The strong national reputation that attracted Kimball Chapman and Abhinav Gupta to the Penn State Smeal College of Business Ph.D. Program has helped them land positions at two of the nation’s top 20 programs in their fields.
Chapman, who recently earned his doctoral degree in accounting, will embark on his academic career later this summer at Washington University in St. Louis. Gupta, who secured his doctorate in management and organization, will relocate to Seattle for his position at the University of Washington.
“I was drawn to Smeal because the Accounting Department has a strong national reputation for research in my area of interest,” said Chapman, who holds a bachelor’s degree in liberal studies from Southern Virginia University and an masters of business administration from the University of Illinois. “An even bigger draw was that the accounting Ph.D. program has a very good track record of placing students.”
Gupta earned his undergraduate degree in commerce (a combination of management, economics, and accounting) from Aligarh Muslim University in India. He then graduated with a masters of business administration from International Management Institute in New Delhi. For his doctorate, he decided to explore options in the United States. Smeal stood out.
“I received strong recommendations from former students and the Management and Organization Department of Smeal College has a stellar reputation, especially for its cutting-edge research in behavioral strategy and organization theory,” Gupta said.
Chapman, who worked for three different companies over a 10-year period before deciding to pursue a doctorate, conducts financial archival research, focusing on firm disclosure.
Gupta, too, briefly entered the workforce before returning to academia. He interned with a micro-finance bank, a nongovernmental organization, and a heavy machinery manufacturing company.
His research looks at how the political ideologies of corporations (on the liberalism-conservatism spectrum) affect their market and non-market behaviors. He is urging scholars to depart from the notion of firms as purely pragmatic, profit-seeking entities to consider how political ideologies influence strategic decision-making in organizations.
Both graduates said Smeal exceeded their expectations. Each specifically mentioned the great training and mentoring they received from the college’s highly ranked faculty.
“There are high expectations, but students are given a great environment and the best possible resources to succeed,” Chapman said. “The culture in the Ph.D. program is very supportive. This makes a big difference because I think all Ph.D. students go through tough times. I felt consistent support from faculty and my fellow Ph.D. students throughout the process.”
Gupta said he valued his work with faculty members the most.
“The faculty members were very inspiring and highly developmental at the same time. My initial collaborations with the faculty helped me acquire crucial research skills and publish my research in top-tier journals, both of which came in handy in the job-search process,” he said. “A Ph.D. in management at Smeal prepares you really well for a life-long career in academia.”
About the Smeal College of Business Ph.D. ProgramThe Smeal College of Business Ph.D. program, aimed at students who want to pursue a career in academic research, offers specialization opportunities in accounting, finance, management and organization, marketing, real estate, and supply chain and information systems. Learn more at www.smeal.psu.edu/phd.