Ph.D. in Business Administration (PHDBA)

This is an archived copy of the 2014-15 guide. To access the most recent version of the guide, please visit http://guide.berkeley.edu/.

Courses

PHDBA 219S Research Seminar in Economic Analysis and Policy 1 - 3 Units

The research seminar presents new research on economics applied to business management issues.

PHDBA 229A Doctoral Seminar in Accounting I 3 Units

A critical evaluation of accounting literature with emphasis on seminar contributions. Topics covered include research methodology in accounting, the private and social value of information.

PHDBA 229B Doctoral Seminar in Accounting II 3 Units

A critical evaluation of recent accounting literature involving empirical research.

PHDBA 229C Doctoral Seminar in Accounting III 3 Units

A critical evaluation of recent accounting literature with emphasis on financial accounting.

PHDBA 229D Doctoral Seminar in Accounting IV 2 Units

Exploration of issues related to the internal accounting systems of large firms. The first part of the course focuses on the theory of mechanism design, while the second part applies this theory to a variety of managerial accounting questions.

PHDBA 229S Research Seminar in Accounting 2 - 4 Units

Advanced study in the field of Accounting. Topics will vary from year to year and will be announced at the beginning of each semester.

PHDBA 239A Discrete Time Asset Pricing 3 Units

Asset pricing and portfolio choice in partial equilbrium and asset pricing in General Equilibrium. Specifically, static and intertemporal theories of choice under risk and uncertainity and portfolio choice. Includes two-fund separation, Capital Asset Pricing Model, and the Arbitrage Pricing Theory. In a General Equilibrium framework, it covers the notion of complete markets and welfare theorems. Also, some macro-asset pricing models are developed in addition to an analysis of incomplete markets.

PHDBA 239B Continuous Time Asset Pricing 3 Units

This course covers topics in dynamic asset pricing, portfolio choice and general equilibrium theory in a continuous time setting. The first part of the course covers basic mathematical and statistical results. Finance results that have been developed in continuous times include the intertemporal CAPM, corporate securities and default risk, the term structure of interest rates. In addition, results are developed on non-time additive utility.

PHDBA 239C Empirical Asset Pricing 3 Units

Introduction and guide to issues in empirical asset pricing. Students learn key features of asset-price behavior and study how researchers test various theoretical models from finance and economics, focusing on advantages and disadvantages of research designs. Intuition behind practical econometric tools is developed and applied to asset pricing questions. By critically evaluating research, students determine which characteristics of an empirical paper influence the finance profession.

PHDBA 239D Doctoral Seminar in Finance 3 Units

Recent developments in financial economics, including the theory of intertemporal choice under certainty or uncertainty, portfolio optimization, asset market equilibrium, valuation of uncertainty, problems in information, financial econometrics, and empirical verification of financial models.

PHDBA 239DA Market Microstructure 1.5 Unit

Introduction and guide to issues in empirical asset pricing. Students learn key features of asset-price behavior and study how researchers test various theoretical models from finance and economics, focusing on advantages and disadvantages of research designs. Intuition behind practical econometric tools is developed and applied to asset-pricing questions. By critically evaluating research, students determine which characteristics of an empirical paper influence the finance profession.

PHDBA 239DB Corporate Finance 1.5 Unit

Study of the financial decisions made by firms and the effect of such decisions on observables. These can include debt/equity ratios, dividend policies, or the cross section of returns. In addition, corporate finance considers conflicts of interest between shareholders and managers and between different financial claimants.

PHDBA 239E Dynamic Game Theory and Applications 3 Units

This course focuses on repeated games and optimal mechanism design, with an emphasis on dynamics. The course presents a mix of pure theory and applications from many economics-related fields, particularly finance, macroeconomics and bargaining.

PHDBA 239S Research Seminar in Finance 2 - 4 Units

Advanced study in the field of Finance. Topics will vary from year to year and will be announced at the beginning of each semester.

PHDBA 249A Doctoral Seminar in Operations Management I 2 Units

Advanced study in the field of Operations Management with an emphasis on the interface between Operations Management and Marketing. Specific topics will vary from year to year.

PHDBA 249B Doctoral Seminar in Operations Management II 2 Units

Advanced study in the field of Operations Management with an emphasis on the interface between Operations Management and Marketing. Specific topics will vary from year to year.

PHDBA 249C Doctoral Seminar in Management III 2 Units

Advanced study in the field of operations management with an emphasis on the role of rational consumer behavior. Specific topics will vary year to year.

PHDBA 259A Research in Micro-Organizational Behavior 3 Units

Review of the research literature of micro-organizational behavior, including its social psychological and psychological foundations. Topics include: job design, work attitudes, organizational commitment, organizational culture, control and participation in organizations, creativity, personality, socialization leadership, industrial organization psychology.

PHDBA 259B Research in Macro-Organizational Behavior 3 Units

Review of the research literature of macro-organizational behavior, including its sociological, political and economic foundations. Topics include: bureaucracy, authority, power and politics, control, technology, institutional theory, organizational ecology, resource dependency and transaction costs.

PHDBA 259D Special Research Topics in OBIR 3 Units

Review of special research topics in organizational behavior and industrial relations not ordinarily covered in 259 A, B, or C. Possible topics include: history of organizational research; human resource management research; comparative management; and business policy and strategy. Context varies from year to year.

