PhD programme at the School of Business and Law
Kristiansand, GrimstadOur PhD programme is AACSB-accredited, with generous funding and an excellent study environment. Nearly all of our graduated candidates find relevant jobs, and publish their research in high quality international journals.
Facts about the program
- ECTS credits:
- 180
- Duration:
- 3 years
- Mode of study:
- Full-time
- Semester:
- Spring 2025
About the research programme
The School of Business and Law at the University of Agder is a high-profile AACSB accredited business school in Norway, and amongst the top business schools in Norway when it comes to research output per faculty member.
Our PhD program is one of Europe’s leading programs in the field of International Business, which is our main specialization. However, we also accept candidates into the programme from other areas where we have a good research environment like innovation and entrepreneurship, alternative finance (in eg. crowdfunding or microfinance), economic and financial behaviour and more.
Admission to our PhD program is normally biannual in cohorts, but fully funded students may be accepted outside cohorts. The next biannual cohort is planned to start up early spring 2025 and calls are now published at jobbnorge.no.
A list of potential supervisors can be found here:
List of potential supervisors.
Description of the programme
For more information about the programme description, learning outcomes, coursework and outline of the programme, please read the PhD programme course plan:
Why take a PhD at the School of Business and Law?
The program currently includes around 40-50 PhD candidates from across the globe working closely with their highly motivated supervisors in an excellent study environment.
High quality education
- Norwegian education is of high quality and controlled by Norwegian authorities
- School of Business and Law is AACSB accredited
- The PhD program is member of EDAMBA and generally recognized for its high quality
- Supervisors are motivated and internationally recognized scholars
Generous funding
- Free education and supervision
- Full salaries (Norwegian level) or scholarships to selected candidates
- Funding offered at the Faculty for international conferences, courses etc.
Our candidates find relevant jobs
- Nearly all graduated candidates find relevant jobs, most in academia but also in the private or public sector
- Several candidates become recognized international academic researchers
Excellent study environment
- Candidates work closely with their supervisors and are integrated in research groups
- All candidates belong to cohorts of students
- Good office space, access to databases and library infrastructure
- Most candidates finish their PhD within 3 or 4 years
- Candidates publish their research in high quality international journals
Read more about working at UiA here:
https://www.uia.no/english/about-uia/working-at-uia/
Specialisation in International Business
International Business, broadly defined, is the largest research area at the School of Business and Law and constitutes a separate specialization within the PhD programme.
To read more about our specialisation, click here
Cotutelle
The School of Business and Law has a strong focus on Internationalization and an increasing number of PhD-candidates are organized as cotutelles, i.e. joint supervision, in partnership with international Business Schools and Universities. Cotutelle-candidates are appointed supervisor, take courses and spend at least one year at each institution. The candidates receive their PhD titles and diplomas from each of the institutions.
You can read more general about cotutelle agreements at this page: Cotutelle
Candidates and universities interested in organizing cotutelle agreements with us are welcome to get in touch with the Director of the PhD programme, Professor Tobias Otterbring.
Funding of studies
Some candidates are offered PhD-fellow positions to finance their studies while others obtain scholarships or other types of external funding, including funding by cotutelle partner universities. PhD-fellow positions at the School of Business and Law are announced here: https://old.uia.no/en/vacancies
Possible sources of external funding include:
- the Research Council of Norway under the Industrial PhD scheme or the Public sector PhD scheme
- other national or international scholarships
A fully funded project is a requirement for acceptance to a PhD-programme at UiA. Get in touch with the Director of the PhD programme, Professor Tobias Otterbring, if you have access to a scholarship and would like to do your PhD at the School of Business and Law. Private funding from family etc is not allowed per our regulations.
Career prospects
We equip our candidates with a global mindset and contemporary research skills. Our graduates find prestigious jobs within and outside academia, and they publish in top-tier publications on the Financial Times List and ranked by the Chartered Association of Business Schools as Level 4-4* journals. A PhD from the School of Business and Law provides you with opportunities for further career advancement as a researcher or for another career where there are high demands for knowledge and expertise.
Where can you get a job with a PhD from the School of Business and Law?
The majority of our completed PhD candidates (approx. 70 %) work in research and development in academia. Many however, also work in industry or the public sector.
The tasks may include research, academic leadership, analysis work, project work, consultancy, guidance or administrative work. Several of our finished candidates also work as entrepreneurs and have founded their own companies.
Through doctoral work, you acquire skills such as:
- the ability to formulate academic questions and plan research and development work
- written and oral communication
- analytical thinking and the ability to think results- and solution-oriented
- project planning and the ability to work under time pressure
- the ability to see new opportunities and perspectives
- the ability to work with complex academic questions
Where do our graduated candidates work?
Finished candidates from the School of Business and Law work, among other places, at:
- Montpellier Business School, France
- Lund University, Sweden
- Statkraft, Germany
- Drammen Municipality
- Agder county council
- SR-bank
- EDC Paris Business School,
- University of Groningen, Netherlands,
- Economic Policy Research Centre, Uganda
- Aarhus University, Denmark
- Morrow Industries
- Egde Consulting
- University of Southern Norway, Norway
- MTI Investments, Sweden
Testimonials
Site under construction. Testimonials are coming
Admissions
To qualify for the programme candidates should normally:
- have a master’s degree, including a master thesis, from an academic institution with good reputation, preferably in Economics, Finance, Business Administration, Innovation Studies, Management, Marketing, Development Management, International Business or a related business or management discipline (300 ECTS credits), obtained at least with honours (B or better). Generally, at least 90 ECTS credits should be core subjects in the area you want to do your PhD project
-
Be fluent in written and oral English
-
have strong qualifications in applied research methods, and preferably have experience from studying abroad
-
have a research proposal fitting the research interest of one of our professors at the School of Business and Law (https://www.uia.no/english/about-uia/employees/)
Admission to the program is normally biannual in cohorts, but fully funded students may be accepted outside cohorts. For more information on admission, please see our supplementary regulations regarding admission.
Contact
- tobias.otterbring@uia.no
- Phone
- +47 38 14 23 97
- gunvor.guttormsen@uia.no
- Phone
- +47 38 14 16 48