A shortage of accounting Ph.D.s exists in academia. In this study, we explore accounting masters students' perceptions of Ph.D. study and academic careers. We administered a survey before and after discussing academia during class. We find that students are uninformed about Ph.D. programs and academic careers, but their understanding improves after class discussion. We also find that students' interest in becoming professors is positively associated with both their understanding of and expected enjoyment from research. This finding, along with our finding that students have concerns about performing research, suggests that to address the shortage of accounting Ph.D.s, steps must be taken to increase the attractiveness of research.