The Doctoral Program in Business Studies

The Doctoral Program in Business Studies (DPBS) offers a strong research-oriented education. Graduates will receive training in three domains that are vital for successful academic work in Business Studies. (1) Graduates will become familiar with state-of-the art methods that are necessary to successfully complete their thesis. (2) Graduates will learn how to identify and tackle relevant research problems from the business world. (3) Graduates will receive guidance on how to publish their findings in appropriate academic outlets (e.g., leading academic journals).

Graduates who successfully complete this program will be in a strong position on the international academic and professional job market. On the academic job market, this will include national and international positions as a post-doc, assistant professor, or “Juniorprofessor”. The completion of the graduate program will also facilitate entry into positions, in which a strong analytical background is required. This includes positions such as consultant, financial analyst, or marketing researcher.

Admission into the program requires, that the applicant has been accepted as a doctoral student by the doctoral admission committee according to the „Rules and Guidelines for Doctoral Studies in the Faculty of Economics and Social Sciences of the University of Tübingen”. The doctoral program (DP) coordinator will decide on the admission into the DPBS bases on the doctoral student’s application. This application needs the written consent of the doctoral student’s supervisors.

The applicants must have a strong background and knowledge in business studies, which includes an excellent knowledge of the academic literature and relevant methods. Therefore, applicants have to show that they successfully completed 27 ECTS worth of courses on graduate level (Master or equivalent) that are relevant to the proposed subject of the doctoral thesis.

In case the student does not meet these requirements, the supervisory committee will decide which courses (maximum of 27 ECTS) the student will have to take during the first year.

Given that the language of instruction in the GP is English, applicants should also provide proof of sufficient knowledge of the English language.

In order to successfully complete the program, the doctoral student is required to take field courses (total of 27 ECTS). The student and the supervisors jointly choose courses from the curriculum relevant for the DPBS and the intended topic of the thesis.

Furthermore, presenting the own work is an integral part of the doctoral program. Therefore, students have to present parts of the work in an internal research seminar at least once a year. In addition, it is strongly encouraged that students submit their work to international conferences.