PHDBA 259S Research Seminar in Organizational Behavior and Industrial Relations 2 - 4 Units

Advanced study in the field of Organizational Behavior and Industrial Relations. Topics will vary from year to year and will be announced at the beginning of each semester.

PHDBA 269A Seminar in Marketing: Buyer Behavior 3 Units

Advanced topics seminar intended principally for Ph.D. students but open to advanced MBA students.

PHDBA 269B Seminar in Marketing: Choice Modeling 3 Units

Advanced topics seminar intended principally for Ph.D. students but open to advanced MBA students.

PHDBA 269C Seminar in Marketing: Marketing Strategy 3 Units

Advanced topics seminar intended principally for Ph.D. students but open to advanced MBA students. This section will focus on marketing theory and the development of marketing thought. (Course offered alternate years.)

PHDBA 269D Special Research Topics in Marketing 3 Units

Review of special research topics in marketing not ordinarily covered in BA 269A, 269B, 269C. Content varies from year to year. (Course offered alternate years.)

PHDBA 269S Research Seminar in Marketing 2 - 4 Units

Advanced study in the field of Marketing. Topics will vary from year to year and will be announced at the beginning of each semester.

PHDBA C270 Workshop in Institutional Analysis 2 Units

This seminar features current research of faculty, from UC Berkeley and elsewhere, and of advanced doctoral students who are investigating the efficacy of economic and non-economic forms of organization. An interdisciplinary perspective--combining aspects of law, economics, and organization--is maintained. Markets, hierarchies, hybrids, bureaus, and the supporting institutions of law and politics all come under scrutiny. The aspiration is to progressively build toward a new science of organization.

PHDBA 279A Institutions, Interest Groups and Public Policy 3 Units

Surveys recent literature on public decision-making in government institutions, emphasizing a systematic framework for evaluating questions of public policy formation. Explores the new institutionalism in political science, applies the methods of rational choice theory to political problems, and links relevant theoretical and empirical literatures in economics and political science. Considers implications of public choice for corporate strategy and business-government relations.

PHDBA 279B The Political Economy of Capitalism 3 Units

Comprehensive introduction to historical development of contemporary capitalism. Class will (1) compare the "classics" in political economy and their alternative explanations of markets, politics, class, and culture in industrial development; (2) provide an overview of the history of the United States economic system and business institutions; and (3) examine competing theories of the corporation.

PHDBA 279C Corporate Strategy and Technology 3 Units

The course has two broad objectives: 1) providing an overview of important work (mainly empirical) in the economics of technological change and technology policy; and 2) analyzing the role of technological and organizational innovation in firm strategy and performance.

PHDBA C279I Economics of Innovation 3 Units

Study of innovation, technical change, and intellectual property, including the industrial organization and performance of high-technology industries and firms; the use of economic, patent, and other bibliometric data for the analysis of technical change; legal and economic issues of intellectual property rights; science and technology policy; and the contributions of innovation and diffusion to economic growth. Methods of analysis are both theoretical and empirical, econometric and case study.

PHDBA 279S Research Seminar in Business and Public Policy 2 - 4 Units

Advanced study in the field of Business and Public Policy. Topics will vary from year to year and will be announced at the beginning of each semester.

PHDBA 289A Doctoral Seminar in Real Estate 4 Units

Doctoral real estate seminar, covering topics related to real estate investment, finance, and market analysis. The course is rigorous and technical, applying financial and economic analysis to the subject areas of real estate finance, urban real estate economics, and real estate evaluation.

PHDBA 289S Research Seminar in Real Estate 2 - 4 Units

Advanced study in the field of Real Estate. Topics will vary from year to year and will be announced at the beginning of each semester.

PHDBA 297B Research and Theory in Business: Behavioral Science 3 Units

The focus is upon defining a research problem, designing and employing specialized techniques to solve the problem. Topics will include concepts of causality, analysis of variance; experimental design; survey research; observation and multivariate analytical techniques.

PHDBA 297T Doctoral Topics in Business Administration 0.5 - 3 Units

Advanced study in the field of Business Administration. Topics will vary from year to year and will be announced at the beginning of each semester.

PHDBA 299A Individual Research in Business Problems 1 - 12 Units

PHDBA 375 Teaching Business 2 Units

This course will cover the broad range of knowledge and skills necessary to teach in top business schools. Teaching business effectively requires a myriad of pedagogical styles and techniques, as well as the confidence and preparation necessary to convey the course material. This course seeks to prepare doctoral students for careers as faculty in business schools, giving them the insight and experience that will make their first courses successful ones. Students will learn effective teaching strategies by observing faculty mentors, reading pedagogical texts, and openly discussing the challenges and rewards of business instruction with experienced faculty and graduate student instructors (GSIs). Students will also learn the administrative requirements of running courses so as to better facilitate learning in the future classes.

PHDBA 602 Individual Study for Doctoral Students 1 - 8 Units

Individual study in consultation with the major field adviser, intended to provide an opportunity for qualified students to prepare themselves for the various examinations required of candidates for the Ph.D. degree.

PHDBA 602C Curricular Practical Training Internship 0.0 Units

This is an independent study course for international students doing internships under the Curricular Practical Training program. Requires a paper exploring how the theoretical constructs learned in academic courses were applied during the internship.

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