Practical information
Type of programme
Full time
Duration
5 years
Tuition fees
Contact us
Location
Lille (France), Paris (France), Sophia Antipolis (France)
Language
English
Start date(s)
September
Admission level
Master degree
Degree
Doctoral
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; Operations and Analytics; 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 as their primary track.
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; 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).
Program content
The Finance and Accounting specialisation of the PhD in Business Administration at SKEMA is designed to provide doctoral students with a solid education in fields needed to carry out cutting-edge research. Our students first take strong core courses from the PhD qualifying year programme of our partner Université Paris Dauphine-PSL, followed by field courses taught by our top-notch scholars that regularly publish in top-tier academic journals.
Our vibrant seminars and conferences organised by the FAIRR Research Centre enable students to meet other top researchers from around the world. Students also participate (as presenters and discussants) in the International Accounting & Finance Doctoral Symposium (IAFDS) run in partnership with leading institutions from Europe, China, and Australia. This lively research environment prepares students for the academic job market by providing them with an excellent network experience and the skills to publish in leading academic journals.
Successful graduates will receive a PhD. degree from SKEMA Business School and a French state doctoral degree from the Université Côte d'Azur (UniCA). The programme selects highly qualified applicants with strong research potential and motivation. Candidates should hold a master's degree (or be close to completion).
Programme structure
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The first year is currently being restructured.
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To continue the PhD program from the second year, students must succeed in the PhD Qualifying Year Program.
Students move to the campus of their supervisors (Paris, Lille, or Sophia-Antipolis) to ensure close interaction and supervision of their PhD thesis.
Students will take several advanced field courses, including corporate governance, entrepreneurial finance, mergers and acquisitions, and banking.
Students must attend the seminars of the FAIRR Research Center. They are also expected to present their research work in (peer-reviewed) academic conferences, including the International Accounting & Finance Doctoral Symposium (IAFDS) run in partnership with leading institutions from Europe, China, and Australia.
Scientific committee
Rafael Matta (Director of the specialisation)
Helen Bollaert
Roland Königsgruber
Florencio Lopez-de-Silanes
Armin Schwienbacher
Fabio Bertoni
Wan Ni Lai
Veronika Czellar
Laurent-Emmanuel Calvet
The Management specialization of the Ph.D. in Business Administration at SKEMA is a selective, four-year, full-time program. The specialisation is designed to provide doctoral students with a solid education in areas needed to carry out cutting-edge management research. Successful graduates will receive a Ph.D. degree from SKEMA Business School and a French state doctoral degree from the Université Côte d'Azur (UniCA). All the courses and seminars are held in English.
Our faculty members are top-notch scholars of the international research community and publish regularly in top-tier academic journals. The main research areas of our faculty are Strategy, Innovation, Entrepreneurship, Organization, Sustainability, and AI for business. Our seminar series is very rich and enables students to meet other top researchers from around the world. This lively research environment prepares students for the academic job market by providing them with the skills necessary to teach in top business schools and publish in leading academic journals.
The program selects highly qualified and motivated applicants with strong research potential who have the ambition to make scholarly contributions to their chosen fields. Candidates should hold a master’s degree (or be close to completion). All candidates are supported by a combination of scholarships and appointments as research assistants. The financial support is competitive. Tuition fees are waived. SKEMA also provides financial support for conferences and visiting stays at other research institutions.
Since SKEMA is a multi-campus business school, accepted candidates will be located on the campus of their supervisor. However, the first-year courses mainly take place on our Sophia Antipolis campus.
The next call for Ph.D. students’ recruitment will be posted in January 2025 for the September 2025 intake.
For any information about the program please write an email to admissions-phd@skema.edu.
Programme Structure
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Our first-year students attend a number of methodological and field courses. Please see the table below for the list of courses offered in the current academic year (the course list may change). As for methodological courses, students attend both quantitative and qualitative courses. As for the field courses, students mostly focus on strategy, innovation, entrepreneurship, and organization theory courses.
During the first year, PhD students will be assigned to a supervisor based on their research interests and affiliated with a research centre. Students need to attend the research seminars of their respective research centres. Students will also be required to write a detailed research proposal that will be defended at the end of the first year.
Retake exams will be organized at the end of the first academic year to allow first-year students to retake failed exams. There is no retake for the research proposal.
Courses
- Econometrics I (40 hours)
- Research Design (20 hours)
- Economic theories of the firm (20 hours)
- Corporate strategy (24 hours)
- Knowledge Base and Innovation (24 hours)
- Qualitative research methods (20 hours)
- Introduction to Experiments (10 hours)
- Organization theories (24 hours)
- Entrepreneurship (20 hours)
- Strategic management (20 hours)
- Advanced topics in management research (24 hours)
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To enter the second year, students must have obtained at least a B- in each course (corresponding to a grade of at least 70%) and a successful defense of the student's research proposal (end of the first year). Students who fail these requirements are not allowed to enter the second year and thus cannot re-register in September unless approved by the Scientific Committee.
During the second year, students will take an advanced course on econometrics, which is focused on causal inference. Students will start to work on their thesis. Students need to continue attending the research seminars of their respective research centers.
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The third and fourth years are dedicated to the writing of the doctoral thesis. Students will also need to attend PhD-related events, like the SKEMA KTO Paper Development Workshop. Students are expected to present their work in peer-reviewed academic conferences (like, for example, the Academy of Management, the Strategic Management Society, Druid, and EGOS).
Students may be offered the opportunity to visit a partner university. Students need to continue attending the research seminars of their respective research centers.
Governance
Scientific Committee
The purpose of the Scientific Committee is to manage the program's evolution and innovation. The members of the scientific committee are:
- Francesca Melillo (Director of the specialization)
- Saverio Favaron
- Ambra Mazzelli
- Barbara Ribeiro
Advisory Board
The purpose of the Advisory board is to provide recommendations to the Scientific Committee on the Ph.D. strategy.
- Filippo Carlo Wezel (USI Lugano)
- Ludovic Dibiaggio (SKEMA Business School)
- Renata Kaminska (SKEMA Business School)
- Eva Niesten (SKEMA Business School)
- Margherita Pagani (SKEMA Business School)
- Bernard Sinclair –Desgagné (SKEMA Business School)
- Diego Zunino (SKEMA Business School)
The Artificial Intelligence in Operations Management specialisation is characterised by the use of artificial intelligence and a set of mathematical tools to solve a broad range of complex problems in management sciences. Examples of areas of application include transportation, logistics, supply chain management, energy, and scheduling, among others.
Students are expected to learn, to develop and to apply techniques from the domains of data science, machine learning, optimisation, and simulation to provide decision-support tools to tackle problems that are often cast in uncertain environments. The programme has experts in the areas of operations research, operations management, information systems, and management science.
Programme Structure
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This specialisation no longer takes in new students.
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In the subsequent years (2nd, 3rd, and 4th years), students will be situated in one of the French campuses of SKEMA (Lille, Paris, or Sophia Antipolis).
They will work on their thesis jointly with both supervisors from SKEMA and KU Leuven. Important points:- Students will participate actively in the scientific workshops and seminars organized at either institution insofar as these are relevant to the research carried out and at the discretion of the joint supervisors.
- Students are expected to submit conference papers at peer-reviewed academic conferences and high-impact journals in the field.
- At SKEMA, the progress of the thesis will be evaluated by a scientific committee each year.
- At KU Leuven, the student must defend his/her progress in two scientific research seminars (at the end of the second and the third year).
- Students will be under contract with SKEMA for the duration of three years (years 2, 3, and 4).
- Students are expected to publish at least one scientific article in a peer-reviewed journal before defending their thesis.
- In the final year, doctoral students will defend their thesis in English with a jury composed of researchers from SKEMA and KU Leuven, as well as external researchers from other institutions. A double PhD degree will be awarded after a successful defense.
Scientific committee
Bernardo Pagnoncelli
Xavier Brusset
Morteza Davari
Aïda Jebali
David Rey
Admissions
Fees and financing
Financial support
Accepted students receive funding from SKEMA Business School for four years. We also provide financial support for conference presentations.
In the first year, students receive a scholarship. In the second, third, and fourth years, students are financed by a combination of teaching and research assistantships.
The financial support is competitive.
