part time phd and work

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• Part-time PhD programme | study & research as you work

September 2024

New knowledge for your business

New knowledge from research is always needed in business. Sometimes, the best person to carry out that research is you. 

Business professionals interested in further developing their academic skills while researching their own business activity or industry can now take part in academic study and research at the same time as working. This new six year programme leads to a PhD degree from Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University (RSM).

RSM’s Part-time PhD Programme in Management (PT PhD) started in September 2015. It has the academic rigour of a full-time PhD degree, and produces new and practical knowledge that can be absolutely relevant to your particular area of business.

A programme of theoretical foundations as well as a strong methodological basis organised into manageable modules

Supervision and coaching by RSM’s top research faculty

Access to RSM’s excellent research facilities, electronic journals and databases, as well as its world-class conference events and research seminars

Programme details

Joining the part-time phd programme at rsm gives you.

• access to cutting-edge research in a vibrant academic community
• the opportunity to publish parts of your PhD thesis in top international managerial or academic journals, and present your work at scientific conferences
• an internationally recognised PhD degree from one of Europe’s leading business schools resulting in prestige in both the corporate and scientific worlds
• a range of specialisations that reflect important and widely-applicable topics in business and industry such as logistics and information systems, strategy and entrepreneurship, marketing, finance and accounting, and organisation and leadership
• a large and highly active international network of alumni and corporate relations

Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University (RSM) is a leading European business school, ranked consistently among the top three business schools in Europe for research and 17th worldwide. RSM provides ground-breaking research and education furthering excellence in all aspects of management and is based in the international port city of Rotterdam – a vital nexus of business, logistics and trade. RSM’s primary focus is on developing business leaders with international careers who carry their innovative mindset into a sustainable future thanks to a first-class range of bachelor, master, MBA, PhD and executive programmes. RSM also has an office in Chengdu, China.  Highlights of RSM’s cutting-edge research in business and management can be found at  www.rsm.nl/discovery .

The five- to six-year programme has eight modules, each of three or four consecutive days based in Rotterdam. They cover a broad range of theoretical foundations and practical skills. All modules are taught in English. Your PhD thesis will also be written in English, according to international academic standards.

Programme schedule

• Year one: four residential modules cover research methods, skills and foundations, and writing your research proposal
• Year two: a residential module covering field-specific specialisations, master classes, and a ‘back to campus’ module for PhD candidates to present their work.
• Years three and four: a ‘back to campus’ module
• Year five and six:  ongoing writing of the dissertation

Module 1.1        30 September - 4 October 2024

• Kick Off - Introduction PT PhD Programme & ERIM
• Philosophy of Science 1 – Dr. Conrad Heilmann & Dr. Frederik van de Putte
• Integrity in Research – Prof.Dr. Marius van Dijke
• Engaged Research – Prof.dr. Frank Wijen

Module 1.2        9 - 13 December 2024

• Intro to Econometrics – Prof.dr. Marno Verbeek
• Intro to Causal Inference – Dr. Zhiyan Wu
• Individual Research Inspiration: Meeting with supervisors & department
• Alternative quant approaches – Dr. Richard Haans

Module 1.3        19 - 23 May 2025

• Proposal Development Day
• Proposal Reflection & Feedback Day
• Intro to Qual Methods – Dr. Bex Hewett
• Philosophy of Science 2 – Dr. Conrad Heilmann & Dr. Frederik van de Putte

ONLINE courses

• Systematic Literature Review – Prof.dr. Finn Wynstra
• Finding scholarly literature and data – Judith Gulpers & Rob Grim
• Introduction to Academic Writing – Dr. Luke Fiske
• Workshop Research Data Management – Dr. Paolo Rossini

Module 2.1        18 - 22 November 2024

• Developing Argumentative Writing – Dr. Conrad Heilmann & Dr. Frederik van de Putte
• Developing Theory and Theoretical Contributions  Prof.dr. Joep Cornelissen
• Academic Presentation Skills – Prof.dr. Hannes Leroy

Module 2.2        14 - 17 April 2025

• Writing the front end of a paper – Prof.dr Daan van Knippenberg
• Research Day
• Advanced Qual Research – Dr. Jochem Kroezen
• Advanced Quant Research – Dr. Caroline Witte

Module 3.1        14 - 17 April 2025

• Publication Strategy – Dr. Conrad Heilmann & Dr. Frederik van de Putte
• Presentation Skills – Julie Johnson

Module 4.1        14 - 17 April 2025

• Academics and preacademics – Dr. Bex Hewett
• Effective Paper Revision – Prof.dr. Taco Reus
• Science and Society – Dr. Conrad Heilmann

For admission to the Part-time PhD programme at RSM, you must

• be in a relevant discipline with a strong interest in research, willing to combine the Part-time PhD Programme with your full-time or part-time job.
• have a strong interest in research and proven track record that includes excellent study results, or writing and publishing white papers, articles or other work.
• hold an MSc degree in a relevant discipline. If you hold an MBA and have written an MBA thesis to complete it, you may be eligible for the programme as well. 
• have proof of proficiency in English (see below)

In addition to these formal requirements, candidates will be selected according to excellence. Your CV, motivation, research ideas, and if applicable, your reference from your future supervisor or supervisors will be taken into consideration.

The Admissions Committee may also ask you to take a GMAT test as part of the evaluation process.

RSM requires that candidates whose native language is not English have to submit scores of the TOEFL/IETLS test. RSM requires a TOEFL score of at least 100 on the internet-based test and 600 on the paper-based test. For the IELTS, the minimum overall band score required by RSM and ESE is 7.5; furthermore, the language test results should not be older than 2 years. If you are a native English speaker, or if the language of instruction of your entire university education (bachelor and master programme) was English, you may apply for a TOEFL/IELTS waiver.

The programme fee is € 10,000 per year for the first two years, € 7,000 for year 3 and 4, and  € 6,000 for each subsequent year, up to a maximum of €46,000.

These costs cover your admission to courses, tuition, coaching and supervision, your access to RSM’s research facilities, the cost of design, layout and printing for your PhD thesis, and the support of our communications team, for example to publicise your research findings to the corporate world and appropriate media.

A small number of tuition fee waivers will be considered in exceptional situations, where academically excellent candidates are not able to financially sustain program participation from their own resources. Waivers are granted for the duration of one year only. Decisions on the continuation of grants are taken on an annual basis and are contingent on study progress, need for financial support, and available budget.

Candidates who wish to apply for a tuition fee waiver need to indicate this during their application or, for enrolled candidates, at least two months prior to start of the academic year. Waiver requests need to accompanied by a credible demonstration of financial necessity. This includes evidence of own income and the impossibility to obtain external financial support, such as a contribution from the employer or a research scholarship.

The application deadline for the 2024 round of our programme has passed. We will not accept any more applications. We would like to invite you to apply for next year’s cohort in January 2025.

Please have a look at our PhD project descriptions structured by research areas which you can find  here . Applications can be submitted in our application portal which will open on January 15 th  2025 and closes on the 15th of March 2025. An application should consist of the following documents:

• A motivation letter that refers to a research area specified in  our open projects . Please sketch your background, research idea and intended research approach, and clearly relate it to one or several of the topics described in the research area of your choice. The additional submission of a research proposal is optional (see point “proof of writing” below).
• A brief research statement (one page suffices) in which you outline the type of research questions that you intend to study and the type of methodologies that you intend to employ. You may broadly sketch your interests or be specific about concrete research questions that you envision answering. You may also explain whether (or not) you intend to utilize data from your current employer and/or work on research questions related to your current profession.
• A proof of writing in English language. The purpose of this document is to demonstrate that you are capable of writing academic texts in English. This can be, for example, a chapter of your Msc or MBA thesis, a paper, or a research proposal for your intended research.
• Proof of English, i.e. the results of a TOEFL or IELTS test not older than two years
• BSc  and  MSc or MBA diploma + grade lists (for both)
• Curriculum Vitae
• Optional: if you have already been in contact with RSM faculty who would be willing to supervise you if you are accepted to the program, please add a letter of recommendation from your intended promotor at RSM
• The statement that you cannot pay the tuition fees from own resources
• A summary of other funding opportunities (e.g., employer contribution, scholarships outside of RSM etc) that you have explored so far

The Admissions Committee may also ask you to take a GMAT test and/or to submit additional documents as part of the evaluation process.

A research proposal is a written ‘plan’ for the research that you want to conduct as a PhD student.

Most research proposals start by briefly sketching the  broader context  in which your research is embedded and by highlighting its relevance.

A good research proposal, however, then manages to narrow down the focus to one or several approachable  research questions : these are the questions that you plan to answer in your research.

