The Mays Business School at Texas A&M University is excited to announce the inaugural “Building a Better Future Through Business and AI” Dissertation Proposal Competition, with support from Deloitte and the Deloitte Foundation. This groundbreaking competition will recognize outstanding methodological or empirical dissertation proposals that either leverage AI techniques/methods or explore AI’s impacts across various business fields.
The competition includes six awards, including a dedicated Best Dissertation Proposal in AI and Marketing award for marketing students. The recipient of this award will receive a $10,000 prize and will have the opportunity to present their research at Mays Business School during the week of September 15, 2025.
All submissions must be submitted through here. https://createdatmays.tamu.edu/blogs/2025/01/ai-proposal-competition/ The submission deadline is May 31, 2025.
Eligibility Criteria
• Applicants must have defended their dissertation proposal by May 31, 2025, and maintain enrollment in a doctoral program at an accredited business school within the United States through the Fall 2025 semester
Submission Requirements
• 3,000-word maximum dissertation proposal summary (12 pt. font, 1” margins) without any identifying student information
• A separate dissertation abstract (150 words)
• Student CV
• Nomination letter from dissertation chair confirming the dissertation proposal has been successfully defended and providing a dissertation completion timeline and anticipated graduation date
Evaluation
Submissions will be evaluated by a panel of expert faculty judges based on:
• Theoretical and methodological rigor
• Potential contribution to the field
• Innovativeness of the research
Awards
• $10,000 prize for each award
• Commemorative award plaque
• Travel funding to present their dissertation at Mays Business School during the week of September 15, 2025
• Opportunity to network with Mays faculty and Ph.D. students as well as other award recipients
For full details and to start a submission, visit createdatmays.tamu.edu/ai.
We thank Dr. Yan “Lucy” Liu, Marketing PhD Coordinator at Texas A&M for sharing this generous opportunity with DocSIG.