Research areas
Human Resource Management and Employment Relations:
specific research areas include income distribution; training and development; management development; leadership; shareholder value and the role of private equity firms in the market for corporate control; labour market regulation and the role of the state.
International Business:
research areas include Global Value Chains; corporate social responsibility; the internationalisation of firms and the international transfer of practices; innovation and international knowledge flows; the impact of national institutions on the emergence of new areas of science and technology; social capital and the internationalisation of SMEs.
Organisational Studies:
specific research areas include organisational transformation and the management of change; knowledge management; the changing nature of careers; new organisational forms; leadership and governance.
Learning and teaching
As a PhD student, you will begin working on your research project right at the start of the first year. With the support of your Research Supervisor, you will also go through a training analysis to identify any needs that you may have.
Most PhD students will be expected to take the core research methods training courses of the MA Social Research. Students will then be able to take more advanced training as appropriate on the basis of a training needs analysis conducted with their supervisor at the beginning of each year. Details of the courses taken by PhD students in the Department of Economics or by students who do their research in the area of Finance can be obtained from the Research Office.
One popular module is Postgraduate Teaching Assistant training, which students often take in year 2 or 3, enabling you to teach within the school, and ultimately making you all the more employable after your study.
For part-time students modules are flexible and can be studied in blocks, part time or weekends to fit your commitments.
The thesis
The thesis is an examined work of about 80,000 words, and an oral examination to defend the thesis is required. This thesis will be a work of original scholarship and be worthy of potential publication in a journal. Students are required to undergo research training, except where appropriate research training has already been undertaken.
PhD students are also encouraged to take part in a colloquium between the University of Birmingham, Aston University and Warwick University, where students present their work and receive comments and advice on subject matter and findings.
Related links
Birmingham Business School website: www.birmingham.ac.uk/business