Apply through the official Graduate School Application.

We begin accepting applications for fall in September, as soon as the application system opens. Preference will be given to applications received before December 1. The Graduate Admissions Committee begins reviewing applications at that time. The University of Tennessee has rolling admissions, so applications received after December 1 are still reviewed. Keep in mind that for international students, the final deadline to apply is February 1.

We only admit in the fall semester each year. Spring admissions are considered only in extreme circumstances.

At this time, we are unable to cover the costs to the university by waiving application fees.

No, it is not necessary to contact faculty before applying. We ask that you identify in your personal statement faculty members that you might want to work with based on their research. This helps the committee better understand your interests. Please refer to our faculty websites for their research interests/areas before writing your personal statement: BAS Faculty

The GRE or GMAT is required, and official scores must be included in your application materials.

An applicant requesting admission to the Graduate School may be required to submit results of the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or the International English Language Testing System (IELTS). Minimum score requirements for admission to the Graduate School are:

• A total score of 80 on the internet-based TOEFL (iBT) or
• A 6.5 overall band score on the IELTS

The scores will be considered valid if submitted with the application within two years of the test date.

An applicant may be exempted from the English Certification requirement if:

• English is an official language in the applicant’s country of citizenship, according to standards published by the Graduate School
• English is the primary language of instruction at the institution in which the applicant received an undergraduate, graduate, or professional degree

Applicants must submit evidence of qualifying for exemption by uploading a transcript in the online application with conferred equivalent to U.S. bachelor’s, master’s, doctorate, or professional degree from an accredited college or university where English is the language of instruction in higher education. Evidence that the language of instruction is English must appear on the transcript or the applicant will be asked to provide additional documentation.

After completing an exam, have scores sent to the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Please use the institution code “1843” for the TOEFL. For the IELTS, provide the following address information to the test center:

The UT code is 1843.

For application review, a scanned PDF of your transcript is acceptable. If you are accepted into the program, official transcripts from the colleges you attended will be required as a condition of admittance.

It is difficult for the committee to assess your transcripts if they are not translated, so translation will be necessary.

Because a new pool of applicants applies each year, and applicants are being evaluated based on the current pool, it is not possible to answer such questions ahead of the official process.

At this time, all admitted Business Analytics Ph.D. Students are automatically assigned a GTA/GRA in their offer letters. An application is not required. We only fund around three or four students each admissions cycle. Each of those students receives four years of funding, including a stipend and tuition waiver. The funded student works in the department 20 hours per week. 

Admitted students on GTA/GRA assistantships receive a monthly stipend, a tuition waiver and healthcare coverage. Students are responsible for some university fees.

The Business Analytics Ph.D. Admissions Committee does not begin reviewing applications until after December 1. After December 1, all applications are reviewed, and then decisions are made based on funding and space availability. Given the number of applications and the amount of material they contain, this can take some time. Decisions on all applications are usually completed by April 15. You will receive a letter when decisions are completed. Please keep in mind that the Admissions Committee cannot evaluate your application if it is incomplete. 

No, the entire program must be completed in person, on campus.

Someone from the committee will first reach out to you for an interview if your file is competitive for admission. At a later date , after the interview has taken place, you will be notified via email if you have been admitted to the program.

It is critical to realize that a business school Ph.D. program’s mission is different than an undergraduate or master’s program’s mission. Our goal is to place our students as faculty members in top 100 business schools around the world. Motivation to do research and a strong desire to pursue an academic career are essential. Some of the unique features and strengths of our Ph.D. program are:

Our faculty members hold prominent leadership positions in their fields and include department and associate editors in leading academic journals, such as Production & Operations Management, Decision Sciences, Naval Research Logistics and the deputy editor for INFORMS Journal on Applied Analytics. We have past or current presidents (or vice presidents) of POMS College of Sustainable Operations, College of Supply Chain Management, INFORMS College of AI, and an American Statistical Association Fellow.

We have 19 tenured or tenure-track faculty members with diverse expertise covering all areas of business analytics: operations management, data science, artificial intelligence, machine learning, marketing science, supply chain management, and statistics.

Our faculty are productive, leading scholars, publishing regularly in top academic journals in their fields. Our research group is ranked #14 in North America for number of articles published in POM and JOM, and #20 in in North America for number of articles published in M&SOM, POM and JOM, from 2020-2023 (according to the UTD Top 100 Business School Research Rankings).