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The first step to academic excellence. Fully funded, your rigorous research shapes future business.
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Your first step to academic excellence
At London Business School, developing and educating the next generation of scholars is central to our overall research activities and identity and we are committed to training individuals to become scholars and thought leaders. Research-oriented business schools offer an exciting and well-resourced environment in which to conduct interdisciplinary research. Our PhD programme leverages the School’s acclaimed research faculty, while providing generous funding and infrastructural support. PhD students work closely with faculty on cutting-edge research spanning a broad range of disciplines and topics. Through rigorous coursework as well as supervised, joint, and independent research, our students are equipped to work and thrive at the frontiers of knowledge in their chosen field.
Your time at London Business School will be filled with intellectual challenges in a collaborative environment. With faculty and fellow students, you will exchange and debate ideas and methods, sharpen your critical faculties, and learn the skills to be a successful scholar. Quality of thought is a public good here at London Business School, with improvements in your own thinking generating a positive spill-over to the entire community of students and faculty. Each year, our graduates move on to intellectually rewarding careers in major business schools, universities, and research institutions around the world. Their work has a profound impact on the thoughts and actions of academics, business leaders and policy makers.
My colleagues and I look forward to welcoming you to the community of scholars at the London Business School.
Niro Sivanathan, PhD Chair
To educate outstanding scholars who will be sought after at leading business schools, universities and other research institutions.
Research-oriented business schools offer some of the most exciting and well-resourced environments in which to conduct interdisciplinary social science.
Our PhD programme leverages the School’s acclaimed research faculty, provides generous funding and infrastructural support.
Central to our overall research activity is a commitment to inspire and train the next generation of business scholars.
We fully support our PhD students’ endeavours. Working closely with faculty, students produce cutting edge research that spans a broad range of disciplines and topics. Through rigorous coursework and supervised and joint research, you will be equipped to work and thrive at the frontiers of knowledge in your chosen subject.
Your time at London Business School will be seriously busy, filled with intellectual challenge in a collaborative environment. With faculty and fellow students, you will sharpen your critical faculties, exchange ideas and methods, and learn to think like a scholar.
Quality of thought is a public good at London Business School. Improvements in your thinking process generate positive consequences for the entire community of students and faculty.
You will be expected to work hard but, rest assured, your efforts will bring the highest payoff.
Each year our graduates move on to intellectually rewarding careers in major business schools and research institutions around the world.
The new knowledge our PhD students create makes a profound impact on the thoughts and actions of business leaders and policy makers.
See our multidisciplinary PhD research supported by the Wheeler Institute for Business and Development
Our full-time PhD students receive thorough and sophisticated training in the latest research methods, equipping them for productive academic careers.
Students are required to take a range of courses. These include Programme Core Courses, Specialised Courses and Elective Courses. Specialised Courses are compulsory for the for the admitted subject area. Elective courses are chosen from the Specialised Courses in other subject areas.
You will also have the option to take elective courses in London School of Economics (LSE) and University College of London (UCL).
After a successful defence of your research proposal you will progress your own thesis – an original contribution to your chosen specialisation. Then, having successfully defended your thesis, and following the completion of any required amendments, you are awarded a London Business School PhD degree.
Each year our graduates move on to intellectually rewarding careers in major business schools and research institutes around the world.
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Discuss your current research with students from leading business schools in North America and Europe
at this exclusive conference hosted annually by London Business School.
The deadline for applications is 1 December 2023 for entry into the programme in September of the following year. The form will remain open until 2 December to allow applicants in all time zones to submit their form and any supporting documents.
PhD in Management Science and Operations
PhD in Organisational Behaviour
PhD in Strategy and Entrepreneurship
You need an undergraduate degree in a relevant discipline, with a final grade in the top 10% of your graduating class. Most incoming students also hold a Masters degree.
Please also submit a Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) or Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) score taken within the past five years. Successful applicants typically have a GMAT score above 690 or GRE quantitative and analytical scores above the 80th percentile.
