What PhD programs (Business-Marketing) are open to older applicants?

Question

I'm 46, 20+ years of industry experience, some teaching experience, decent MBA and strong undergrad scores. GRE is okay, working on improving my quantitative score. I'm open to going anywhere in the world (English as a primary language at the school), but I need full time funding. My goal for a PhD is research, publication, and teaching. (I have several research ideas that I've started over the years, and I love teaching.) Are there any schools/regions/countries that are known to be open to older candidates with possibly lower GRE scores? (AACSB accredited preferred)

Answer 1

As far as I know, there is no PhD program in the United States for which it is legal to discriminate based on age. Nor is it just a matter of legality: at least in the circles I run in (I have done graduate admissions for the PhD program in my department at a state university) this is not just a technicality: holding a candidate's age against them would be viewed as grossly inappropriate behavior. I have never seen even a hint of it. My field -- mathematics -- is different from yours, but it is also one in which there is little a candidate could do in between their undergraduate and graduate degrees that would be viewed as clearly advantageous by the admissions committee. From what I know, this is not true of the business community. There are very few 22 year-olds enrolled in MBA programs; some prior real-world business experience is preferred, and there are prestigious "executive MBA programs" for older candidates who are already successful in the business world. So I would guess that many applicants for a PhD in business/marketing are over 30. Professionally speaking, what's the difference between 30 and 46? Not much. I honestly don't see why anyone would care.

The bit about low GRE scores is a different matter. You should check to see which GRE scores are taken seriously by admissions committees in your area. Assuming that any of them are (a reasonable guess if they require them), I strongly recommend that you take the time to improve your scores substantially rather than try to look for programs that will take inferior students. Remember that most US PhD programs take at least five years to complete. It is really worth it to spend a year or two making sure you get into the best possible one.

Answer 2

While age is normally not a factor when applying for a PhD program, there are very few scholarships for PhDs in Business or Marketing out there. Governments and NGOs normally deprioritize funding for business research. Most universities do not offer PhD programs in these fields and most of those that do, do it for profit. Many business schools offer PhD programs, but I've never seen one offering a scholarship (and I looked for them!). Since the field of business is kind of popular around the world, a lot of bright students compete for those few scholarships that are available.

If you are willing to travel for it, you can find a Business school in Europe offering PhD programs quite cheaply. I paid for my PhD program in Business Economics in Ukraine. It was about $5,000 for 3 years. You do not have to go that cheap, but I am sure you can find a program for under $10k in Eastern or Central Europe. You can also go to Asia. It will be really easy to find a well paying job there too so you will come out debt-free with a lot saved up after several years.

You can look for business schools and universities offering PhD programs in different countries just by googling universities in country (e.g. universities in Czech Republic or business schools in Greece) and then look at their websites for relevant programs. It will take a couple of weeks, but you will learn a lot about what is out there.

Doing a PhD at a lower level business school or in a less developed country is mostly a solo task. There won't be much of quality scientific supervision. But Google Scholar is out there, so is Stack Exchange and tons of scientific journals, which do not care where you are or how old you are. And, of course, if you pay for your PhD program, your experience is only an advantage. They may learn something from you or invite you to teach at their institution.

Answer 3

As Brian Borchers pointed out in a comment to another answer, business/marketing is more suitable for a Doctor of Business Administration degree.

I am a 59 year old DBA candidate; in my programme, age is generally taken to be a sign of experience - in other words, I know what I am talking about.

There are several DBA programmes based in British universities that work by distance learning: I work full time and do my research activity in my spare time. This may solve your economic problems (the cost is 4000GBP per year, once one has passed three preliminary exams). There is no requirement for a GRE score; the MBA is sufficient for acceptance.