper Requirement

PhD students admitted without an equivalent research master’s degree are required to write a research paper by the Fall Term of the third year of study. Students admitted with an HKUST MPhil degree in Accounting or equivalent will be exempted from this requirement.
 

  1. Thesis Research

ACCT 6990
ACCT 7990


MPhil:

  1. Registration in ACCT 6990; and
  2. Presentation and oral defense of the MPhil thesis.

PhD:

  1. Registration in ACCT 7990; and
  2. Presentation and oral defense of the PhD thesis.

 

Last update: 10 August 2020

To qualify for admission, applicants must meet all of the following requirements. Admission is selective and meeting these minimum requirements does not guarantee admission.
 

1. General Admission Requirements of the University
  • Applicants seeking admission to a master's degree program should have obtained a bachelor’s degree from a recognized institution, or an approved equivalent qualification;

  • Applicants seeking admission to a doctoral degree program should have obtained a bachelor’s degree with a proven record of outstanding performance from a recognized institution; or presented evidence of satisfactory work at the postgraduate level on a full-time basis for at least one year, or on a part-time basis for at least two years.

2. English Language Admission Requirements

Applicants have to fulfill English Language requirements with one of the following proficiency attainments:

  • TOEFL-iBT: 80*

  • TOEFL-pBT: 550

  • TOEFL-Revised paper-delivered test: 60 (total scores for Reading, Listening and Writing sections)

  • IELTS (Academic Module): Overall score: 6.5 and All sub-score: 5.5

* refers to the total score in one single attempt


Applicants are not requried to present TOEFL or IELTS score if

  • their first language is English, or

  • they obtained the bachelor's degree (or equivalent) from an institution where the medium of instruction was English.

3. Program-Specific Admission Requirements
  • A satisfactory score in GMAT or GRE