PhD Management

Our Integrated PhD Management (at our Colchester Campus), provides a route to doctoral study if you do not have a Masters degree, or have little to no research training. It enables you to spend your first year completing a full-time Masters-level qualification, which will equip you with the business knowledge and research skills needed to begin PhD study the following year. Your PhD will then be studied full-time, over the next three years.

You can choose to follow a traditional thesis approach, where you write a dissertation, or follow a 'three paper' thesis, where you produce three research articles, framed by an introduction and conclusion. Your supervisors support you to submit these papers to conferences and for publication in international journals, so you can begin to build you research portfolio well before graduation.

This PhD gives you the opportunity to interrogate issues surrounding the contemporary workplace and how these relate to wider society on a local and global level. This programme attracts students from a variety of backgrounds and nationalities who have a wide range of social science research interests. Our current students range from recent graduates from a variety of disciplines to experienced practitioners, professionals, and policymakers, exploring areas such as perceptions of luxury branding, the limitations of the business case for gender equality at work, the impact of change programmes within the NHS, and spatial technologies of control within the retail industry.

You can tailor your work to a profession or sector of your choice and may choose to pursue research in one of the following areas:

• human resource management
• international management
• consumer studies
• marketing and brand management
• work and organisation studies

You study at Essex Business School (EBS), the largest department at the University of Essex, at our Colchester Campus. We are a business school with an international outlook. Our doctoral students join us from all over the world and we are committed to the UN Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME).

Our Management and Marketing Group, are a group of international researchers aiming to understand the role of the consumer, the value of the employee and the importance of the responsible management practices. They explore topics such as organisational behaviour, business ethics, historical aspects of management, corporate marketing and corporate communication, business model innovation and intersectionality.

Recently published research “A century of change on the London Underground” – looks at ways that commuting on the London Underground has, or hasn't, changed in over the past century. The research delved into the available data and focused on understanding how the customer experience, rather than the organisation's internal operations, has been affected by change. Analysis like this helps organisations to understand their customers and to compete against the competition.

Essex Business School provides a highly flexible and supportive PhD experience, where your supervisors develop your professional skills and research expertise in your chosen area. We are the largest department at the University of Essex, with more than 100 doctoral students from more than 40 different nationalities. Our Centre for Work, Organisation and Society organises regular events, which provide you with access to academic and industry expertise, as well as the opportunity to network with scholars from around the world.

If you already have a Masters degree or previous relevant research training, we also offer a PhD Management (at our Colchester Campus) that you can study on a full-time or part-time basis. You may also be eligible for a scholarship.

Our expert staff

At Essex Business School, you benefit from world-class supervision and research training conducted by our senior academic staff. Our department boasts eight research centres across our two campuses.

Dr Louise Nash and Director of Postgraduate Research at Essex Business School oversees and leads the provision of our graduate research programmes and ensures that we create an environment where our doctoral students can flourish as researchers in a thriving and mutually supportive PhD community.

Louise is a lecturer in Management and Marketing and completed her PhD Management at Essex. She has extensive management and marketing experience which has influenced her research interests – these focus on interpretative, qualitative studies of the lived experience of work, including: the spatial and temporal rhythms of everyday life; the culture, aesthetics and symbolism of organisational life; gender in the workplace and exploring and developing sensory and embodied methods for researching organisations.

You work with two supervisors during your studies. They provide guidance and support to help you achieve your individual research goals, develop your research topic and create a personalised training plan. You meet with your supervisors at least once a month and are usually required to submit work before for feedback. Twice a year, you have a supervisory board meeting to discuss your progress and agree your plans for the next six months.

As well as supporting you to complete your thesis, your supervisors can help you to plan your career development. Our academics often co-author publications with doctoral students and can help you to develop the transferable skills needed for the jobs market.

Take a look at our staff pages to find out more about our areas of supervision.

Specialist facilities

You are based at our Colchester Campus, in the UK's first zero carbon business school building, reflecting our commitment to sustainability and business ethics; we are proud to be a signatory of the Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME).

