PhD – Doctoral programme 2016–2017

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PhD programmePhD in brief• Our PhD candidates have MSc degrees in

Business, Economics or Management.• Our PhD candidates are temporarily hired

by BI, and receive financial support for 4 years.

• Our PhD candidates finish their course work and write a dissertation in one of six academic areas: Economics, Finance, Marketing, Strategy, Leadership & Organization or Innovation & Entrepreneurship.

• Our PhD candidates work closely with well-established researchers who actively publish in the most prestigious academic journals.

• Our PhD candidates develop their own research agenda in close cooperation with their supervisors.

• Our PhD graduates are well positioned for a career in academia.

More about the programmeat bi.edu/phd

BI Norwegian Business School offers a full-time doctoral programme leading to the Doctor of Philosophy degree (PhD). We admit highly qualified candidates that develop into researchers in the course of the programme. With a PhD from BI Norwegian Business School, you will be well positioned for a career in academia.

Our PhD programme consists of six different specialisations. The specialisations are Economics, Finance, Marketing, Strategy, Leadership & Organization, and Innovation & Entrepreneurship. As a prospective candidate, you will apply for one of the specialisations. If admitted, you will take courses primarily in your field of study - your specialisation - and be supervised by faculty in this same field. This will help you to develop your research agenda and to progress into a researcher capable of producing research publish able in the top journals in your field.

Our school’s academic departments govern the specialisations in the PhD programme. In other words, the Finance Department runs the finance specialisation; The Strategy Department runs the strategy specialisation, and so on. Our academic departments have strong track records of producing research of high quality. The Finance Department is currently ranked 10th in Europe and 2nd in the Nordic countries based on research published in the top finance journals between 2005-2014.

BI offers PhD scholarships every year. The application deadline is February 1th 2016.

With a PhD from BI you will be well prepared for a career at top universities and research institutions. Our PhD candidates develop

as researchers under the supervision of internationally renowned BI faculty. The journey is challenging, but very rewarding. When you

leave BI as a PhD graduate, you should expect to have contributed new and valuable insights to your field of study.

Øyvind Norli, Professor, Dean of the Doctoral Programme

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Programme structureCourse componentTo provide our candidates with the theoretical knowledge, empirical knowledge and methodological skills required to become successful researchers, the PhD programme consists of metho-dology courses, specialisation courses and elective courses. SeminarsOur PhD candidates regularly attend research seminars. A research seminar is an event where the academic departments invite an internationally renowned researcher to present some of his/her ongoing research. This provides important exposure to the research frontier. PhD candidates who have finished their course work and have started to develop their own research agenda will also present their work at research seminars.

PhD committees and pre-doctoral defense Our candidates have academic supervisors who help them develop as researchers. When the dissertation’s research questions are sufficiently well developed, the candidates will hold a pre-doctoral defense in front of a committee. This committee consists of professors from other universities, who will evaluate research progress and give advice on how best to move the research forward. The commit-tee will assess whether the candidate is on track to the successful completion of the dissertation.

Dissertation and final defense The PhD dissertation will provide contributions to the academic literature. PhD candidates from BI are expected to write a disser-tation containing research that can be published in the leading academic journals of their field of specialisation. The PhD evaluation committee will have the final say on whether or not a dissertation is ready for public defense—meaning that the PhD candidate is ready to publicly defend his/her research in front of the PhD evaluation committee, other faculty, family and friends.

PhD placementThe dissertation is clearly an important outcome of several years of research work. However, the most important outcome for our PhD candidates is the employment opportunities that will be available after having defended their thesis. At BI, we emphasize placing our PhD candidates at excellent research universities. Past PhD candi-dates have been recruited by London Business School, University of Melbourne, University of Calgary, and Nanyang University, to name a few.

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Contact informationThe PhD Administration deals with practical issues regarding admission and applications.

phd@bi.no + 47 46 41 00 00

More about our requirementsat bi.edu/phd

Practical informationWhen admitted to our PhD programme, you will receive funding for a period of four years through a position as a PhD candidate.