Thirdly, your research proposal should give insight into the  methodology  that you plan to use, that is, you explain how you plan to answer your research question. This includes data collection and access. If you have access to data or information, due to your day job or network, that will help you in answering your research questions, you can mention this in your methodology.

Fourthly, in your research proposal you demonstrate that you are aware of the state of the academic literature regarding your research topic, and, if it is practice-related, of the state of the art in practice. You do that by including  a literature review  and  a review of practice .

In summary, a good research proposal shows that:

• you have relevant and innovative ideas about your research topic;
• you know and understand what is already known and have identified a ‘gap’;
• you aim to address with your research;
• you have an executable plan;
• you are the right person to execute it.

Towards the end of the first year of the part-time PhD programme, we expect all PhD candidates to have a good research proposal.

During your application to the programme, you can attach a research proposal as ‘proof of English writing’ but it is not required. If your research ideas are not yet concrete enough to write a good research proposal, it is sufficient to sketch them in your cover letter and attach a different document as proof of English writing (for example a Master or MBA thesis, a report, or a paper).

Please be aware that acceptance to the programme does not imply ‘acceptance of the research proposal’. Most likely your supervisory team will challenge you to improve and change it during the first year in the programme.

In general, a research proposal is never ‘set in stone’. Research plans may and will change while the research progresses (also after the submission of the proposal at the end of programme year 1). 

Rotterdam School of Management, RSM University hosts approximately 100 Part-Time PhD candidates from a great variety of professional and academic backgrounds. If you are curious about their motivations and experiences, read their testimonials in the “Testimonials” section. 

Would you like to become one of the new candidates, starting in September 2025? See our admission criteria in the “Admission” section and find out how to apply in the “How to apply?” section.

Find all current Part-Time PhD candidates in each of the following departments below.

A&C: Accounting and Control

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BSM: Business Society Management

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The investment gap in the energy transition: Nudging the most relevant energy players amidst the trade-offs within Sustainable Development Goals nexus

Energy transition to meet the Paris climate goal requires a doubling of current rate of investment in global energy sector throughout its chain, which means there is an estimated of ±$2 trillion of investment gap per year. Shifting existing investment, e.g. from fossil to renewables, is far from suffice.  These investments need to take place at the right place (high-energy demand and high population growth centers), at the right time (now), and at the right scale (exponentially more than current rate). This research project will assess the energy investment regimes in the top ten most populous countries in 2030. These countries account for almost 60% of global population in 2030, and nine of them are developing countries who will still grow their energy consumption for the coming decades. Investment decisions in the energy sector in these countries today will dictate the course, path and pace of the global energy transition.

This research intends to better understand the clarity of the destination and the credibility of the energy transition pathways as a wicked problem. It aims to provide a “reality check” of the energy transition journey as part of the SDG’s decade of action, and examine among others:

• To what extent the business models and investment regimes in the most populous countries support or hamper energy transition investment decisions?, and
• What framework can investors who are motivated to contribute to energy transition use in navigating this highly ambiguous and wicked landscape?

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The Effect of Civil Society - Government Relations on Welfare: Longitudinal Study

I am researching the dynamics of Jewish Philanthropy in the 18th-19th centuries in the Netherlands. This is done by looking into the relationship between civil society and government. The main theories for studying this relationship are those of Salamon [1995] and Young [2000]. A historical case study of over 200 years will be analysed focussing on legitimacy [Suchman] and proper governance. The research incorporates digital humanities platforms and tools to work more efficiently with the archival data.

This research is intended to enable an improved, more detailed understanding of long term variations in mutual influence patterns and power relations between civil society and government. The conceptual insights could also be relevant for similar modern case studies. 

Nonprofit-government relations, welfare, longitudinal research, qualitative research, regulations, Jewish history, digital humanities, legitimacy, proper governance, pekidim and amarkalim

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Jop Versteegt is a part-time PhD student in Management at RSM’s Department of Business-Society Management.

The main research question in his PhD is: Can moral and ethical decision making in organizations be improved by using a normative ethical decision framework? And can AI also contribute to this?  

In more detail; is using a normative ethical decision framework useful to answer moral and ethical questions more in-depth? Or is a answering without a framework even successful? And is the design of the framework depending on availability of time, experience, and purpose? 

The research themes are divided in four parts: 

Part 1: A review of normative ethical decision making frameworks A literature research study on existing ethical decision making  frameworks or even ones still under development. What is the academic fundament for these models? What differentiates them from each other? The result is an insight into the various publications on normative ethical decision making frameworks and if applicable the empirical research on the models.

Part 2: The effectiveness of normative ethical decision making frameworks Theory vs practice (application of models vs intuitive decision-making). Empirical research will be done on the use of different decision frameworks in live situations. This is most likely one of the most challenging and interesting parts of the research. What actually happens in practice?

Part 3: Toward a new type of normative ethical decision making framework Testing the applicability of the updated framework. Based on the first two parts of the research we can continue to test new possibilities. A new developed or updated decision framework or frameworks will be tested. 

Part 4: The added value of AI to a normative ethical decision making framework The final part is extending to the research in the field of AI. Can AI-Robots add value by their analysing skills in improving our moral and ethical decision making? In case the earlier sub-studies show that there is added value to use a normative ethical decision making framework, we could continue to see where AI can provide support on the framework. Which aspects can AI add on increasing data analysis and thus further improvement / optimization of our the results of our decision framework? Or can AI even take over parts of the decision framework so focus is only necessary on that specific part which cannot be done by AI-Robots.

See for more info: www.jopversteegt.com  

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Dial +31 (0) 10 408 8038

+31 (0) 10 408 8038

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Florian Madertoner is a Lecturer at the Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University. He holds a degree in Banking- and Finance. Florian’s research interests include Capital Structure Theory, Behavioral Finance and the Economic History. He is responsible for the course “Economics” in the bachelor study programs International Business Administration and Business Administration. In addition, Florian teaches “Corporate Finance” and supervises bachelor theses in both programs. In the master program Finance & Investment Florian supervises Master theses. Florian teaches the elective “Finance for Communication Professionals” in the executive master program Corporate Communication as well as the executive training “Finance for Non-Financials”. 

He has been awarded multiple awards for his teaching activities: the "Professor of the Year Award" eight years consecutively from 2016 to 2023 for his undergrad course “Corporate Finance” in the programs IBA and BA. In 2020 Florian has also been awarded the “Professor of the Year Award” for his course “Economics” in the IBA program as well an award for “Best Adaptation to the Coronavirus Situation”.  In 2023 a new category was introduced ‘Best Course Award’ in which he won the awards for his undergrad course “Corporate Finance” in the programs IBA and BA. 

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Private equity, venture capital, private capital, government policy, historical research, mixed methods.

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OPM: Organisation and Personnel Management

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Björn is an educator, facilitator and leadership expert. For more than 20 years he has worked with large organizations across the world to create novel and impactful approaches for developing strategy, organizations and individuals.

His research interests reside in the intersection of psychological functioning and organizational performance.

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S&E: Strategic Management and Entrepreneurship

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Alexander is a part-time PhD candidate at the Department of Strategic Management & Entrepreneurship and is working in technology management in the energy industry. The focus of his research is around technology adoptions as well as to what extent goal conflicts and managerial power influence innovation in large organizations.

Publications:

Schmidt, A., Mom, T.J.M. & Volberda, H.W. (2023). Factors Influencing Technology Adoption in a Traditional Multinational Energy Company. Research-Technology Management , Vol. 66:5, p.36-43. doi.org/10.1080/08956308.2023.2235535

Schmidt, A., Ahmadi, S. & Mom, T.J.M. (2022). Can Multiple Goal Conflicts Affect the Innovative Behavior of Employees?. Academy of Management Annual Meeting Proceedings, Vol. 2022 No. 1, doi.org/10.5465/AMBPP.2022.17466abstract

Conferences:

Schmidt, A., Mom, T.J.M., & Volberda, H.W. (2024). An Interactional Perspective of Power and Absorptive Capacity – The Formation of Virtuous and Vicious Power Cycles between Leaders and Employees. AMJ Paper Development Workshop, IMD Business School, Lausanne, Switzerland.

Ahmadi, S., & Schmidt, A. (2024). Multiple goal conflicts and exploratory innovative behavior: Does alignment between team and organization help or hurt? Paper Development Workshop at the Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management (AoM), Chicago, US.

Schmidt, A., Mom, T.J.M., & Volberda, H.W. (2024). An Interactional Perspective of Power and Absorptive Capacity – The Formation of Virtuous and Vicious Power Cycles between Leaders and Employees. European Academy of Management (EURAM), Bath, UK.

