PhD in Management

Overview

The PhD in Management at SKEMA is a highly selective, five-year, full-time programme offering six tracks:

• Strategy and Innovation
• Finance and Accounting
• Analytics and Operations
• Marketing
• Sustainability
• Artificial Intelligence for Business

The programme tracks consist of four specialisations (Strategy and Innovation; Finance and Accounting; Analytics and Operations; Marketing) and two concentrations (Sustainability; Artificial Intelligence for Business). All coursework is common during the first year of study across all tracks. In the second year, students follow advanced specialisation-specific courses. Candidates applying to the Sustainability or AI for Business concentrations must also choose one of the four specialisations.

The programme is designed to provide doctoral students with a solid foundation in the skills and knowledge required to conduct cutting-edge theoretical and empirical research. Coursework spans the first two years of the programme and is taught entirely in English at SKEMA’s Sophia Antipolis campus. Admission to the third year is conditional upon successfully completing all required coursework and passing comprehensive examinations at the end of the second year. From the third year onwards, students may move to the SKEMA campus where their PhD advisor is located. The programme is offered on a full-time basis, and students are expected to be regularly present on campus.

Successful graduates receive a PhD degree from SKEMA Business School as well as a French state doctoral degree awarded by Université Côte d’Azur (UniCA).

SKEMA faculty members are internationally renowned scholars who regularly publish in top-tier academic journals, including Econometrica; Quarterly Journal of Economics; American Economic Review; Journal of Political Economy; Management Science; Journal of Finance; Journal of Financial Economics; Organization Science; Strategic Management Journal; Academy of Management Journal; Research Policy; MIS Quarterly; Journal of Consumer Research; European Journal of Operational Research; Mathematical Programming; Transportation Research Part E; Transportation Science. The School’s extensive seminar programmes enable students to interact with leading researchers from around the world. This vibrant research environment prepares students for the academic job market by equipping them with the skills needed to teach at top business schools and publish in leading academic journals.

The programme selects highly qualified applicants with strong research potential. Candidates are required to hold a Master’s degree in a relevant field. All admitted candidates receive full financial support, which is sufficient to cover living expenses. Tuition fees are fully waived. SKEMA also provides financial support for conference participation and visiting research stays at partner institutions.

Graduates of the programme have secured tenure-track positions at internationally renowned universities (e.g., University of Amsterdam, McGill University, Grenoble Ecole de Management) as well as highly competitive postdoctoral fellowships (e.g., at University College London, University of California, Los Angeles, and LMU Munich).

Programme Content

First Year

The first year of coursework in SKEMA’s PhD in Management programme is common across all six tracks and consists of foundational courses in core areas of management and research methods.

List of courses:

• Preliminaries (mathematics and coding)
• Philosophy of research, epistemology, and research design
• Probability and statistics
• Microeconomics
• Sociology and social psychology
• Corporate finance
• Econometrics and machine learning
• Strategy
• Theories of the firm and organisation
• Entrepreneurship
• Governance and ethics
• Foundations of artificial intelligence for management
• Foundations of sustainable development

Second Year

Second-year courses are specific to each track.

At the end of the second year, students must successfully pass comprehensive examinations in order to be eligible to continue in the programme.

Third Year and Beyond

From the third year onwards, students may relocate to the SKEMA campus where their PhD advisor is based. The third, fourth, and fifth years of the programme are primarily dedicated to doctoral thesis research and writing.

Students are integrated into the relevant SKEMA research centres and are expected to participate actively in all research activities (e.g., seminar series). They are also required to attend PhD-related events (e.g., paper development workshops) and to present their research at peer-reviewed academic conferences. Opportunities to visit partner universities relevant to the thesis topic may also be offered.

Admissions

Eligible applicants must hold both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in a related field, or be on track to complete all requirements for their master’s degree by August 2027.

The programme has one intake per year, in September.

 Applications for the 2027 intake are open across all six tracks. The application deadline is January 15, 2027, at 23:59 CET.

The application package best be submitted by e-mail as a single .zip (not .rar) file to: admissions-phd@skema.edu

The application package must include:

• A completed SKEMA PhD application form [download the form here]
• A curriculum vitae
• A cover letter explaining the applicant’s motivation for joining the PhD programme
• Copies of the applicant’s bachelor’s and master’s diplomas. Applicants who are still completing their master’s degree must instead provide a letter from the degree-granting institution confirming their enrolment and expected completion date.
• Proof of English-language proficiency (e.g., TOEFL or IELTS scores, or evidence that a previous bachelor’s or master’s degree was taught in English)
• A research proposal of no more than five pages demonstrating the applicant’s ability to conduct academic research in a relevant field. The proposal is used solely to evaluate the application; admitted students are not required to pursue the research proposed in their application.

GRE and GMAT scores are not required but are encouraged. If you take either test, please include a copy of your score report in your application package.

Please do not include recommendation letters in your application package or ask your recommenders to send them directly. The SKEMA PhD application form asks you to provide the names and contact details of your recommenders. We will contact them directly to request letters when required. Only letters submitted in response to an official request from SKEMA will be considered in the evaluation process. Recommenders will be asked to submit their letters no later than January 20, 2027.

For any questions not addressed on this website, please contact the PhD programme Director, Professor Zakaria Babutsidze at zakaria.babutsidze@skema.edu. 

Fees and financing

Tuition fees for the PhD in Management programme are set at €99,750 for the full five-year duration.

Students admitted on a competitive basis receive tuition waiver and funding from SKEMA Business School in the form of the employment contract for the duration of five years (subject to meeting programme requirements).