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Ph.d.-uddannelse

Introduction

As a PhD student at the Department of International Economics and Management (INT) you are expected and supported to pursue structured, supervised research into one of the research areas in which the department has expertise. One of the distinctive features of INT at CBS is its approach and organization of research areas into areas within the field of International Business. Currently INT has four major areas of research:

  • International Business
  • Corporate Governance
  • Emerging Markets
  • Asian Area Studies

The department is organized in three centers:

Asian Research Center – covers thematic areas of Asian studies on a contextual, interdisciplinary, and historically sensitive basis with particular strengths on China, India, Japan, and Southeast Asian countries.

Center for International Business and Emerging Market – covers both International Business in general and specific aspects of emerging markets and their role in the global economy

Center for Corporate Governance– covers the control and direction of companies by ownership, boards, incentives and other mechanisms.

A PhD student can be connected to one ore more of the research centers. The professors, associate professors, assistant professors and PhD students meet on a regular basis to organize seminars, develop new research projects, prepare joint publications etc.

To assure and further develop INT’s contribution to research into the four core areas the department consistently works to recruit research talents whose focus and interests match INT’s research areas. INT therefore encourages INT researchers to approach graduates with demonstrated research talent: among their own Master of Science students, students graduated from other institutions, or amongst individuals with a background in business life or organizations showing an interest in learning and undertaking academic research based on a PhD Scholarship or within CBS’ DBA program.

As a potential PhD/DBA student at INT you should contact a potential supervisor and/or the PhD Coordinator Professor Niels Mygind ( nm.int@cbs.dk) prior to applying. Check also the CBS homepage: http://www.cbs.dk/uddannelser/phd for further information about the PhD-program at CBS.

In addition to applying to advertized PhD scholarships published on www.cbs.dk or enrolling as a DBA student, it is possible to become associated with INT through externally-funded scholarships as well as via an industrial research training program. A full-time PhD program normally lasts three years, a part-time DBA program five years. At the end of this period, you are expected to submit a dissertation that demonstrates the capacity to pursue scholarly research. The thesis can be a monograph or a collection of articles, organized around a well-defined theoretical theme. Your research findings should make an original contribution to knowledge and its quality must be appropriate for international publication.

Having successfully defended the PhD dissertation at a public defense, some recipients of the PhD degree enter academia. Others take jobs in companies or other public/private sector organizations.

The PhD/DBA-courses and seminars at CBS are designed to provide you with the competence required to undertake independent research in the four core research areas of the department, especially, in the very specific and focused research area to which your project is designed to contribute. As a PhD student at INT you will also be introduced to teaching obligations in CBS study programs that are relevant for your research.

To provide an overview of the PhD activities and how they are organized at the department, the following pages will consider five important issues

  1. Research training at INT
  2. Teaching and administrative tasks
  3. Facilities, assistance, and financial issues
  4. Coordination and supervision of PhD/DBA activities
  5. Completion of the PhD/DBA studies

1. Research training at INT

Research education is composed of at least five elements:

PhD/DBA Courses

As a PhD/DBA student you must participate in and complete PhD courses that amount to a total of 30 ECTS. The completion of a five day PhD course typically gives you approximately 5 ECTS. INT is part of one out of four PhD Schools at CBS – The School of Economics and Management. However, you can also follow courses at other PhD schools at CBS or elsewhere including foreign business schools and universities. For several years INT has cooperated closely with the Nordic Research School in International Business (Nord-IB). You are formally enrolled in the PhD School in Economics and Management at CBS and this research school runs courses in methodology (both quantitative and qualitative), amongst others. The Nord-IB research school ( http://frontpage.cbs.dk/nord-ib/) is based on collaboration with other top-universities in the Nordic countries and provides a two-year program including courses in all main areas of International Business.

Supervision

As a PhD/DBA student you are responsible for developing and finalizing your dissertation. Your supervisors (a senior researcher functioning as the main supervisor for you and another as the second-supervisor) play the key roles in facilitating this achievement by providing you with constructive, ongoing feed-back on your research; introducing you to relevant literature and PhD courses; bringing you into contact with relevant Danish and international scientific networks; and giving you advice as how to plan your teaching obligations, conference participation, fieldwork abroad, etc.

Your supervisors are also responsible for signing your biannual progress reports, which summarizes you and your supervisor’s assessment of your project’s progress.

Your research plan—outlining your projected activities including a project outline, coursework, teaching activities, conference participation, and a preliminary budget - should be developed in collaboration with your supervisor and the Department Head within the first months as a PhD/DBA student at INT.

The relationship between a PhD/DBA student and the supervisors is shaped by research traditions and the personalities involved - there is no universal model for the student-supervisor relationship. Under the three year contract (for DBA Students five), students are each allocated a maximum of 180 supervision hours in total from the two supervisors. This includes reading of submitted text and preparation of meetings. Due to the limited number of hours available for supervision, it is important to use them wisely.

It is often wise to consider the involvement of a second supervisor, to help cover all research areas and competences of relevance to your project.

As in all ongoing processes of evaluation, conflicts may occur between the PhD/DBA student and the supervisor(s). If the parties are unable to resolve a conflict, the Department Head should be consulted. In certain situations it may prove academically beneficial to change supervisors. However, any changes should be carefully considered and discussed with the PhD/DBA supervisor(s) and coordinator to ensure that research plans progress are as much in accordance with the initial arrangements as possible. If necessary, the Department Head can assist in finding a supervisor with a more adequate academic profile.