Ahmadi, S., & Schmidt, A. (2023). Multiple goal conflicts and exploratory innovative behavior: Does alignment between team and organization help or hurt? Paper Development Workshop at the Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management (AoM), Boston, US.

Ahmadi, S., Schmidt, A., Mom, T.J.M., & Volberda, H.W. (2023). Multiple goal conflicts and exploratory innovative behavior: Does alignment between team and organization help or hurt?     European Group for Organizational Studies (EGOS), Cagliari, Italy.

Schmidt, A., Ahmadi, S., & Mom, T.J.M. (2022). Can multiple goal conflicts affect the innovative behaviour of employees? The Moderating Impact of Paradox Mindset and Top-Management-Team Alignment in a Multilevel Study. Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management (AoM), Seattle, US.

Schmidt, A., Ahmadi, S., Volberda, H.W. & Mom, T.J.M. (2022). Can paradox mindset help reducing tensions once employees encounter conflicts between multiple operational goals? The moderating effects of paradox mindset and top-management-team alignment. European Group for Organizational Studies (EGOS), Vienna, Austria.

Schmidt, A., Ahmadi, S., Volberda, H.W. & Mom, T.J.M. (2022). Can multiple goal conflicts affect the innovative behaviour? The Moderating Impact of Paradox Mindset and Top-Management-Team Alignment in a Multilevel Study.  European Academy of Management (EURAM), Winterthur, Switzerland.

Schmidt, A., Mom, T.J.M. & Volberda (2021).  A Process Model of Technology Adoption Speed for Mature Organizations: How Organizational Speed influences Technology Adoption. RSM Research Days, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.

Schmidt, A., Mom, T.J.M. & Volberda (2021). A Process Model of Technology Adoption Speed for Mature Organizations: How Organizational Speed influences Technology Adoption. International Society for Professional Innovation Management (ISPIM), Berlin, Germany.

Alex graduated with an MPhil in Engineering from Cambridge University (2013) and an MSc in Energy Economics from RWTH Aachen University (2011).

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TOM: Technology and Operation Management

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Find out why our current participants are enthusiastic about the Part-time PhD programme in the "PhD candidates." 

Would you like to become one of the new candidates, starting in September 2021? See our admission criteria in the "Admission & Tuition" section and find out how to apply in the "How to apply?" section. 

Why did you choose the RSM part-time PhD program?

I chose the RSM part-time PhD program because I want to be part of the RSM mission to be a force for positive change in the world having an impact in society through business research.

The RSM part-time PhD program is a great opportunity to combine my executive activity with top notch research abilities, the program is designed to suit the agenda of active executives. The quality and support of all the professors, of the supervisory team and the program coordinators inspires and effectively guides the PhD process.

What do you like about the program?

I like how the RSM part-time PhD program has challenged my skills and views. This program gives me a structured approach to top quality research and reignites my understanding of management. I specially enjoy the lectures and conversations with the RSM faculty, a community of highly rated academics that open the black box of scientific research philosophy and tools in an inspiring and enthusiastic way.  I am proud to be part of this program and willing to create knowledge combining my decades of real business experience with the wisdom of the global research community that is now available for executives through this unique program.

I applied to RSM’s part-time PhD program because of its winning combination of academic rigor and professional emphasis. As one of the top European institutions for progressive management research, RSM has poured its longstanding experience with academics into a part-time PhD program that gives professionals the knowledge and tools needed for rigorous academic research. For instance, the program systematically guides students to produce and publish high-quality academic articles. Because part-time PhD students typically work at the heart of pressing managerial challenges, RSM’s program is also designed to provide enough flexibility to accommodate the part-time schedule of professionals. Taken together, this makes for a rigorous and flexible program that leads to a sustained and effective learning experience for professionals!

I commend that RSM’s part-time PhD program accounts for the individual needs of students (e.g., schedules, topics, supervisors), and that the program provides a structure in form of “modules” intended to support the student in producing high quality academic work.

I researched and compared a fair bit across the different programs available for working professionals globally before submitting my application. What I liked a lot about RSM/Erasmus University was a clear focus on high-quality research. There are probably easier paths to a doctorate. But if one wants to learn how to conduct best-in-class academic research, this is the right place. I have not seen any other University that offers a part-time PhD program with the same rigor, especially in my area (Finance).

Three things really: First, I very much liked the many courses and seminars on research methods during the first 18 months of the program that were taught by senior faculty members. They helped me to gain a good understanding of the techniques required to do academic research. Second, and most importantly, I am most thankful to work with my two supervisors, Peter and Thomas. They have excellent research experience and expertise. Their work is being published in the very top academic journals in Finance and Management. For me, as a novel researcher, this is an excellent opportunity to learn from the best. Lastly, I am very thankful for having met my fellow PhD candidate friends in the cohort. They are a diverse, smart and global group of people I can learn from.

I was aware of the RSM reputation for the quality of faculty and the high standard of research. I wanted to be exposed to, and stretched to the higher level of academic curiosity, while keeping in sight practical application of my research. Additionally, I liked a very organized and structured approach to lectures, as well as opportunity to be part of the cohort with other students.

My advisors are experts in their fields, who have given me an invaluable guidance, support and questioning that is keeping me even more motivated to continue with my research. I enjoy the camaraderie of the participant in the part-time PhD program, not just from our cohort, but also other cohorts, to mix fun with a forum to talk about research.

The RSM program introduces professionals and business leaders to the world of academic rigor and guides them through the exhilarating processes that accompany a PhD. During this journey, the diverse group of ambitious and experienced fellow part-time PhD-candidates offer moral support and camaraderie.

Having finished my MSc many years ago, I like the solid foundation of the first one and a half years. During the first one and a half years, the courses were a good refresher. The workload also prepared me for the hard work that comes after that.

I enjoy the contact with my fellow cohort members. They understand what it is like to be in a Ph.D. trajectory, and they are great sparring partners. I also like that it is possible to take additional courses that contribute to my projects, apart from the mandatory program. More plusses are my advisors, the facilities, and the campus.

Why did you choose the Part-Time PhD?

I once read this quote, saying: "If you want to become the best in what you know, then you must work with those who strive to always be the best". This always came up on crucial moments in my life, when I had to make a long-term decision. After completing both my Master of Arts at the Cadi Ayyad University in Marrakech and my Master of Science at the University of Amsterdam, both degrees in social and cultural anthropology, I discovered how much I enjoyed doing research and sharing my findings with the world around me. The next logical step would be pursuing my PhD. Yet, I didn’t see myself working on one specific topic, full-time, for four to five years. Even though I love doing research, and I already had an idea of what I wanted to write my dissertation about, I stuck to the aim to not write to end up on a bookshelf, but to write my PhD dissertation to conversate, develop better understanding and therefor serve humanity. I believe that the development of knowledge brings along a certain amount of social responsibility. I always knew that the combination of academic research and the gain of experience in the field would be the best training for me, to become that future version of me. Both personally and professionally. To serve humanity, indeed. I shared this aim with my supervisor and promotor prof. dr. Lucas Meijs, during our first meeting. Further research made me realize that it is also what RSM is best in doing, which explains its top ranking in the world and confirms my earlier mentioned quote. The Part-Time PhD programme is perfectly designed to spend just enough time on my PhD while also leaving room for other responsibilities life brings along. It is hybrid in a way that it doesn’t matter in which field one works or aims to do research in. By how the programme is designed and the joining scholars and professors, every PhD, no matter the subject of their research, is challenged and trained to connect several worlds in the best of both ways: Academic knowledge and expertise, and real-life practices.

What do you like about the programme?

Besides the intriguing combination of the development of academic knowledge and best-practices, the programme can also be described as cosmopolitan. It is fit for everyone – no matter your cultural background, field of expertise or personal interests. Growing up between several cultures myself, and seeing this as a norm within RSM instead of an exception, made me feel very welcome. I am part of a super diverse cohort with people from all parts of the globe, and meeting earlier cohorts, confirmed the amount of inclusiveness and diversity that is shared by both PhDs and staff. It is therefore assumable that being part of this, inherently effects my research and future aims, in a very positive way. This reminds me of another quote, that says: "Be around radiators". Joining the part-time PhD programme made me feel like I am surrounded by radiators.

Financial scandals around the world have harshly shown the importance of transparency and reliability in performance reporting systems. Companies that fail to clearly communicate externally with investors on their investments, financial position, and financial performance likely face increased difficulty accessing external financing or an increased cost of financing. Companies that do not report, evaluate and compensate performance transparently and equitably internally, can create detrimental organizational cultures and can stimulate managers to behave opportunistically by managing earnings, by gaming the performance measurement system and by acting myopically.

