Overview

The official welcome of the Ph.D. candidates at the Department of Management takes place around the last week of October in Bologna. In our first meeting, we socialize candidates with the facilities of the Department, we present the courses, the deadlines, and explain the rules to which students must comply. The faculty and the candidates of years two, three and four are engaged in welcoming the first-year candidates.

During the first year Ph.D. candidates attend introductory courses on research methods and on theoretical foundations in Management. During this year, Ph.D. candidates have also the opportunity to choose between two tracks: one in Management and the other in Accounting,Banking and Finance. From the very beginning, each Ph.D. candidate is assigned an academic mentor - a faculty member - whose role is to provide research guidance. The Ph.D teaching assistant is also be available to all Doctoral candidates to provide general assistance and support on teaching and organizational issues.

The first year ends with the completion of the summer paper, a conceptual and/or empirical paper that should be submitted for a conference presentation.

During the second year Ph.D. candidates continue their training by taking elective courses offered by the faculty of the Department of Management or by the School of Management and Economics of the University of Bologna. Upon authorisation of the coordinator of the programme, elective courses can be substituted with summer schools and/or other graduate or post-graduate courses.

Starting from the second year and up to the fourth, each student can benefit from a 10% increase of the yearly scholarship for research mobility (e.g. attend conferences, summer schools, etc.).

During the second half of the second year, each Ph.D. candidate is required to give at least two Department presentations open to the Ph.D. Committee, the fellow candidates and the faculty of the Department of Management:
- The first seminar is the pre-proposal presentation (20’ presentation and 25’ Q&A);
- The second seminar is the presentation of the dissertation proposal; (30’ presentation and 15’ Q&A);
- The third seminar is a re-presentation of the proposal (only for those who fail in the previous deadline)

Additional presentations before completion of the second year might be required by the Ph.D. committee to approve the dissertation proposal. A positive evaluation is necessary to be admitted to the third year.

During the third and the fourth year, Ph.D. candidates carry on their work on the dissertation. The dissertation can take the form of a monograph or of three essays.

Candidates are guided by the Ph.D. thesis committee which includes the main supervisor and two other (internal or external) faculty members. The main supervisor coordinates with the other supervisors and reports to the Ph.D. coordinator.

The Ph.D. board approves the dissertation on the basis of the recommendation of the Ph.D. thesis committee, which assesses the originality, quality and potential for publication.

A positive evaluation is necessary to be admitted to the fourth year.

The candidate submits a complete first draft of the dissertation to the Ph.D. thesis committee.

The Ph.D. thesis committee reports to the Ph.D. board commenting on the state of the dissertation and suggesting possible changes that are still needed.

Once the final version of the dissertation is ready, the Ph.D. coordinator and the Ph.D. thesis committee identify the doctoral jury for the Ph.D defense.

Candidates are awarded of their Ph.D. degree the day of their defense.