PhD/MBA Joint Degree Program

Below are admissions and training requirements specific to BBS students.

Current BBS Students

You may apply to SOM, but you must complete the application process no later than January of your first year of study at the Graduate School. Upon receiving an offer of admission to SOM, you are required to submit a proposal of study outlining your academic plan and schedule for completing both the MBA and Ph.D. degrees. Please first meet with your DGS, the Dean of Students at SOM, and the Associate Dean for Graduate Academic Support in the Graduate School prior to crafting this plan of study. If necessary, these parties may meet together with you. Admission to the joint degree program is contingent upon approval of this proposal by the DGS and respective deans of the Graduate School and SOM. Excellent performance in graduate classes and laboratory rotations in the fall semester is also required.

The BBS program requires you to select a thesis lab and departmental affiliation at the end of your first year of graduate study. If you wish to enroll in the joint degree program you must alert your anticipated Ph.D. program DGS and thesis adviser of your plans prior to selecting a thesis laboratory and Ph.D. program affiliation.

Prospective BBS Students

If you have not yet applied to Yale, you must apply simultaneously to BBS (through the Graduate School) and to SOM. Applications to SOM should be submitted for consideration during the first or second round of admissions (see the SOM website for deadlines). Admissions decisions for each school are made on an entirely separate basis by the respective admissions committees, and each school will notify you of its decision. You will be enrolled for the joint degree program only if you receive admission to both programs. You will then submit a plan of study as described above.

You must complete the core curriculum at SOM in the course of one academic year. During this year you will not be registered at the Graduate School. You must complete the core SOM curriculum prior to beginning graduate study or immediately after completing your first year in the BBS program.

After completing the year-long core curriculum at SOM, you then must take four non-core courses at SOM. You may complete these course requirements in one of two ways:

1. Register for a full term at SOM. If you choose this option you would normally do so only after completing all of the requirements for the Ph.D.
2. Take one course per semester while remaining registered in the Graduate School and working toward the Ph.D. If you choose this option you should take no more than one SOM course per semester.

You are required to register in and pay tuition to SOM for a total of 3 semesters. While registered in SOM, you will not receive a BBS stipend, will not receive graduate student health coverage, and will be required to pay tuition to SOM. You may not opt for the third semester of full-time study at SOM during your first 3 years in the BBS Program due to funding constraints related to training grants. If you choose to register full-time at SOM after the third year, you will pay the semester of tuition to SOM at that time. You are not able to register simultaneously in the Graduate School during this semester and would thus not be eligible to receive a graduate stipend or graduate student health coverage.

It is not possible to pay SOM tuition on a per-course basis. As a result, if you fulfill the SOM elective course work over four semesters, you will still be required to register at SOM for one full term so that tuition for all four courses may be paid. Normally, you would choose your final term at Yale to register in SOM.