Accounting is the research discipline that examines the role of accounting information in companies´ communications, both externally and internally. Top and middle managers, as well as outside providers of financing such as banks and equity investors, use accounting information for decision making and control purposes.

The objective of this Ph.D. project is to identify and analyze innovative research questions in the area of accounting. The project can apply to the subfields of managerial and/or financial accounting (incl. auditing), or on the intersection thereof, depending on research interests and goals, and skills and preference of the candidate. This research project has a strong potential to influence companies’ external and/or internal communication policies and/or accounting and incentive systems, as well as influence regulatory policies and/or accounting institutions.

We live in a highly connected world that is filled with digital technologies, social media, mobile devices, Internet-of-Things, smart cities, and connected cars. Growth of the information technologies has created new opportunities across different industries as companies innovate to meet changes in consumer demand, and has given rise to new challenges. In our Ph.D. program in Information Systems, you will be trained to conduct innovative research to address increasingly complex challenges facing digital society.

We are seeking highly motivated working individuals with demonstrated academic ability, that are committed to interdisciplinary research on significant information technology and management issues, and who desire to pursue a PhD research in this field. As a Ph.D. student, you will gain the training and experience necessary to conduct independent research. You will work closely with the advisors to define, develop, and execute your own research.

You will have the opportunity to collaborate with our faculty members. They are working on a wide-range of interdisciplinary research topics, broadly categorized in three sub-domains: Digital Strategy, Business Analytics, and Energy Informatics. More specifically, the faculty members are interested in supervising the following topics including:

• Digital transformation
• Digital platforms
• Digital marketing and recommendation
• Crowd sourcing and crowd funding
• User generated content
• Mobile advertising
• Digital markets and auctions
• Digital privacy
• Social networks
• Ethics of AI
• AI and decision making
• Energy markets and smart grid
• Smart cities

Acting on unprecedented change

Traditionally, management research takes the perspective of business and focuses on how conditions for business can be improved. Research conducted by the members of the Department of Business-Society Management starts with the challenges that society and our natural environment face and focuses on how business, in partnership with other actors and organizations, can address these challenges. In other words, we help business to take responsibility for the context in which it operates. This is important because our social and natural environments are changing in unprecedented ways. Business contributes to some of these developments, such as climate change, growing inequality, global displacement and also alienation from the general public by losing track of the interests of broader society. Yet, society also changes in ways that are difficult to foresee for companies and other organizational actors alike.

The research conducted by the members of the value based organizing program focuses on a variety of topics—all directly relevant to business acting upon unprecedented change. A common theme underlying all of this research is that it seriously considers the possibility that the way companies do business—including how they relate to the context in which they operate—needs to be changed fundamentally and that small gestures are unlikely to be sufficient to help.

Topics include alternative definitions of and approaches to business, including issues around climate change, corporate communication, sense-making processes in the context of sustainability, business ethics, philanthropy, new business-society strategies, alternative organization forms such as social enterprises and partnerships, alternative governance regimes such as commons, and aligning corporate value propositions with societal issues and social innovation in times of grand challenges and wicked problems. Due to the diversity in research topics, the research methods we use vary widely, from qualitative techniques to survey and laboratory research.

The mission of finance research is to enhance our understanding of financial decision-making by firms and managers, the actions of participants in financial markets, as well as the functioning of financial markets and intermediaries. 

We are a vibrant and diverse group consisting of leading international researchers. Our faculty undertakes world-class research that is both of high societal relevance and meets high methodological standards. A list of recent publications by our finance faculty can be found  here .

Research in our group takes place along three broad lines: The first theme is corporate finance, including interests such as entrepreneurship and private equity. Second, we investigate financial markets and asset pricing. Our third theme is banking and financial intermediation, including asset management. 

We are looking for highly motivated candidates that have an interest in undertaking research that is both challenging and rigorous, but also has societal relevance. Candidates may have a background in finance, but we also welcome applicants with an education in Economics or Econometrics.

Currently we especially welcome candidates with interests in the following areas:

• Artificial intelligence and machine learning  • Asset management • Banking and financial intermediation • Behavioral finance • Blockchain and tokens  • Climate finance • Investments

Innovation Management (IM) involves all the actions needed to generate innovative ideas and turn them into attractive new products, services, and business models. Today’s business credo mandates more innovations, and those innovations become substantially more complex, multi-dimensional and risky. At RSM we study the latest developments in innovation and we investigate how to manage them successfully in practice by linking the latest management theories to business practice.

We are particularly interested in working with PhD students on the following topics:

Idea management: How to cultivate and select the best ideas? Over and over again:  Companies increasingly use idea management programs or crowdsourcing platforms to collect as many ideas as possible from their employees or from people outside of the organization. But having many ideas does mean that one has—or is able to recognize—high-quality ideas. Another challenge is that the motivation of people to participate in idea management programs often declines over time. As a result, a firm’s innovation pipeline might dry up and with that the opportunities to successfully compete. Therefore, the question is how the quality of idea submissions can be enhanced, how idea evaluation and selection decisions can be improved, and how sustained levels of creativity can be encouraged.

Personality change and innovation : We live in an age in which people plan, pursue, and experience individual changes that affect career and life trajectories. People improve their educational credentials, change residences, move jobs, switch nationalities, and undergo gender reassignment. All of this is familiar to management researchers. But personality change is only recently emerging in the organizational behavior and management research landscape despite extensive research evidence, practitioner attention and mass-media interest. Management research generally emphasizes the stability of personality structures tends to underestimate the possibility that personality can change. I want to build consensus on the relevance of personality change for research in organizational behavior and manager, with a specific focus on innovation. Research questions of interest include: do people change their personality after a major change in work activities is introduced? How does the use of innovation shape or change psychological variables related to the innovation domain (e.g. openness to experience?) Specifically, I am interested in designing an experimental design in order to assess whether and how personality can change and what are its organizational consequences.

Innovation Strategy:  Organizations are in a constant hunt for the next blockbuster design, product, or service to gain or sustain their competitive edge. However, innovation management is not about an endless chase for any creative idea. It requires developing an innovation strategy to direct and achieve innovation-related goals since organizational resources are limited. Innovation strategy helps organizations sense the needs and changes in the business landscape, and transform their organizations by fostering creative ideas and further into product/service and process development implementing these ideas. This Ph.D. project focuses on how and why organizations develop and execute strategies to innovate. It also highlights sustainability as a special topic of attention. This is because organizations can no longer turn a blind eye to the societal and environmental challenges the world faces: waves of pandemics, global warming, pollution, inequality, and ongoing discrimination. We know much less about how organizations can envision, implement, change and govern an innovation strategy—be it via deliberate or emergent—to address societal and environmental challenges. Hence, I welcome candidates motivated to investigate the dual goal of achieving sustainability and competitive advantage as a critical and urgent research direction within the innovation strategy field.

The marketing group at Rotterdam School of Management (RSM) ranks among the best in the world. Our members publish their research in top journals in marketing as well as related fields. They deeply care about open science practices (e.g., data sharing and open-source software), and frequently host seminars to encourage knowledge exchange. The group is diverse (in terms of research interests and cultural background), collaborative, and collegial.

Our faculty members can supervise PhD students on a broad range of topics, typically divided in three sub-domains: Quantitative Marketing, Consumer Behaviour, or Consumer Neuroscience. Several faculty members work as the intersection of two of these sub-disciplines (e.g., consumer behavior and quantitative marketing), which enables us to cater to students interested in more interdisciplinary research.

Quantitative Marketing:

The faculty in the quantitative group in our department work on a wide range of topics, such as design of multi-armed bandits and reinforcement learning models with applications to recommendation systems and clinical trials (Gui Liberali), virtual / augmented / mixed reality (Yvonne van Everdingen), digital platform markets (David Kusterer), privacy (Gilian Ponte), behavioral economics (Alina Ferecatu), causal inference (Jason Roos), marketing strategy (Gerrit van Bruggen), consumer eye tracking (Ana Martinovici), deep learning (Sebastian Gabel), consumer and firm networks (Xi Chen), customer analytics (Aurélie Lemmens), consumer learning (Maciej Szymanowski) and quantitative modelling approaches to predict the psychological processes involved in consumer judgments and decisions (Antonia Krefeld-Schwalb and Dan Schley).