You have access to excellent research facilities, such as:

• a dedicated PhD study area with computers
• Graduate Teaching Assistant (GTA) pods to meet with students, should you decide to become a GTA
• a Bloomberg trading floor
• access to databases such as Bloomberg, Compustat, Passport GMID, Bankscope and Datastream
• e-book finance and business packages to support part-time and distance learning (including Ebrary, NetLibrary, Oxford Scholarship Online, Palgrave Connect and SpringerLink)
• final year students are provided with office space to encourage successful thesis completion
• group-working space in our stunning winter garden
• study skills support for postgraduate students
• Bonds café with adjacent sun terrace

The University library is a short walk from our building and our Colchester Campus has ample IT labs.

Across the road from our building, buses take you to Colchester town centre and the railway station, where you can take trains directly to London. London Stansted airport is just over an hour away, providing connections to mainland Europe.

Your future

Our PhD programmes are designed to foster the business leaders and researchers of the future. Our graduates use creativity, innovation and ethical awareness to meet the many challenges facing the international business world.

Our doctoral graduates have secured roles in academia at some of the best international universities, as well as organisations in the public and private sectors. Recent examples include careers with Leeds University Business School, Cambridge Education, EY (Ernst and Young) and public sector roles around the world.

Our University Student Development Careers Services are on hand to provide careers advice and help you make the most of your Essex experience. You will also have access to CV workshops, one-to-one advice and career resources.

“Doing my PhD at Essex has been a social experience. There’s great peer support, dedicated study areas for research students, regular seminars and social gatherings. There are lots of opportunities to share feedback and encouragement, which have helped keep me motivated through the highs and lows of studying for a PhD."

Saranzaya Manalsuren - PhD Management

UK entry requirements

You will need a 2:2 degree or equivalent, in a related subject.

Our four year integrated PhD, allows you to spend your first year studying at Masters level in order to develop the necessary knowledge and skills and to start your independent research in year two.

English language requirements

If English is not your first language, we require IELTS 6.5 overall, or equivalent, with a minimum score of 5.5 in all other components.

Course structure

A research degree doesn't have a taught structure, giving you the chance to investigate your chosen topic in real depth and reach a profound understanding. In communicating that understanding, through a thesis or other means, you have a rare opportunity to generate knowledge. A research degree allows you to develop new high-level skills, enhance your professional development and build new networks. It can open doors to many careers.

We understand that deciding where and what to study is a very important decision for you. We'll make all reasonable efforts to provide you with the courses, services and facilities as described on our website and in line with your contract with us. However, if we need to make material changes, for example due to significant disruption, we'll let our applicants and students know as soon as possible.

Assessment

You begin your studies by meeting with your supervisors and undertaking an intensive induction programme. You attend advanced research methods training and undertake compulsory modules tailored to your individual research needs.

Throughout your PhD, you have regular meetings with your supervisors. You are often asked to write up your ideas or reading notes to help establish good writing practices. By the end of your first year of research, you should have a solid understanding of the key debates in your field and have defined your research questions, outlining your original contribution to knowledge. Our management students are also expected to have made substantial progress on their first research paper. Those studying via the integrated PhD route (or 1+3) will have completed an additional year to obtain a Masters before beginning their research.

In your second year, you are likely to finalise the design of your own research project and either collect primary data, or access and analyse large scale datasets. You may also make progress on your second research paper. You receive regular feedback on your ideas and findings from your supervisors and are encouraged to develop your own research ideas independently during this year. If you are undertaking fieldwork in another location, your supervisors will still be in touch via email or Skype.

In your final year, you continue to analyse your own research data and further refine your original contribution to knowledge. You will collate your work into a approximately 50-80k words thesis. Our management students are also expected to make substantial progress on their third research paper.

You may attend a number of conferences in your final year to test out your research findings and thesis on an international stage. Your attendance may be funded by Essex Business School. As well as advising on how to prepare your thesis for examination, your supervisors can advise on future career plans in academia or industry.

Dissertation

Creating a 50-80k word thesis is a significant task. To help you finalise your PhD and produce high quality doctoral research, we have a number of support mechanisms.

You undertake a progress board every six months, where you, your supervisors and an independent chair mark your progress and set objectives for the next period. You are also encouraged to take part in peer group debates and discussions.

Our full-time doctorates are 36 month programmes. At the end of this time, you may be allowed up to 12 months to finish writing up your PhD.

Once you have submitted your thesis, you will be asked to attend a Viva Voce examination with examiners from within and outside of the University. A viva voce examination usually takes place within three months of submission of thesis.