Seminar participation

As a PhD/DBA student enrolled at INT you are expected to give at least three seminars to your INT colleagues. These seminars are always based on written material that you have distributed well in advance. The aim is to provide you with constructive critique and reflections for your future work. The first seminar is introductory and takes place within the first 4-6 months the program. It gives you an opportunity to present your research project to your INT colleagues and to get feedback for improvement of research questions and design. The second seminar takes place when you are halfway through the program. At this point, you should present some preliminary results from your research, typically in the form of a draft of one or more chapters from the dissertation, a working paper or an article.

The third seminar – a pre-defense - takes place 3-5 months before the final dissertation is due to be handed in. The pre-defense provides you with an opportunity to present the major findings of your research project. At this point, there can still be scope for improvement and adjustments, but the basic building blocks of your dissertation are in place.

Publication

INT encourages PhD/DBA students to publish their reflections already in the early phase of their project in working papers. Working papers are important tools for PhD/DBA students to make other researchers inside and outside the department aware of their work. It is also an opportunity for receiving critique and inspiration from others at the research center/INT. The working paper series can be used as a first step in a process towards publication in an internationally recognized journal.

Fieldwork and studies abroad

PhD/DBA students may wish to experience different work environments to gain an understanding of other research institutions. Students should consider their needs and discuss them with their supervisors. If field work can be implemented within a reasonable period of time and a realistic financial framework, it should be included in the original research program at the commencement of the study.

2. Teaching and administrative tasks

Once enrolled in the PhD program, PhD students are expected to assume teaching and/or administrative work amounting to 840 hours over the three-year period. Work obligations can be fulfilled by teaching, undergraduate and graduate project supervision, co-supervision of graduate theses, exam grading, guest lectures, case tutorials, administration, etc. This rule does not apply to DBA students and PhD students may opt out of this responsibility with the understanding that the scholarship is reduced accordingly.

The INT Department Head oversees that a preliminary schedule for the periods during which you will fulfil the work obligation is prepared within the first month of your employment at INT. This preliminary schedule represents an important component in your research plan (see above), as your teaching and administrative activities impinge on the time you have for your research project.

In practice, the working assignments are planned in collaboration between PhD students, the supervisor, the Department Head and the coordinators of the appropriate study program(s). Teaching and supervision should generally be conducted within disciplines pertaining to the dissertation to ensure synergy between research and teaching, as well as providing students with experience of leading discussions about theory and methodology in classroom settings.

3. Facilities, assistance and financial issues

At INT we seek actively to involve PhD students in professional and social activities. It is recommended that the students co-operate in study groups. In principle, the PhD Coordinator supports and encourages any effort that contribute to the embedding of PhD training and related work processes into the department’s social life and its research areas.

Stipend-based PhD students are entitled to a workplace (including a PC, a desk and chair, a telephone, and an Internet connection) at the department. If, due to technical problems, these facilities are not available right from the start, you will be informed approximately when an appropriate workplace can be established. Due to office scarcity at CBS, PhD students are expected to share office space with other researchers. If space is available PhD students will be allocated their own office.

Students can receive departmental administrative assistance for the following:

  • organization of workplace (furniture and office accessories)
  • personal introductions to the department and staff
  • applications for travel funding and field work, etc., and travel expense settlements

More comprehensive administrative tasks, such as transcribing taped interviews, or language revision and translation of working papers and conference papers, cannot be undertaken by the administrative staff. PhD students may apply to the Department Head for assistance with such tasks, but they are also strongly encouraged to seek external funding with assistance from INT administrative staff.

As financial resources are scarce, INT strongly recommends and expects that you apply for external funding in cases where you plan extended field work. The INT administration can assist you in working out budgets for such applications. The PhD group, the PhD coordinator and colleagues will assist you by pointing out relevant, external options for financing, such as funds and research councils, examples of applications, budgets and so on.

PhD students who are going to present a written paper at a conference (and have the paper published in the proceedings) can apply to Otto Mønsteds Fond to cover 50% of the costs. Applications must be handed in at least one month before the conference takes place. More information can be found at http://www.ottomoensted.dk

4. Coordinating and supervising PhD activities at INT

INT’s PhD Coordinator and Head of Department - Niels Mygind - deals with the following tasks: To stimulate the formation of research education networks and the organization of PhD courses at INT; to initiate an annual meeting of all INT PhD students and supervisors, to exchange experiences and discuss policies and practices; to generate and co-ordinate new initiatives to secure scholarships within INT's research areas; to inform potential PhD students about the research training program at INT, and advise them on project ideas and potential supervisors; and to ensure, in collaboration with INT administrative staff, that new PhD students are well informed at the beginning of their studies about departmental procedures and available facilities. As Head of Department Head – Niels Mygind - is furthermore responsible for all issues relating to the PhD Scholar’s work obligations and financial issues.


5. Completion of the PhD Program

When you have submitted your project for final assessment, INT will naturally be interested in seeing you succeed in your continuing career path, whether this involves employment at CBS or elsewhere.

Any potential position at INT will depend on available resources, whether your research area falls within the long-term strategy of the department, and finally on the quality of your research. Around one year before your completion of the program, the INT Department Head will meet to discuss potential work perspectives at the department. At that point in time, you are encouraged to make visible your qualifications to improve your chances for employment. As already indicated, you should publish articles, write working papers, and participate in seminars and conferences. Ultimately, the prospects for an academic career depend on the assessment of your PhD dissertation.


Sidst opdateret af Tina Forsingdal 18.03.2009