Doctoral programmes
Programme
Professional PhD
The Professional PhD at SKEMA is a flexible three-year programme designed to train scholars who can bridge academia and industry.
Practical information
Type of programme
Full time
Duration
3 years
Tuition fees
€79,800
Location
Sophia Antipolis (France)
Language
English
Start date(s)
Rolling basis
Admission level
Master degree
Degree
Doctoral
Overview
The Professional PhD is primarily designed for doctoral candidates funded under the CIFRE framework. The programme may, in exceptional cases, admit candidates without CIFRE funding, subject to specific conditions. Convention Industrielle de Formation par la Recherche (CIFRE) is a French doctoral funding scheme that allows a PhD student to conduct research jointly within a company and a university or research lab.
The programme is tailored to meet the needs of the corporate partner. Compared with the PhD in Management, the Professional PhD offers more flexible coursework to facilitate effective collaboration between the student, SKEMA, and the partner organisation.
It provides doctoral students with rigorous training in the skills and knowledge required to conduct high-impact applied research with the corporate partner. Coursework is delivered entirely in English at SKEMA’s Sophia Antipolis campus. The programme is offered on a part-time basis, tailored to the corporate partner’s needs.
Academic excellence, corporate impact
Successful graduates are awarded both a Professional PhD degree from SKEMA Business School and a French state doctoral degree conferred by Université Côte d’Azur (UniCA).
SKEMA’s faculty members are internationally renowned scholars who publish in leading academic journals and collaborate with organisations such as Renault, Saint-Gobain, and Square Management. The business school’s research centres and Chairs enable students to interact with leading researchers and corporate experts. This research environment prepares students to bridge academia and the corporate world.
The programme seeks highly qualified applicants whose research demonstrates strong potential for impact. Candidates must hold a Master’s degree in a relevant field. As the programme's primary admission pathway, CIFRE candidates receive funding from the Association Nationale de la Recherche et de la Technologie (ANRT) and the corporate partner. Tuition fees are fully waived, and SKEMA may also provide financial support for conference participation.
Programme management
We have created the Professional PhD to integrate original research with organisational challenges. The programme is designed to produce generalisable knowledge with the potential for impact in organisations and society.
Programme content
To be enrolled in the Professional PhD and benefit from a tuition waiver, students must have obtained a CIFRE scholarship. Professional PhD students are expected to spend 50% of their time working on their PhD at SKEMA and 50% of their time working on their PhD with the corporate partner.
The coursework follows the requirements of the relevant École Doctorale (ED) in which the candidate is registered. For ED-DESPEG, this corresponds to 90 hours over three years.
Candidates may also take selected methodology courses from SKEMA’s PhD in Management programme. They are expected to begin working on their dissertation in the first year with their PhD supervisor and the corporate partner.
Students are affiliated with the research centre of their supervisor at SKEMA. They are expected to participate in research activities (e.g., seminar series) and present their research at peer-reviewed academic conferences. Opportunities to visit partner universities relevant to the thesis topic may also be offered conditionally, on approval from the corporate partner.
Admissions
Admission to the Professional PhD is primarily reserved for CIFRE-funded candidates, and the programme calendar aligns accordingly with the CIFRE appointment process. A limited number of non-CIFRE candidates may be admitted on an exceptional basis, subject to approval.
Tuition Fees
Tuition fees for the Professional PhD in Management programme are set at €79,800 for the full three-year duration. SKEMA waives all tuition fees for CIFRE-funded students. Specific tuition conditions apply to the rare exceptions admitted outside the CIFRE scheme.
Contact us
Please reach out to us at the email address below if you have any questions.
professional.phd@skema.edu
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