Consumer Behavior:

Our faculty members in consumer behavior work on a wide range of topics, such as how advertising works psychologically (Steven Sweldens), judgment and decision making (Gabriele Paolacci), self-control and consumption (Mirjam Tuk), how technology augments behavior Shwetha Mariadassou and Anne-Kathrin Klesse), numerical processing (Dan Schley and Christophe Lembregts), biological influences on consumption and goal pursuit (Bram Van den Bergh), how to measure consumer preferences (Antonia Krefeld-Schwalb), pro-social behavior, social credit, and consumer advocacy (Alex Genevsky), marketplace morality (Johannes Boegershausen), and pro-societal consumer interventions (Romain Cadario).

Consumer Neuroscience:

Within the department, researchers at the Center for Neuroeconomics (Maarten van Boksem, Ale Smidts, and Alexander Genevsky) work on a wide range of topics in decision neuroscience such as understanding the neurological basis of emotions, social conformity, dishonesty, charitable giving, consumer judgments and predicting population-level outcomes from neural data.

Leveraging work experience 

Regardless of the specific topic that a PhD student likes to work on, the department sees a lot of value in supervising students who would like to leverage their work experience (e.g., from their current profession) to collect practically relevant data and/or conduct (field) experiments that can provide the empirical basis for their PhD project.

The PhD student’s task will be to:

• identify novel research questions based on real-world phenomena and/or extant theory.
• review existing literature and theories to build a coherent theoretical foundation for his/her own research.
• identify the fundamental variables and relationships that are most important to studying the phenomena at hand and formalize them in a measurement model or set of experimental hypotheses.
• gather experimental or observational data to test hypotheses or measure phenomena.
• identify the critical assumptions needed to draw inferences from empirical results.
• write computer code to analyze experimental or secondary data.
• present research findings at international conferences.
• write up findings for publication in international journals.
• participate in and contribute to departmental research functions (PhD Day, research seminars, weekly research meetings)

Well-connected faculty members

Our faculty members possess excellent networks and have collaborators at top institutions worldwide. Further, several of our faculty members are leading expert practices at the Erasmus Centre for Data Analytics (ECDA). These expert practices fulfil the purpose to bring together academics from various disciplines and practitioners to exchange knowledge and collaborate on research questions surrounding specific topics. More information for each of these expert practices can be found here.   

• Trial Design and Experimentation
• The Psychology of AI lab
• Virtual and Augmented Reality
• Customer Analytics

More information on our faculty members can be found  here .

Understanding the way people operate is central to the success of any organisation. Managing people requires understanding organisations in their full complexity, thus at several levels of analysis. The department covers topics on four levels: those that apply to the individual such as leadership, leader development, people management, power, incentives, and goals; those applying at the team level such as diversity, team processes, hierarchy, managerial behaviours, and professional identity; those at organisation level such as organisational learning, organisational design, coordination, organisational culture and change, HR practice and system design, and organisation of work; and topics at the level of the environment such as social, technological, economic changes, and politics.

Research within the department of Organisation and Personnel Management has always been a force for positive change, helping people and organisations worldwide to thrive and prosper. Pioneering faculty work at the forefront of human issues such as diversity, organisational change, employee wellbeing, and leadership studies. Working successfully with business cultures that may have very different methods, expectations and models to those in Europe, the UK and North America constitute an important focus.

Areas of research

More information on possible research directions within the area of OPM will follow soon.

The field of Strategic Management and Entrepreneurship   focuses on understanding why some firms perform better than others, how firms behave, and what determines success in international competition. Given its broad scope, the field is highly integrative and multi-disciplinary, and feeds on insights from a wide range of disciplines, such as sociology, psychology, law, finance, and economics. The field focuses on actions associated with changing the firm's scope and profile of business lines. It also addresses questions of how decision-makers can best leverage knowledge and innovation to foster competitive advantage for their firms as well as how external forces influence firms and entrepreneurs in a global context and in societies expecting more sustainable strategies. Other topics include entrepreneurial behavior in new ventures, scale-ups, and established organizations. Moreover, the field focuses on how strategic leadership and governance shape firms, firm behavior, and outcomes. 

Current themes that have the focus of our faculty and PhD candidates are:

• Strategy, Organization, and Governance. This line   aims to explain and identify the mechanisms through which modern firms shape and align their organizational structures, governance and ownership with the strategies, resource dependencies, and business models through which they create and capture value.
• Strategic Entrepreneurship. This strand is concerned with understanding how organizations link entrepreneurial behaviour and strategic advantage-seeking actions to create and capture wealth.
• Strategy, Knowledge, and Innovation .  This theme   focuses on how managers and entrepreneurs build and renew the technological, social, and relational capital to shape new technologies and business models.
• Global Strategy.   This branch   aims to enrich our understanding of how internationally operating firms form and implement their strategies, and how firms shape, and are shaped by, their global context and societies expecting sustainable practices.
• Behavioural Strategy and Entrepreneurial Behaviour .  This branch informs us about the psychology behind high-impact and complex strategic and entrepreneurial decisions.

More extensive descriptions of these themes can be found  here .

Supply Chain Management (SCM) focuses on the effective and efficient management of the lifecycle of products and services. Successful SCM is imperative for any competitive business, but also for the public sector and other non-profit organisations. Through our research, education and engagement, we have an established record in achieving double impact; not just within academia but also in society at large. In research, we focus on four main areas:

• Topics: international supply chains, sustainability, and facility logistics
• Methods: predominantly quantitative modelling, some large-scale empirical studies.
• Topics: planning, design and real-time management of transportation and logistics systems (goods and persons)
• Methods: mostly quantitative methods and tools
• Topics: demand forecasting, inventory management, assortment planning, supply chain coordination
• Methods: analytical modelling, empirical methods and behavioral experiments
• Topics: supplier relations, contracting, health care procurement
• Methods: empirical methods including qualitative research, field and behavioral experiments

Academic thriving stands for a combination of academic outcomes as well as success in other relevant domains, such as well-being and finding the right job. What causes students to thrive academically? The studies in this dissertation contributed to this question with the use of experimental, interdisciplinary and longitudinal studies, and a critical theoretical examination of the arguments against evidence-based education. A large-scale field experiment showed that first year students who reflected on their desired future, prioritized goals, and wrote detailed plans on how to reach these goals, performed significantly better (in study credits and retention) than students who made a control assignment. This low-cost and scalable goal-setting assignment was made at the start of college and only took the students two hours to complete. Personalized follow-up feedback delivered by an AI-enhanced chatbot could further improve benefits to study outcomes as well as well-being. The final study in this dissertation tracked the effects of different types of jobs on the study progress of teacher education students over a four-year span. This longitudinal study showed that student who had a paid job in education gained more study credits than students with other types of work or without a job. Additionally it showed that working 8 hours per week relates with the most study progress in the first and third semester of college.

RSM Part-time PhD Programme

This PhD thesis has sprung from the Part-time PhD Programme at the Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University (RSM). Part-time PhD candidates conduct research against the highest academic standards on topics with real-world application value, thereby contributing to the positive impact of RSM research on business and other societal stakeholders. This programme allows candidates to develop their academic and research skills while they work. During the five-year programme, candidates are trained in research methods, use RSM’s research facilities and databases, participate in international conferences, and are supervised by research active faculty.

Below you can find dissertations of RSM Part-time PhD candidates:

Cabana, G.,C. Unravelling Team Ethical Culture: The Existence, Relevance and Implications for Ethics Management , Supervisor: Prof. dr. S.P. Kaptein, Co-supervisor: Prof. dr. W. Vandekerckhove

Mulder, F., New forms of leadership Leading in the plural and plural leadership , Supervisor: Prof. dr. S.R. Giessner, Co-supervisor: Prof. dr. B. Koene

Goldsby, C. M., _ Demystifying Digital Governance: Exploring the Mechanisms and Trade-offs of Blockchains for Organizations , _ Supervisor: Prof. dr. ir. J.C.M. van den Ende, Co-supervisor: Dr. H.J.D. Klapper 

Isabel de Bruin Cardoso, E.W., _ The Dark Side of the NGO Halo: Exploring moral goodness as a driver for NGO unethical behavior _, Supervisors: Prof. dr. S.P. Kaptein & Prof. dr. L.C.P.M. Meijs 

Ouacha, M., Receiving by Giving The examining of cross-border diasporic and bi-cultural Philanthropy , Supervisor: Prof.dr. L.C.P.M. Meijs, Co-supervisor: Dr. C.H. Biekart 

Jakobs, K., ICT Standardisation Management: A multidimensional perspective on company participation in standardization committees , Supervisors: Prof.dr.ir. H.J. de Vries & Prof. K. Blind 

Carpentier, P.D.J.  A New Frontier for the Study of the Commons Promotors: Prof.dr. L.C.P.M. Meijs, Prof.dr. V.J.A. van de Vrande