Entry requirementsThe essence of our entry requirements are:• You have at least five years of higher education• You hold a two-year scientific Master degree (120 ECTS) with B

average or better• You hold a Master degree that includes thesis work (15 to 30

ECTS) • You hold a Master degree within the broader fields of economics

and business administration or an area in which BI offers a PhD specialisation

• You hold degree(s) from an accredited institution or an institu-tion recognized by NOKUT (The Norwegian Agency for Quality Assurance in Education)

After completing my PhD in Financial Economics at BI, I interviewed with Universities from all over the world. I had many job offers before

I decided to move to Australia and start my new career as a tenure rack Assistant Professor of finance at the University of Melbourne. If you are willing to put in the work, a PhD from BI will open the

doors to an international career.

Sturla Lyngnes Fjesme, PhD alumn’11, Assistant Professor, Department of Finance, Faculty of Business & Economics,

The University of Melbourne

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The Marketing Department at BI has scholars with publications in top-notch academic journals. This encourages PhD candidates to aim high in terms of their research ambitions. The school’s excellent international links make it possible to get in touch and establish research collabora-tions with world-acclaimed academics. PhD candidates have the chance to represent the Department at the prestigious Sheth Doctoral Consorti-um, where BI is one of the few European business schools being invited.

Radu Dimitriu, PhD alumn’10, Lecturer in Strategic Marketing & Sales, School of Management, Cranfield University

The Department of Finance consists of highly skilled and passionate academics, thus making it an excellent environ-ment for studying Finance. There is a close and enriching interaction between the Faculty members and the PhD candidates. The focus is to turn the candidates into good teachers and good researchers with a high intellectual honesty and good work ethics. The course portfolio, the weekly seminars along with the inspiring and supportive community are key ingredients which make this process successful.

Andreea Mitrache, PhD alumn’15, Assistant Professor of Finance, Toulouse Business School

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Facts about BI• Campus Oslo has 11,000 students• There are 21,000 students in our four campuses• More than 20 degree programmes from

Bachelor to the PhD level• More than 60 individual scholarships awarded

in 2015• More than 100 nationalities represented

across BI

More about BIat bi.edu/about-bi

BI Norwegian Business SchoolBI is a private, independent, specialised university with more than 21,000 students from around the world. BI offers an extensive portfolio of bachelor, master, executive and PhD programmes.

The university’s international programmes are taught at the main campus located in the prosperous city of Oslo, capital of Norway. BI’s specialised focus on education and research continue to propel BI as a leading business school since its foundation in 1943.

The university’s commitment to excellence is reflected in its accred-itation by EQUIS since 1999, AMBA since 2013 and AACSB since 2014. With three international accreditations, BI is a “Triple Crown” business school - An honor shared with only 70 business schools worldwide.

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More about Norwayat visitnorway.com

More about Osloat visitoslo.com

Norway

Oslo

As one of the world’s richest countries per capita, with a popu-lation of 5,167,000, Norway’s thriving economy offers a world of possibilities. With an unemployment rate at approximately four per cent, Norway provides many job opportunities and one of the highest standards of living for its citizens.

While Norway has emerged as a leading producer of oil and gas, the country also benefits from other natural resources delivering flourishing industries in the areas of shipping, fishing, maritime, hydropower, and shipbuilding.

BI is located in the historic and fast-growing city of Oslo, thecapital of Norway. Its proximity to downtown positions BI atthe heart of the business community. Did you know...?• The Nobel Peace Prize is awarded annually in Oslo’s City Hall• Oslo is one of the fastest growing cities in Europe• Oslo has been ranked as one of the world’s most sustainable cities• In two hours or less, you can reach major European cities like Paris, London, Copenhagen, Berlin, Stockholm, and Amsterdam.

BI Norwegian Business School, NO-0442 Oslo +47 46 41 00 00 bi.edu/phd phd@bi.no

BI Norwegian Business School • 2015Project manager: Petter Hoel, Marketing Department. Design: Christian Vazquez Hope, Graphic Department.

The only Norwegian business school with triple international accreditation