Program Overview

Design

The curriculum has been developed on the assumption that each participant's needs are different. To meet individual goals, a flexible program is offered through a high level of faculty and participant interaction.

The program objectives are threefold:

To study the foundations of business administration as a functionally integrated field of knowledge;
To focus doctoral participants at an early stage on their research opportunities and responsibilities;
To solve managerial dilemmas through research.

Doctoral Coursework and MPhil

The core part of the doctoral program begins with coursework and literature review seminars in four common management and research areas:

Quantitative Methods
Research Methods
Behavioral Sciences
Economics

Each module consists of 60 contact hours. Residential modules are delivered in 10 consecutive days during office hours (including weekends). In the outreach program the modules are delivered after office hours and during weekends. Class sessions are concluded with an assessment in the form of an assignment.

A large part of the literature review in support of the field of research, is done through individual reading under the guidance and supervision of the appointed daily supervisor. It is from this field of research that the participant draws the research proposal, which is presented and defended in a seminar after the coursework has been successfully completed.

The research proposal seminar is the final step towards the MPhil degree award. That is also the moment for the research committee to decide on further studies either with the PhD or DBA track.

Field Research, Data Analysis, Dissertation write-up and Defense

After the participant has been given permission to proceed with the field research as well as the preparation of the dissertation for the final defense, that process is supported and monitored by the daily supervisor. During this period the participant gathers and analyses all the data and information from relevant sources, be it interviews, literature or company specific information, etcetera. The outcome of the dissertation research is a book-length, fully researched paper, representing an original contribution to one of the numerous facets in the broad fields of management. Originality is demonstrated through the discovery of new facets, the discovery of a new conceptual framework or the creative application of existing analytical concepts and tools to address contemporary issues in industry. Such a contribution should ensure that the dissertation can withstand the independent critical scrutiny of experts in that field. The participant is therefore required to defend the dissertation in front of a dissertation defense committee, consisting of both faculty as well as external experts in the field of research.

Duration and Timing

Participation in the doctoral coursework can start with any of the four modules. It normally takes four years to complete the full program, depending on how efficiently and successfully the participant works on the assignments, the research, and the dissertation, and on whether the participant is attending the program full-time or part-time. The MPhil phase, however, should be completed within two years after the start of the program. The duration of the full program can be extended to a maximum of six years.