PhD Student Awarded Deloitte Foundation Doctoral Fellowship

PhD student Zachery Ma poses for a picture on Lindner hall office steps, wearing a white, black and dark green sweater.

Zachery (Ziqi) Ma.

Zachery (Ziqi) Ma, a third-year accounting PhD student, has been awarded a $25,000 Doctoral Fellowship by the Deloitte Foundation.

The Deloitte Foundation Doctoral Fellowship awards are intended to help strengthen the pipeline of accounting faculty by supporting PhD candidates who plan to pursue academic careers. For nearly 70 years, this program has awarded fellowships to 10 top accounting PhD candidates across the U.S. to help cover expenses during the recipients’ final year of coursework and the subsequent year to complete their doctoral dissertation. 

“I am extremely honored to receive the Deloitte Foundation Fellowship,” Ma said. “This award will enable me to pursue my academic dreams, contributing to the profession through my research, teaching and service.”

"We are extremely proud of Ziqi’s accomplishments in this highly competitive context," added Nan Zhou, PhD, Professor and Department Head, Norwood and Marjorie Geis Chair of Accounting. "This exceptional honor acknowledges Ziqi’s remarkable research abilities."

Each year, accounting doctoral students from more than 100 universities are invited to apply for the fellowship. A selection committee composed of eminent accounting educators chose this year’s recipients who were nominated by accounting faculty at their school. Since inception, the program has supported nearly 1,200 PhDs.

The 2025 recipients and the institutions they attend are:

  • Austin Blake, Arizona State University
  • Ferdinand Bratek, New York University
  • Jewel Evans, University of Chicago
  • Lauren Frederick, Cornell University
  • Andrew Glover, University of Washington
  • Caitlin Landy, Bentley University
  • Yongzhao Lin, Washington University in St. Louis
  • Ziqi Ma, University of Cincinnati
  • Fiona Lucia Grace Sequeira, Stanford University
  • Isaac Yamoah, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

“The Foundation helps today’s students be ready for the jobs of tomorrow and faculty play an important role in developing a workforce that is prepared for career success,” said Erin Scanlon, Deloitte Foundation president. “Supporting the selected PhD candidates in this critical phase of their academic studies is one way the Foundation can help strengthen the pipeline of accounting professors who will go on to teach thousands of students over the course of their careers.”

Ma also received the Dean’s Dissertation Completion Fellowship for the 2025–26 academic year. He was selected by the University of Cincinnati Graduate College’s award committee from a highly competitive pool of nominations from across the university. This award includes a $20,000 stipend.

As the recipient of the 2025 Lindner College Doctoral Research Award, Ziqi Ma has research interests in corporate governance, executive compensation, and tax.