Doctoral programme in Business Administration

As a doctoral student you will undergo rigorous training in theory, method and analysis – through individual supervision, coursework, seminars and workshops. No doubt, you will also benefit from being part of an academic community where scholarly dialogue continues outside of the seminar room.

Doctoral students are expected to complete their PhD in four years, with possible extension up to five years.

What we offer:

a thriving and diverse research environment;
a fully funded doctoral studentship with a competitive salary;
a brand new campus close to the city centre as well as nature and recreation.

Apply for a PhD position

Doktorand i företagsekonomi inom projektet Effektivt förverkligande (Swedish)
Sista ansökningsdag 2026-02-22

Läs mer och ansök

Doktorand i företagsekonomi inom projektet Handlingskraft i samverkan (Swedish)
Sista ansökningsdag 2026-02-22

Läs mer och ansök

Three specializations

Accounting and operations management

Do you want to dig deeper into how organizations control their operations? Do you want to investigate how firms report performance? Do you want to study how accounting technologies interplay with societal changes? If any of these or adjacent questions are interesting for you, you might want to apply for the doctoral program in business administration, with focus on accounting or operations management.

Read more about Accounting at Stockholm Business School

Management, organization and society

Are you curious about how organisations are structured and managed, how they emerge and change, how they function and how they are challenged, how people work and interact within them, and how organisations influence and are influenced by the world around them? Then you should consider the PhD with focus on Management.

Read more about Management, organization and society at Stockholm Business School

Marketing

Virtually all organizations engage in marketing in order to make sure that they provide value for customers, clients, partners and society at large. If you are interested in how organizations can use marketing to better achieve their goals, or if you are interested in how the proliferation of marketing in society profoundly shapes contemporary cultures, then you might want to apply for the doctoral program in business administration, with focus on marketing at Stockholm Business School.

Read more about Marketing at Stockholm Business School

Programme structure, coursework and thesis

The doctoral programme in Business Administration comprises 240 higher education credits, or four years of full-time study. This consists of courses worth 90 credits and a dissertation worth 150 credits. The two parts can be followed simultaneously, but most of the course work is typically done during the first half of the study period. Many doctoral students also choose to teach during their studies, thereby extending their funding to up to five years.

Coursework

The coursework includes mandatory courses that are primarily offered at SBS (45 credits) as well as a range of elective courses in Sweden and elsewhere (45 credits). The course program is partly tailored to your project but it is also directed towards a broader academic journey in which earlier bodies of thought are studied and analyzed.

Depending on your specialization, you can choose to follow courses offered through various collaborations on research education, such as:

Thesis

The thesis is developed under the guidance of the supervisors. As a doctoral student at SBS you are assigned one or more supervisors from day one. As you progress with the thesis work you also get feedback at three "milestone seminars": the thesis proposal seminar, the midway seminar, and the final script seminar.

In addition, you are encouraged to present your work at conferences in Sweden and abroad. You are allocated a research budget to cover conference expenses.

At the end of the program, the thesis is assessed at the public dissertation defence. Doctoral theses written at Stockholm Business School are either published as a monography, or consist of a set of three or more academic articles of which at least one is solo-authored.

Syllabus

General Syllabus for PhD Studies in Business Administration pdf, 435.2 kB. (435 Kb)

Employment / funding

When you are admitted to the PhD program, you typically also become employed by Stockholm university. The position takes the form of a temporary employment for a maximum of four years of full-time study, conditional on that the studies proceed according to plan. There is no tuition fee and you are paid a monthly salary. The entry level salary currently amounts to SEK 31 600 per month before taxes, increasing up to SEK 34 700 during the course of the program. The program requires you to be based in Sweden, with the main workplace being Stockholm Business School.

Each doctoral student is offered a research budget to cover expenses for courses, conferences, fieldwork, databases, and software. Stockholm University grants employees the right to wellness benefit of up to SEK 3,000 including VAT per calendar year, upon presentation of a receipt. The program requires you to be based in Sweden, with the main workplace being Stockholm Business School.

Department duty

Many students also choose to teach during their PhD studies, but this is optional. You may take on departmental duty of up to 20% of full time each year, thereby extending your funding for the doctoral programme up to five years. In addition to teaching, the departmental duty may include research assistance and administrative tasks, such as assisting in the organization of academic events.

Application and admission

Eligibility

Candidates for the doctoral programme in Business Administration at SBS must fulfil at least one of the following criteria:

Completed an advanced level degree (master’s degree).
Completed courses equivalent to at least 240 credits, of which at least 60 credits must be at master’s level.
Acquired equivalent knowledge in another way, in Sweden or elsewhere.

In addition, the applicant must have successfully completed at least 90 credits in Business Administration, or equivalent, including a thesis comprising at least 15 credits.
Admission to PhD positions is limited and competition for positions is usually tough.

Application

PhD positions in Business Administration are announced annually in December or early January. The application deadline for the next admission will be February 1, 2025.

An important part of your application is the research proposal. Your proposal should outline and motivate a research idea, supported with references to the academic literature.

Selection criteria

Selection of applicants is made with respect to their ability to benefit from studies at doctoral level. This is assessed on basis of (i) documented knowledge in a relevant subject area, (ii) English language skills (written and spoken), and (iii) analytical, critical, communicative, and creative thinking skills. We pay particular attention to the quality of your research proposal, your academic merits, and your academic references. Short-listed candidates are called to an interview.