Reinders, H.J.  Financial Stability in a Changing Environment Promotors: Prof.dr. D. Schoenmaker, Prof.dr. M.A. van Dijk

Dekker, I.  Academic Thriving; Optimising Student Development with Evidence-Based Higher Education . Promotors: Prof. dr. M.C. Schippers, Dr. E. Klatter & Dr. E.J. Van Schooten https://pure.eur.nl/ws/portalfiles/portal/53684049/dissertatiemiddelenizaakdekker_6267af186ff73.pdf

Heeren, J.  Management Innovation in the Military, Practice Adaptation Processes and Innovation Performance Consequences Solving the Paradox Between Institutional Pressure, Rational Motivation and Implementation Misfit Promotors: Prof.dr. H.W. Volberda, Prof.dr.ir. V.J.A. van de Vrande & Dr. E.J. de Waard https://www.eur.nl/en/events/phd-defence-jwj-jasper-heeren-2022-04-22

Caballero Santin, J.A.  Stunted Innovation: How large incumbent companies fail in the era of supply chain digitalization. Promotors: Prof.dr.ir. J.C.M. van den Ende, Dr. M. Stevens https://pure.eur.nl/ws/portalfiles/portal/50170730/phd_dissertation_jaimereduced_620135877e60f.pdf

Renault, M.  All for One and One for All: How Teams Adapt to Crises. Promotors: Prof.dr. J.C.M. van den Ende & Dr. M. Tarakci https://pure.eur.nl/ws/portalfiles/portal/50866956/max_thesisall_chapters_combined_and_preliminary_pagesfinal_embargo_621f67faca9ce.pdf

Duijm, P.  On the Cyclical Nature of Finance: The role and impact of financial institutions , Promotor(s): Prof. D. Schoenmaker & Prof. W.B. Wagner, 1, https://repub.eur.nl/pub/120767

Maas, S.A.  In the moment of giving: Essays on contemporary forms of private and corporate philanthropy.  Promotors: Prof. L.C.P.M. Meijs & Prof. J.P. Cornelissen. https://repub.eur.nl/pub/124976

 Langenbusch, C. A lot to lose. Organizational identity and emotions in institutional contexts. Promotors: Prof. J.P. Cornelissen, Prof. G. Jacobs. https://repub.eur.nl/pub/125099  

Van Zanten, J. A.  Business in the Age of Sustainable Development  https://repub.eur.nl/pub/135674

Profiles of Part-time Phd programme students

Topic:  On the cyclical nature of finance: The role and impact of financial institutions Supervisors:  D. Schoenmaker (Dirk) ,  W.B. Wagner (Wolf) Author: Patty Duijm started her part-time PhD in 2015, at the Finance Department at RSM. Alongside her PhD she worked as an Economist at the Financial Stability Division and subsequently at the Supervisory Policy Division of De Nederlandsche Bank. She has been involved in regulatory and international policy topics covering recovery and resolution, stress testing financial institutions, and macroprudential policy. Her research interests include the impact of policy reforms on financial institutions, international banking, investment behavior and risk diversification. She completed her PhD in 2019. Patty currently works at the Data Science Hub of De Nederlandsche Bank, aiming at getting most value out of the data by incorporating data science at central bank and supervisory practices. An overview of her publications and current research can be found here.

Project description: Cyclical patterns are characterized by periods of strong economic expansions (‘booms’), followed by periods of detractions (‘busts’). In finance, we have seen these boom-bust cycles occur in, for example, the equity, credit and housing markets. During the global financial crisis of 2007-2009, we have seen that periods of economic downturns intensified financial market disruptions, and vice versa. The existence of these cycles that are closely linked to financial crises and that can intensify each other calls for a better understanding of their underlying mechanisms.

Topic:  In the Moment of Giving. Essays on contemporary forms of private and corporate philanthropy Supervisors:   L.C.P.M. Meijs (Lucas) ,  J.P. Cornelissen (Joep) Author: Stephanie Koolen-Maas started her PhD in 2015 at the Business-Society Management Department at RSM. She worked as an academic researcher and lecturer for the same department alongside her PhD. Stephanie’s research interests include the societal role of organizations, philanthropy, nonprofit and volunteer management, and business-nonprofit relationships. After completing her PhD in 2020, she started to work as a postdoctoral researcher at the Centre for Philanthropic Studies at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. She also continued to work for the Business-Society Management Department at RSM as a postdoctoral researcher and lecturer. She is currently associated with Impact Centre Erasmus as a senior impact researcher. Her ultimate goal is to better understand and increase the societal impact of philanthropy and philanthropic, hybrid and commercial organizations.

Project description:  No part of the philanthropic landscape appears to be as diverse as the ways in which individuals and for-profit organizations seek to do good. While philanthropy is not a new phenomenon, its diversification of practices and the emergence of (third party) organizations and new vehicles call for a renewed understanding. The studies in this dissertation represent a more in-depth exploration of contemporary forms of private and corporate philanthropy. First, I examine temporary episodic volunteering by examining National Days of Service. National Days of Service are state- or countrywide volunteering programs in which individuals and groups support nonprofit organizations by giving their time to a one-day, time-limited volunteer project. In the first two studies, I show how nonprofit organizations integrate National Days of Service and how they can do so more meaningfully. Second, I examine two vehicles that channel important elements of corporate philanthropy and that stand between corporate donors and nonprofit recipients. These include a corporate foundation serving the interests of multiple corporate donors simultaneously (collective corporate foundation) and third-party intermediary organizations. In the last two studies, I demonstrate how these two channels of corporate philanthropy add value and what the consequences are for corporate donors and nonprofit recipients.

Topic:  A lot to lose Organizational identity and emotions in institutional contexts Supervisors:   J.P. Cornelissen (Joep) ,  G. Belschak-Jacobs (Gabriele) Author: Christina Langenbusch is a senior organizational developer whose dissertation research focused on the qualitative analysis of organizational life at the intersection of global crisis management, organizational identity, sensemaking in the context of the grand challenge of forced displacement, emotions in institutions, and the process of theory development. Christina is currently researching quantitative evaluations of group behavior by translating organizational culture into a data-driven tool for leadership and change processes in the context of technology adoption. In addition to her work as an organizational developer and researcher, she continues to coach master's students. Christina has been awarded the 1st prize of the 2021 EDAMBA thesis competition. Project description:  Organizational life entails complex, informal processes that can defi ne an organization just as much as its basic operational premises. To investigate these phenomena, this dissertation begins with a systematic literature review that critically investigates how the formation and strength of an organization’s identity is associated with value creation, providing a multi-level and multi-theory framework.

Topic:  Business in the Age of Sustainable Development Supervisors:   Prof.dr. R. van Tulder ,  Dr. F. Wijen Author: Jan Anton van Zanten works at Robeco, an international asset manager specialized in sustainable investing, as Strategist for the Sustainable Development Goals. He was awarded his PhD with distinction (cum laude) in 2021. He had joined the part-time PhD programme in 2017 at RSM's Business-Society Management department. His research interests center around corporate sustainability, sustainable development, and sustainable investing. Prior to joining Robeco, Jan Anton was a Senior Consultant at Steward Redqueen, and a Consultant at the United Nations Environment Programme. Jan Anton holds a Master’s in Global Business & Stakeholder Management from Erasmus University Rotterdam and a Master’s in Development Studies from the University of Cambridge.

Project description: This dissertation contains five studies that investigate the role of companies in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The first study builds on institutional theory to develop propositions that explain how corporate engagement with SDGs is influenced by traits of SDGs and by traits of companies. The second study conducts a systematic literature review to survey and synthesize the positive and negative impacts of diverse corporate activities on the SDGs and their underlying targets. In study three, corporate impacts on the SDGs are investigated using network analysis. This allows for identifying four types of companies, each having a unique sustainability imperative. The fourth study then asks how companies might improve their impacts on the SDGs, thereby contributing to developing a theory of sustainability management. This conceptual paper that is grounded in the sustainability sciences literature introduces a nexus approach to corporate sustainability. This nexus approach induces companies to manage their positive and negative, and direct and indirect, interactions with the SDGs in order to advance multiple SDGs simultaneously (“co-benefits”) while reducing the risk that contributions to one SDG undermine progress on another (“trade-offs”). Finally, the fifth study reflects on how the SDGs can help transform towards more sustainable societies throughout, and beyond, the COVID-19 pandemic.

More information about the RSM part-time PhD programme

Academic Director of Part-Time PhD Programme

E-mail [email protected]

[email protected]

Team Lead PhD Programmes

E-mail [email protected]

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Course Coordinator Part-Time PhD

Programme Officer

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Can I do a PhD while working?

