Study location	Hungary, Budapest
Type	PhD, full-time
Nominal duration	6 semesters
Study language	English
Awards	PhD

Tuition fee	€4,000 per semester Tuition fee per semester for the academic year of 2024/2025: EUR 3,100 The new tuition fee per semester is effective from the September 2025 intake: EUR 4,000
Application fee	€100 one-time This is a non-refundable fee.
Deposit	€1,200 one-time This is a validation fee that will be deducted from your tuition fee.

Entry qualification	First or second class, upper division Master's degree The entry qualification documents are accepted in the following languages: English / Hungarian. You must take the original entry qualification documents along with you when you finally go to the university.

Language requirements	English The IBS Research Officer checks the applicant’s English skills with an Orientation Interview via Skype after the online application.

Other requirements	A detailed research plan and one letter of recommendation by an academic, familiar with your work. Please attach these to your online application. You can find sample forms on the website. Sufficient familiarity with the academic field your proposed research project belongs to, confirmed by the IBS Research Officer during an Orientation Interview, conducted via Skype.

More information	ibs-b.hu/../phd-in-business-and-management

Overview

We offer a PhD in Business and Management in English, leading to a degree conferred by The University of Buckingham. Companies and institutions need professionals with the skills to manage and market knowledge-intensive products, as well as professionals with a deep understanding of the scientific principles underlying products and processes. The PhD in Business and Management focuses on developing employable expertise through in-depth research.

Programme structure

Postgraduate students on our PhD programme will first be enrolled on a Probationary PhD Status. All students enrolled on the programme will be supported by supervisors who will help them develop a research and writing plan and guide them through the preparation of a formal final research proposal during their first two semesters of study. All research students must also subject their work to an Annual Progress Review. Upon demonstrating satisfactory progress at the Annual Review exam at the end of their first year, which includes successfully defending a feasible research proposal, students are upgraded to Full PhD Status. Should students fail to pass their first Annual Review, they may either be asked to resubmit an amended proposal, have their registration changed to an MPhil (Master of Philosophy) degree or, in extreme cases, have their registration terminated.

The PhD in Business and Management is an advanced research degree during which students undertake supervised but independent research that leads to a thesis of up to 100,000 words presenting the results of that research. The thesis must demonstrate extended familiarity with and a comprehensive understanding of the subject and the academic literature in the area; show an ability to construct and execute a plan for primary research, including data collection and its critical analysis; and offer an original contribution to knowledge in the field of business and management.

Students have to consult with their supervisors on the campus 12 times per year. At the end of the programme, the viva voce examination is also held on the Budapest campus.

Recommended PhD topics
IBS welcomes research proposals that match or are similar to IBS staff’s current research topics and/or fall within the potential supervisors’ areas of expertise. Please consult the guide to writing a research proposal below before submitting an application.

Below is a list of PhD topics that our academic staff have suggested as research opportunities for PhD in Business and Management students to undertake. IBS encourages PhD candidates to develop a proposal around one of these topics.

Marketing
- How the Internet of Things (IoT) is to change marketing communication?
- Marketing in times of degrowth – a new potential challenge
- Importance, effects etc. of packaging in marketing

HR / CSR
- Workplace equality and diversity management; workplace diversity and inclusion strategies for specific groups of the labour market
- Corporate social responsibility and sustainability, particularly in relation to technology (bio- and medical technology, AI, automation, social media), the financial industry and/or resource-extractive industries
- HRM and organisational performance

Auditing / controlling
- External and internal auditing: auditors’ responsibilities, regulatory frameworks, development of audit procedures in response to current challenges
- Controlling: current trends and methods in controlling, its importance in decision-making

Communication
- Linguistic and communicative strategies in international negotiations
- Analysing aims and intentions in business communication through speech act theory

Organisation theory and organisational behaviour
- Critical management studies
- Power and politics in organisations
- Alternative organising
- Management education and business schools

Economic policy
- Role and effects of state ownership at various levels of development
- Economic policy-making in vulnerable democracies
- Welfare reforms in ageing societies
- Corruption, its psychological, organizational, social / cross-cultural, and / or developmental aspects

Behavioural economics
- The role of emotions in economic decision-making
- The effects of trust on cooperation and competition

Banking
- Post-2008 business models in banking
- Globalization in banking
- Fintech versus traditional banking models

Finance
- Blockchain and cryptocurrencies: effects on market allocation mechanisms, macro policy, politics etc.
- Revolution in the global payments industry and financial inclusion

Workshops
While there is no compulsory teaching in the research degrees at IBS, the Research Programmes Council will be based on the evaluation of their admission file, strongly recommend candidates to attend one or several of the following workshops.

Teaching methods
Candidates spend a considerable part of their studies undertaking supervised research, at the end of which they submit a thesis presenting the results of said research. This thesis must demonstrate familiarity with, and a critical understanding of the academic debates in the field, including an ability to evaluate evidence and assess biases in the writing of others. The subject should be dealt with in a competent and scholarly manner.

Career opportunities

Companies and institutions need professionals with the skills to manage and market knowledge-intensive products, as well as professionals with a deep understanding of the scientific principles underlying products and processes. The PhD in Business and Management focuses on developing employable expertise through in-depth research.