Doctoral Studies

EBS doctoral programme in Management aims to broaden our understanding of the world by giving deep knowledge of organisational theories and society while developing critical and analytical thinking and research skills. Upon the successful competition of the programme, one has developed the ability to make continuous and logical arguments and synthesise new ideas. PhD degree in Management offers challenges and career opportunities in the academia as well as raises one’s value on the labour market.

Programme Organisation

EBS PhD programme that focuses on the research of business, public and civil society organisations is the only doctoral programme in Management in Estonia and offers a comprehensive perspective on management and organisation studies. The programme is taught in English and has an international student body. On-going development activities and quality assurance of the programme is managed by the EBS Research and Development Council.

The total volume of the programme is 240 ECTS, of which the studies give 60 ECTS and research activity 180 ECTS. Studies consist of compulsory and elective courses, doctoral/research seminars and teaching internship. The programme curriculum serves as a guideline for doctoral students, but each student has the right and obligation to put together an individual study plan. Research of the doctoral student is carried out according to individual study plan under the guidance of a supervisor. The progress of doctoral student is evaluated yearly by the evaluation committee formed by the EBS R&D Council.

All doctoral students have an opportunity to go on exchange with the goal to pass part of their studies or conduct research in a foreign university. To exploit this opportunity is highly encouraged.

The doctoral thesis presented to apply for the doctor’s degree may be in the form of an independent thesis, a series of publications provided with the summarising review article, or a published monograph.

Compulsory courses	Research Design and Writing - Management Theories - Institutional Economics - Philosophy and Methodology of Science - Qualitative Research Methods - Quantitative Research Methods - Organization Theories: Meta-theoretical Perspectives of Traditional Theories and Alternative Views to Organizational Reality - Contemporary Paradigms of Social Science - Foundations of Teaching - Developing Teaching Skills
Elective courses	Fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis - Research in Strategy and Innovation - Logic - Knowledge Management and Intellectual Capital - Theories of Management of Organisational Changes - Ethics and Responsibility in Management - Cultural Psychology - Cost-Benefit Analysis - Systems Science - Multicriteria Decision Making Methods - Structural Equation Modeling - Values in Theory and Practice
Teaching internship	Passing the teaching internship under the supervision of a professor is compulsory for all doctoral students and it takes place at EBS. Aim of this internship is to give the doctoral students the necessary skills and experience of teaching at the university level. The volume and period of internship are set in the individual study plan.
Exchange studies	Every doctoral student at EBS has the opportunity to visit a foreign university or research institution with a goal to take courses and carry out research. Hosting institution is chosen by the doctoral student himself or with the guidance of the supervisor, and then coordinated with the home university. The goal of the exchange is to increase the circulation of knowledge and establish academic contacts. Length of the exchange can vary from one to five months.
Doctoral thesis	There are three different options for building up your doctoral thesis: Series of publications (minimum 3) with a conclusive article that is published by EBS as a dissertation. Monograph published by EBS as a dissertation. Monograph must be peer-reviewed by at least two internationally recognised and independent scholars. High-level peer-reviewed monograph published by a well-known international publisher

Routes to a PhD

There are two different “routes” to obtaining a PhD in EBS. You can either apply for a research fellow position or be admitted as an individual doctoral student. EBS also upon possibility accepts visiting PhD students.

Research fellow

To become a research fellow, you must apply for a vacant PhD position advertised on this webpage in the Call for PhDs section. Research fellow works in a research group with a specific research topic. These positions are financed either by EBS or external funding (or in a combination of both). The research fellow is thus employed by EBS but is also a student at EBS being enrolled in the PhD programme. As an employee, you are provided with a workplace, and as a student, you are offered teaching and supervision. This scholarship and position include an obligation to contribute to teaching at EBS. Duration of the employment is four years according to the nominal PhD study period.

Individual PhD student

As there are a limited number of scholarships and research fellow positions EBS also offers the possibility of becoming a PhD student as an individual or independent student. In this position, the student is affiliated with EBS as a student only and must pay tuition fee. Information about tuition fee can be found from tuition and scholarships section. The tuition fee can be funded personally or by an employer or another external funding provider. Independent students have no additional teaching obligation, but they must pass teaching internship. The requirements for enrolment as an individual student are the same as for research fellows, but as an independent student, you do not have to apply for vacant PhD position. You can, therefore, choose any research topic within the EBS research field.

Visiting PhD student

PhD students from other institutions, who wish to spend a period of study at EBS, should contact the department they wish to visit. Individual agreements may be made on supervision, participation in courses and a workplace between the student and the department. Information about visiting PhD student scholarships can be found from tuition and scholarships section.

Admission

Prerequisite for applying to the doctoral programme in Management is a master’s degree in social sciences or business administration (or an equivalent qualification). Documents can be submitted all year round, but new doctoral students are admitted once a year – in August.

Following documents must be submitted to apply:

Application form
Curriculum Vitae
university diplomas and diploma supplements
abstract of the doctoral project/proposal (for individual PhDs)
letter of motivation*
copy of a passport or ID card

*Motivation letter for the research fellow position should include a short research proposal (name of the project outlined in the call, outlined research problem, previous knowledge in the field, skills and expertise concerning research topic, research methods and data student is intended to work with).

The decision of admission is made by the EBS R&D Council based on the research focus of EBS, the motivation of the doctoral student and argumentation presented in the proposal.

Please contact doctoral@ebs.ee for any questions you may have.

Tuition & Scholarships

Doctoral students who are not applying for a research fellow position but wish to enroll as individual/independent PhD students have to pay tuition fee. The tuition fee for students is credit point-based in addition each PhD student will get a supervisor. Supervision is part of each semester fee. Outline of the semester fees: HERE.

Research fellows are exempt from tuition and employed by EBS.

Doctoral studies regulations

Principles of doctoral studies and the defence of doctoral theses

Formatting of Doctoral Theses in EBS
Evaluation Procedure of Doctoral students

ERF Scholarships

ERF Dora Plus programme

Dora Plus programme offers several research-oriented scholarships with the aim to enhance the circulation and creation of knowledge. Dora Plus programme is financed by the European Regional Development Fund. The programme offers following scholarships for master and doctoral students, and young researchers.