Study tips Published 31 Mar, 2022  ·  4-minute read

Completing a Doctor of Philosophy requires some serious dedication. But committing all your time to research can leave a significant gap in your income. So, can you work and do a PhD at the same time? Let’s find out.

We spoke with two UQ PhD candidates, Chelsea Janke and Sarah Kendall, to get some insights into whether you can get a PhD while working – and how to balance your work with your research.

Can you get a PhD while working?

The simple answer is yes, but we wouldn't exactly recommend it. There’s nothing technically stopping you from continuing to work (at least, to some extent) while you pursue a PhD, but doing a higher degree by research is a big commitment. So, you need to think carefully before you attempt to juggle both.

The more complex answer is that it depends heavily on the type of work you’re doing and how quickly you want to complete your research.

PhD candidates can continue working part time while completing their research. Of course, this depends on the nature of their research and other work.

Keep in mind : some PhD scholarships are only available to full-time candidates and may not allow you to earn more than a certain amount to remain eligible. If you’ve applied or plan to apply for a scholarship, make sure to check the relevant terms.

For  international students , some extra restrictions apply. You can work up to 40 hours per fortnight, but this must not interfere with your full-time study load or your academic performance. Further limitations may apply if you're on an RTP scholarship (maximum 270 working hours per year) or being sponsored by your government.

Doing a PhD while working: full time, part time or casual?

Chelsea is quick to warn us that both working and researching full time is a recipe for disaster.

“A full-time PhD could not be done whilst working full time,” she says.

Doing both part time is feasible, but only if you’re happy to wait a few extra years to see the fruits of your labour.

“I know people who have worked part time and done their PhD part time – usually in the same research group or field,” says Chelsea.

“But keep in mind it took them 7-8 years to finish their PhD; it’s not the most efficient strategy.”

Committing to a full-time PhD while doing some incidental work on the side seems like the most popular approach for candidates, in Chelsea’s experience.

“Most full-time PhD students will pick up some casual work tutoring, marking, helping the lab manager, or assisting other researchers with their work,” she says.

“This means they can do a few hours here and there without their own PhD work being too disrupted.”

Sarah’s circumstances allow her to maintain a part-time job while completing her PhD, though she acknowledges you have to be lucky to be in a position to do so.

“PhD candidates can continue working part time while completing their research; of course, this depends on the nature of their research and other work,” says Sarah.

“Both my research and work are very flexible, and I can complete them whenever suits me.”

Learn about Sarah’s research or read her series about becoming an academic in law .

How to balance work with your PhD

If you plan to work whilst doing your PhD, you will need to manage your time well.

It’s one thing to ask can I do a PhD while working – actually managing to juggle the two is a whole other challenge. Sarah and Chelsea agree that time management is the most important part of making this work.

Sarah suggests keeping a strict schedule to divide your time evenly between your commitments, as this is what works for her.

“I find that I maintain a balance best by setting specific hours to work on my PhD (usually from 9am to 4pm Monday to Friday) and then on my other work commitments (usually Saturdays and sometimes a couple of hours before dinner),” she says.

“The hours you set to work on your PhD and other commitments will depend on whether your other work has set hours though, as well as when you work best – you might get some of your best research and writing done at 5am!”

Top tips for working while doing your PhD

• Only do so if you really want/need to and if you know you can manage the dual workloads.
• Tell your boss. Make sure your employer knows about your plans to juggle a PhD with your workload. See if there’s anything they can do to make the journey easier for you. For example, just like Sarah, your employer may be able to provide you the flexibility to complete your work on a schedule that accommodates your research hours.
• Consider a part-time PhD if cutting your hours or quitting your job isn’t a viable option. Yes, it might take longer. But if it means maintaining a comfortable balance between your research and your current career, it might be the best choice for you.
• Chat with your PhD supervisor. They’ve been there and done that, making them a great source of wisdom when it comes to pursuing a PhD while also balancing your other life commitments. You may also have peers currently doing a PhD who can provide some advice.

Haven’t chosen your supervisor yet? Read these tips for finding a suitable academic. It’s also a good idea to be upfront with your supervisor about your intention to work/research part time, as some supervisors prefer to work with full-time PhD candidates.

• Seek casual work at your university and in your field where possible. By keeping your work and research close together (both in terms of location and mindset), you may find it less challenging to keep on top of both.
• Make sure you’re passionate about your PhD topic . If your research just feels like a second job on top of your usual work, you’ll likely burn out before long. When developing your research proposal , make sure your thesis is providing that spark of curiosity that’s going to keep you inspired to follow through with your research – even on nights when you’re drained from work.

Ready to get started? Whether you’re dedicating yourself to a full-time PhD or keeping a balance between research and work, The University of Queensland is ready to support you.

Learn more about completing your PhD at UQ

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A comprehensive guide to part-time PhDs

Doing a PhD part-time can be an attractive option for many reasons. However, part-time PhDs are less common than full-time ones, and there tends to be a lack of information on this option. This guide to part-time PhDs answers the most common questions that prospective part-time PhD candidates have.

The difference between a part-time and a full-time PhD

How much work is a part-time phd, how long does it take to do a phd part-time, where is it possible to do a phd part-time, benefits of a part-time phd, disadvantages of a part-time phds, is it worth doing a part-time phd, skills necessary for completing a phd part-time, conditions for success in a part-time phd, online part-time phd programmes, ten questions to ask yourself before embarking on a part-time phd.

The main difference between a part-time and a full-time PhD is typically the amount of time that a student spends per week on PhD-related tasks. The typical length of a full-time work week is five 8-hour days, comprising 40 hours in total. In some countries, this includes breaks. Thus, 38-40 hours/week can generally be considered full-time employment.

A part-time PhD carries fewer hours per week than full-time employment.

Precise definitions of part-time work differ. While some consider part-time employment as anything less than 38 hours/week, the OECD for instance defines part-time workers as those who work less than 30 hours/week.

Some universities have minimum requirements for part-time PhDs, for example, a minimum of 20 hours/week. Others, however, are more flexible. They allow part-time PhD candidates to spend anything between a few hours to several days per week on their part-time PhD studies.

Coursework that is required in PhD programmes is generally adjusted to part-time candidates and stretched over a longer period. The same is true for certain deadlines and comprehensive exams if required.

The degree that is awarded upon successful completion of a part-time PhD is the same as those being awarded for completing full-time programmes.

Most degree certificates don’t even mention that a PhD was pursued on a part-time basis. There is no reason to worry that a part-time PhD degree may be perceived as worth less than a full-time one.

A part-time PhD requires pretty much the same amount of work as a full-time PhD. Part-time PhD programmes are spread out over a longer period, but the requirements in terms of credits and output ( a monograph or cumulative dissertation ) are usually the same.

Part-time PhD candidates are often highly aware of their time limitations. In turn, they may be better at utilizing their limited time during the week. For instance by minimizing procrastination, prioritizing tasks and making strategic decisions. However, this is difficult to generalise.

Part-time PhD students may be more inclined to work during evenings and weekends.

Other responsibilities during the ‘normal’ working hours result in less attention to PhD-related work. And sometimes, PhD work requires several hours of uninterrupted deep work.

In some cases, the lack of opportunities to focus on the PhD for a longer period can increase frustrations and stress levels. This is particularly true when part-time PhD students start together with a cohort of full-time PhD students and compare their progress with that of their full-time peers.

Ultimately, how much work a part-time PhD requires depends very much on a student’s research project, personality, efficiency, subjective perception of workload and stress, supervision, luck with experiments, and so on. This does not differ from a full-time PhD.

In most cases, a part-time PhD takes longer than a full-time PhD. A general rule of thumb is that the fewer hours someone spends on a PhD per week, the longer it takes to complete it.

The number of years that full-time PhD students take to complete a PhD varies. Some finish in three years. Others require four, five or more years. Thus, there is a huge variation in the time it takes to finish a PhD. The same is true for part-time PhDs.

There are also differences between universities. Some universities have a strict programme that takes, for instance, three years for full-time PhD students and six years for part-time PhD students.

Other universities adapt to the specific circumstances of individual PhD candidates. They may allow someone to finish a part-time PhD in three years as long as all requirements are met. But they may also be okay with a part-time candidate who spends a decade on his or her PhD studies.

Can you complete a part-time PhD programme? Yes, absolutely.

But due to the vast differences between universities as well as PhD programmes, it is essential to inform yourself properly before applying for a part-time PhD.

The regulations in terms of length of a part-time PhD have a major effect on a PhD trajectory, time planning, tuition fees if applicable, etcetera.

There are plenty of opportunities to do a PhD part-time, but the specific opportunities and arrangements depend very much on individual universities.

