Course summary

Our PhD in Management comprises a short taught component followed by a longer research phase. The programme will allow you to broaden and deepen your knowledge of research methods whilst undertaking your own research and developing a set of transferable professional skills. Birmingham Business School placed 17 out of 101 business schools in the Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2014, according to the Association of Business Schools. 68 percent of our research activity was judged to be 'world-leading' (4) or 'internationally excellent' (3) according to the national REF results. This ranking puts us ahead of Aston, Cranfield, Edinburgh, Oxford and a range of other UK Schools. The PhD programme in Management will facilitate the creation and interpretation of new knowledge by the research student, demonstrated through the thesis. The taught component is designed to ensure that doctoral researchers understand the breath of techniques used in modern social science research. Doctoral researchers will be capable of analysing a range of data using a range of qualitative and quantitative techniques. They will be able to explain theories underlying different approaches to social science research. Doctoral researchers are expected to participate to the fullest possible extent in the life of the Business School. This means attending seminars organised by the Business School thereby helping expose doctoral researchers to new ideas emanating from outside their own area of specialisation. It also requires actively participating in PhD workshops and conferences organised by the Business School and Graduate School as well as institutions outside the University of Birmingham. Ultimately all doctoral researchers will have the ability to characterise and solve business and management problems using advanced research tools. They should be able to derive policy implications from their research and communicate these to policy makers, practitioners and other academics in a manner which is comprehensible. They will also be able to peer review others’ research and offer constructive criticism; and to extend the frontiers of the discipline through their own innovative research. Doctoral researchers may choose to become academics, work in Government, businesses, supranational organisations or in the research arms of major financial institutions. They are expected to achieve a substantial understanding of contemporaneous management and business issues enabling them to take a lead in ongoing debates within society. They will be aware of and understand the function of related institutions at both a national and international level.