You need to give details of two referees. They should be faculty members who know your work well and can judge your research potential - for example, previous supervisors or academic tutors.
The deadline for applications is 1 December 2023 for entry into the programme in September of the following year.
The form will remain open until 2 December to allow applicants in all time zones to submit their form and any supporting documents.
UK applicants from low income households who are able to evidence that they were in receipt of full state support for maintenance as an undergraduate at a UK university within the last 4 years are eligible for an application fee waiver.
Applicants who are able to evidence they have a valid Asylum Registration Card or Biometric Residence Permit and Overseas Applicants from any of the countries included on the UN list of least developed countries are also eligible for an application fee waiver.
Individuals who feel that they need a fee waiver but do not meet these criteria may contact the Programme Office explaining their circumstances to request a waiver.
For all other applicants, there is an application fee of £75.
Short-listed applicants will be invited to an interview between December and January to meet faculty and to see the School’s facilities. It may be possible for candidates who are unable to travel to London to be interviewed online.
Regrettably, due to the large number of applications received each year, it is not possible to arrange meetings with members of faculty prior to an interview.
Unless you are an English speaker or have a degree from a university in an English-speaking country, (where the language of instruction was English) according to UK Visa and Immigration policy guidance you must submit evidence of proficiency in English. Please click here to verify if you meet the requirements. You should have scored at least 600 (paper-based), 250 (computer-based) or 100 (Internet-based) on the TOEFL to be considered for the PhD programme.
Other recognised English language tests (IELTS, Cambridge) are also accepted. A valid test report (less than two years old) must be submitted to the Programme Office.
London Business School institution code for TOEFL is 0898
Some subject areas state which test they would prefer applicants to take:
GMAT and GRE are administered by independent agencies. The tests measure verbal, quantitative and analytical skills and provide an indication of the ability for clear and systematic thought. One of these tests is required from each applicant and the requirement cannot be waived.
For more information on GMAT, visit: https://www.gmac.com/gmat-other-assessments and GRE at www.gre.org.
London Business School GMAT code is Z11-J7-75
London Business School GRE code is 3491
Some students are expected to attend a four week maths refresher or pre-programme course in September (depending on the subject area). All students will be required to attend orientation in the first month of the programme, giving you the chance to meet faculty, your first year supervisor and other PhD students. You'll also receive training and induction in London Business School's facilities and services.
All students offered a place on the PhD programme receive full funding, which includes a tuition fee waiver and a stipend guaranteed for five years, subject to satisfactory academic progression.
No, you do not need to contact faculty members before you make an application. Decisions on supervisors are only made after the first year in the programme, so you will have plenty of time to get to know faculty. We do encourage you to read the faculty profiles on our website to see if faculty at LBS have research interests relevant to what you wish to do.
Most students complete the Programme within five/six years.
The academic year starts in October. The year is divided into three terms (AUT, SPR and SUM), lasting 10 weeks each. Some new students may also need to attend a pre-sessional course in September.
All students must work as teaching or research assistants for 20 days (160 hours) a year in years 2, 3 and 4 of the programme. At least 10 days (80 hours) should be of teaching assistance (and the other 10 days could be research assistance, depending on each subject area’s preference). This is seen as a valuable part of your training.
The Programme is run on a full-time basis only and students are expected to live in London.
A tuition fee waiver is included in the scholarship, and no additional fees are charged.
The deadline for applications is 1 December 2023 for entry into the programme in September of the following year.
The form will remain open until 2 December to allow applicants in all time zones to submit their form and any supporting documents.
We do not offer transfers. You may be admitted to the programme from year one and apply for exemption from courses already taken. In such cases students will be required to pass a waiver examination. No more than three course waivers are permitted.
Yes, you must. We expect all applicants to submit a GRE or GMAT score before their application can be considered. Your score is valid for up to five years.
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