Some universities advertise specific part-time PhD programmes on their web pages. Or, with a little bit of digging, provide information online for those who are interested in part-time PhDs.

For other universities, it is difficult to find any information on part-time PhD programmes online. This does not always mean that there are no opportunities. Sometimes, it requires sending emails to the admissions office, or contacting a potential PhD supervisor directly to ask for part-time possibilities.

There are also differences in national contexts. In some countries, for instance, in Germany, part-time PhD studies are often the norm. In Germany, many paid positions exist that encompass 60% of a full-time equivalent: time during which a PhD student is required to work in a lab or assist a professor. In the remaining 40% of the time, which is unpaid, a PhD student is expected to work on a dissertation.

In some other countries, PhD students tend to be employed in the public sector, receive a salary and make pension contributions. In those cases, they tend to fall under the same regulations as the non-academic workforce. This can mean, for instance, that they have the right to change their contract to part-time, for instance in the case of care responsibilities.

There are many benefits to doing a PhD part-time. Some of the most common advantages are

• More secure finances: Many full-time PhD students experience financial insecurities because PhD scholarships are often not enough to cover living expenses, or do not cover the whole PhD trajectory. Part-time PhD students often work next to their PhD studies which provide additional income and a layer of financial security.
• Improved employability: This includes industry employability and employability in academia. Industry employability is enhanced if someone already gains substantial work experience outside academia, through working in a certain profession while doing a part-time PhD. Employability in academia is enhanced if someone already gains academic work experience (for example as a research assistant) and teaching experience (for example as a junior lecturer or teaching assistant) while doing a part-time PhD.
• Flexibility: Doing a PhD part-time tends to provide increased flexibility. For instance, students who have care responsibilities are more likely to be able to combine their PhD studies with their other responsibilities on a part-time basis.
• Efficiency: The advantage of many part-time PhDs is that they are very aware of their time limitations and force themselves to be strategic in their choices. Part-time PhD students also often benefit from existing work experience and tend to be a bit older than full-time students. Combined, they sometimes are more confident and struggle less with imposter syndrome. Since procrastination is essentially linked to a fear of failure, part-time PhD students on average may be more confident, suffer less from procrastination and are therefore able to work more efficiently.

There are also disadvantages and challenges in part-time PhDs. Some of the most common disadvantages of doing a PhD part-time are:

• Difficulty to maintain a work-life balance: ‘Getting it all done’ is always challenging. Adding a part-time PhD to existing tasks, activities and responsibilities can negatively affect a person’s work-life balance. Part-time PhDs frequently require multi-tasking, which can interrupt the flow of work and lead to mistakes. Furthermore, evenings, weekends and holidays may be the only times when uninterrupted PhD work for several hours or days is possible. When part-time PhD students are not very good with boundary setting, they can easily feel overwhelmed and as if they can never take a break.
• Tuition fees: While not all PhD students (regardless of whether full-time or part-time) have to pay tuition fees, many do. Tuition fees tend to be adjusted in part-time programmes. Nonetheless, paying tuition fees for several years can be a financial burden. In addition, part-time PhD students are not always eligible for all scholarships and funding opportunities.
• Less supervision: Part-time PhD students often work even more independently than their full-time counterparts. Of course, the amount of supervision differs for full-time PhD students as well. However, a simple reason for less supervision is simply that part-time PhD students are not always physically present in a lab or department. They have less spontaneous interactions with their supervisors and other professors. It reduces the opportunities to ask a quick question or get feedback on a small issue. Part-time PhD students may be more reliant on more formal, scheduled meetings every few weeks or months.
• Feelings of isolation: Part-time PhD students may feel disconnected and isolated due to a lot of independent work, less physical presence and opportunities to connect with colleagues and peers. Furthermore, part-time PhDs tend to be in the minority, as full-time PhDs are still more common. This means that part-time PhDs may feel misunderstood and have no one to share their unique experiences and challenges with.

Following your curiosities and researching a topic in-depth can be a wonderful thing.

Yet, the question of whether a PhD part-time is worth doing or not is difficult to answer. It depends on the unique situation and ambition of each person in question.

Some people embark on a PhD part-time to progress in their career. Some people hope for a financial reward after completing a PhD part-time. Some people intend to change careers and use a part-time PhD to start the process while still earning money in a different job. Some people look for a challenge and embark on a part-time PhD for self-fulfilment. Some people have no other option but to do a PhD part-time.

Every person has to decide for him- or herself whether it is worth it, sensible and feasible. The decision requires a lot of self-reflection, and financial and life planning.

The decision to do a part-time PhD should not be treated lightly.

Completing a PhD part-time requires several skills. These skills can be learnt. However, a complete lack of these skills at the start of a part-time PhD will make the trajectory much more challenging.

First of all, part-time PhDs benefit from a high degree of self-discipline.

Those who struggle to motivate themselves and to get the smallest task done without any external pressure, might not be the best candidates for part-time PhDs. Part-time PhD work requires a lot of self-discipline as well as self-motivation.

Next, the ability to multi-task and keep a cool head in stressful situations is a big advantage for those who embark on a part-time PhD.

Stressing out easily and feeling easily overwhelmed with many tasks and deadlines, on the other hand, is counterproductive in a part-time PhD.

Furthermore, flexibility and the ability to adapt to different circumstances is pivotal.

Part-time PhD students tend to wear many different hats. They need to be able to switch between different roles and juggle lots of different tasks and responsibilities.

Additionally, not everything will work according to plan. Part-time PhD students have to accept that things do not always work out as expected and have to quickly adapt to new situations.

Lastly, the ability to work independently can make or break a part-time PhD trajectory. Working on a PhD part-time often means working from home, alone, without social interaction and constant feedback opportunities. Not everyone is cut out for this type of work.

A fundamental condition for success in a part-time PhD is the selection of a fitting research topic.

As in any PhD, regardless of whether full- or part-time, a PhD student spends many waking hours on the topic. If the topic is not interesting to the PhD student, and he or she is not passionate about it, motivation to work on it will inevitably decrease over time.

At the same time, the most passionate and skilled PhD student may still struggle if the institutional environment and supervision are suboptimal.

A supportive institutional environment that assists, accommodates, and invests in part-time PhD students can make a world of difference.

Probably even more important than the institutional environment is a good relationship between the part-time PhD student and PhD supervisors.

The quality and quantity of supervision matters, but also the social compatibility between students and supervisor/s. Therefore, applying to a programme without having ever met the prospective supervisor in person is a risky business.

If a prospective PhD student intends to continue working part-time in a different job, all parties should be informed and agree with the arrangements. If there is a connection between the PhD topic and the job, some employers even enter a formal arrangement that allows the student to do PhD work during some ‘normal’ working hours.

Pulling off a part-time PhD without all parties approving, or even knowing about it, can create a lot of problems along the way.

Lastly, a certain degree of financial security is required. Of course, this depends on the unique financial arrangements made by a part-time PhD. However, if other work, scholarships or grants are not enough to cover living expenses during a part-time PhD, it is not advisable to embark on this journey.

While online, part-time PhD programmes were available before the Covid19 pandemic, they have become much more common in the last two years. There are some strong opinions when it comes to online, part-time PhD programmes.

Proponents of these online programmes highlight how they can help to create a more level playing field . It allows PhD candidates, for instance, to live in a low-cost living area, while following a PhD at a prestigious university in a high-cost of living area.

Opponents lament the decreasing quality of PhD supervision in online PhD programmes. Some argue that doing a PhD increasingly becomes increasingly financialised, with universities collecting tuition fees but not providing adequate support.

However, with everything, this is very difficult to generalise . It requires prospective PhD students who are interested in these programmes to inform themselves thoroughly and to decide on a personal basis whether an online programme is a good fit or not. Speaking with others who already do, or finished, online part-time PhD programmes might be particularly useful.

If you consider embarking on a part-time PhD, your decision can be supported by asking (yourself) the following questions:

• What is my motivation to do a part-time PhD?
• Am I passionate enough about my (potential) research topic to spend several years working on it?
• What are the potential advantages and disadvantages of doing a part-time PhD, and how can I mitigate the disadvantages?
• Do I have enough self-discipline and endurance to do a part-time PhD with limited supervision?
• Do I have the flexibility to incorporate potential coursework into my day-to-day agenda?
• How many hours/week do I want to spend on my PhD, and how many hours can I (afford to) spend on it?
• What are the part-time PhD regulations of the university/universities where I consider applying?
• Is the (potential) PhD supervisor a good fit, and does the institutional environment seem supportive of part-time PhD students?
• How can I finance the part-time PhD?
• What do I want to do after completing the PhD?

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