The AMA-Sheth Foundation Doctoral Consortium

University and Student Invitation Policy

(effective beginning 2017)

AMA Academic Council – November, 2014

The AMA-Sheth Foundation Doctoral Consortium is coming up on its 50th year. The Consortium has undergone incredible growth in size and scope during this time and, as we prepare to host the event overseas for the first time, it has encountered some challenges. In particular, the current policy for determining which universities will receive invitations to the Consortium has two key challenges:

1. The policy is unrestricted in total number of students who can participate, and attendance has risen to over 130 students in 2014; an ideal consortium size is between 100-120 students. The large student attendance presents challenges to: a) offering a venue for students and faculty to engage in small group and one-on-one discussion and debate, a key objective of the Consortium, and b) identifying universities that have the financial and physical resources to host the growing number of students.
2. The policy is currently restricted to U.S. universities, despite the fact that there are many excellent doctoral programs outside of the United States.

To address these issues, the Academic Council has voted to adopt a new invitation policy, effective with the 2017 consortium. This policy will have the following components:

1. There are two ways that a university can be invited to the Consortium:
   • Automatic Invitation: In September of the year preceding the scheduled Consortium, the Academic Council will provide to the host university a list of universities that will receive automatic invitations for one student to attend. The list of universities will be based on “The UTD Top 100™” worldwide research rankings for publishing in marketing journals (Journal of Marketing, Journal of Marketing Research, Journal of Consumer Research, and Marketing Science) for the previous five years (e.g., the list provided to the host in September, 2016 will be based on the UTD rankings from 2011-2015). Because the UTD Top 100 may include some schools that do not have doctoral programs or an eligible student for that year, the UTD list will be extended beyond the Top 100 to identify the top 100 doctoral granting programs in marketing with an eligible student. For example, in a particular year, if there are 10 universities listed in the UTD Top 100 that do not have doctoral programs or an eligible student, then the next 10 universities listed in the UTD ranking that have doctoral programs and an eligible student will receive automatic invitations.
   • Host University Invitation and Discretion: The host university may invite additional universities and can consider applications from universities that are interested in nominating an exceptional student for an “open” slot. The host institution is responsible for setting the criteria for participation and vetting the applications. The host will hold the final decision on all attendance issues, with the total number of students invited not exceeding 120.
2. A student who meets the following criteria may be considered for an invitation to the Consortium.
   • The student must have finished their coursework, identified a dissertation topic, and made significant progress on his/her dissertation research (i.e., the student should have ABD [all but dissertation] status).
   • The student must be targeting a career in academia.
   • A student is permitted to attend the Consortium only once.
   • The student’s university must have at least two active AMA members.

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