The doctoral program of study is full-time and year-round, it generally requires four to five years to complete. To be successful in the program, a high level of commitment is necessary. Students are therefore expected to reside in Seattle and be full time participants in the program. With guidance from faculty mentors, PhD students will create a personalized program of study that includes a major area of specialization and at least two minor areas of specialization. In addition to coursework, each department holds regular seminars where students and faculty review and critique current research in the field.<br><br>The Ph.D. curriculum in accounting encompasses two major streams of research. The first stream examines the role of accounting information (both financial and managerial) in contracting and capital markets. This first stream is economics-and-finance based and relies heavily on empirical research methods using archival data. The second stream is judgment and decision making in accounting (also known as behavioral decision theory research). This second stream is primarily psychology-based and relies heavily on controlled experiments with human subjects. The approach is often applied to study auditing issues but also can be applied to financial and managerial accounting issues. The accounting Ph.D. program is designed to prepare students to publish research in top-tier accounting journals including The Accounting Review, Journal of Accounting and Economics, and Journal of Accounting Research and to take positions at leading research-based universities.