PhD in Business and Management / PhD in Regional Sciences

The Hantos Elemér Doctoral School of Business, Management and Regional Sciences is part of the Faculty of Economics at the University of Miskolc, Hungary. This fully accredited doctoral programme aims to prepare students interested in social sciences to conduct high-quality research in management and organizational sciences, as well as regional sciences. One of the special features of our doctoral school is that we offer a doctoral programme in both management and organizational sciences and regional sciences. The doctoral school is a member of the European Doctoral Programs Association in Management and Business Administration (EDAMBA), which provides opportunities for international cooperation. The main focal points of current research include marketing schools and applications, management, finance and accounting, business economics, regionalism, spatial theory, space and business.

Specializations

• Marketing
• Management
• Finance and Accounting
• Business Economics
• Regionalism
• Spatial Theory
• Space and Business (according to research topic)

The first step of the admission process is that each year the Council of the Doctoral School accepts research calls from potential supervisors and announces them in the database doktori.hu. These are the available research topics for the students. After the applicants submit their proposals (which include the acceptance letter from the university), a formal review of the application takes place and the preparation for the entrance examination begins.

First, the Director of the Doctoral School and an advisory committee preliminarily evaluate the submitted materials of the applicants and prepare a summary based on the content of the application materials (proposal and attachments, e.g., previous academic achievements).

The second phase is the admissions interview. This admissions interview is usually conducted via Skype or the online platform Google meet by a 4-5 member admissions review committee. Applicants are usually notified of the date one week in advance via the contact email address they provide.

The admissions interview usually lasts no longer than 15 minutes. The first part includes questions about the applicant’s motivations and educational experiences, as well as reasons for choosing the subject. The second part is about the detailed presentation of the research plan (methods, literature, planned empirical analyses, motivation).

During the entrance exam, a maximum of 100 points can be obtained. The minimum score for admission is 60 points, which is a compulsory precondition but does not guarantee automatic admission.

Factors considered during the selection process

• Professional intelligence (degree, official transcript, performance in the entrance examination): max 35 points,
• Suitability for research work (written documentation submitted, research plan, entrance examination): max 35 points,
• Language knowledge (language examination certificates and the quality of replies in English or German during the entrance examination): max 20 points,
• Journal articles, papers and other scientific activities: max 10 points.

A detailed Research Proposal must include the following

• Description of the research field and problem formulation. Define a clear question and approach to answer it. Highlight its originality and/or significance,
• Literature review. Explain how the research problem adds to, develops or challenges existing literature in the field,
• Propose research hypothesis and methodology and list expected results,
• Research schedule (Gantt-diagram).

After the admissions interviews, the admissions committee, in conjunction with the director of the doctoral school, evaluates the applicants’ performance against the specified criteria and produces a ranked list. This list serves as the final proposal of the doctoral school for the new doctoral candidates.

A PhD in Business and Management or Regional Sciences is a preferred qualification for various types of jobs:

University Lecturer/Professor

• Researcher
• Policy Analyst
• Management Consultants
• Chief Executive Officer
• Strategic Manager
• Research Analyst
• Regionalist
• Urban Planning Strategist
• Quantitative Analyst