Students are expected to choose a major from one of the following areas: Accounting, Financial Economics, Information Systems, and Operations Management at the time of application. Note that once a student joins the programme, switching major fields will not be permitted.

The Pre-Doctoral Programme will span two academic years. Each academic year consists of four terms.

In the first year, the students will take introductory doctoral level courses, in Probability and Statistics, Optimisation Methods, Microeconomics, Econometrics, and Research Methodology. In addition they will assist faculty with research and teaching. This will help them gain research and teaching experience, and will improve their chances of admission to top-tier PhD programmes.

Proceeding to the second year of the programme will be contingent upon:
o  Maintaining high academic standards in the course work during the first year.
o Getting a favourable opinion from the resident faculty in the candidate’s area, based on research  and teaching assistance.

The second year of the programme will consist of course work in the major field of interest, completion of an academically sound research paper in the chosen area, and hands-on research in close collaboration with faculty. By the end of the second year, students are expected to obtain admission into a top-tier doctoral programme in their major field.

Upon successful completion of the programme, students will receive a certificate of completion. Successful completion requires maintaining high academic standards in all work and courses over the two years, including the research paper.

Below is a tentative outline of the term-wise schedule of the Pre-Doctoral Programme: