Overview

The Ph.D. programme in Management is a four-year, full-time international programme that offers specialization in two tracks: "Management" and "Accounting, Banking, and Finance"

The Ph.D. programme offers candidates a broad and interdisciplinary education in the fields of business, management, and finance. It provides them with strong theoretical foundations in social sciences and a thorough knowledge of research methods applied to management and financial problems.

The Ph.D. programme offers specialization in two tracks: "Management" and "Accounting, Banking, and Finance". Ph.D. students must select their preferred track during the first year depending on their research interests. Each track offers dedicated courses that help Ph.D. students build strong methodological and theoretical foundations in their respective research fields.

Ph.D. students are required to have full-time status, attend mandatory and elective courses, participate in research activities, and present their works at research seminars and academic conferences. All courses are in English, and our Ph.D. students are immersed in an international research environment, wherein several seminars, workshops, and courses are organized with the participation of internationally renowned scholars. 

During their Ph.D. journey, Ph.D. students are required to spend a visiting period abroad of at least 6 months at a university that fits their research interests. Ph.D. students can attend courses and seminars offered by the hosting university, work alongside internationally renowned scholars, and develop research collaborations for their thesis. To fund their visiting period abroad, Ph.D. students can benefit from an increase in their gross scholarship amount and/or apply for the Unibo "Marco Polo" scholarship. 

Some of the universities that have hosted visiting students from our Ph.D. programme include, but are not limited to: the Carnegie Mellon University, Cass Business School (City University London), Copenhagen Business School, Haas School of Business, HEC Paris, Imperial College London, Indian Institute of Management, INSEAD, London Business School, Kellogg School of Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Northwestern University, Stern School of Business (New York University), Texas A&M University, Tuck School of Business, University of California (Berkeley), University of Edinburgh, University of Chicago, University of Michigan, and the Wharton Business School. 

Most of our doctoral graduates have been employed as post-docs and faculty members in top universities worldwide and have received best paper awards at several conferences. Their research outcomes have been published in top international journals, including the Academy of Management Journal, Administrative Science Quarterly, Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, Journal of Banking and Finance, Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Business Venturing, Journal of Marketing, Journal of Management Studies, Marketing Science, Organization Science, Psychological Science, Research Policy, Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal, Strategic Management Journal, and many others.

The Ph.D. programme benefits from close relations with the Bologna Business School (BBS), which offers Ph.D. students the opportunity to be part of an international community of post-graduate and executive master students, get in contact with practitioners, and attend talks given by internationally renowned managers and entrepreneurs.

The Ph.D. programme has established several joint degree/supervision agreements with international universities throughout the years, especially through the "Una Europa – European University Alliance".