Postgraduate research in Management

The Department of Management at the University of St Andrews Business School is one of the UK's leading business and management schools. It has a distinctive and proud identity as a smaller school focused on research and teaching of the highest quality.

The Department is research intensive, and is underpinned by a strong grounding in the social sciences. At postgraduate level, students can benefit from internationally recognised research expertise, as acknowledged in the Research Excellence Framework (REF), while still enjoying the benefits of a small and friendly institution.

The Department of Management offers the following research degrees:

PhD (Doctor of Philosophy)
The PhD is studied over three to four years (or six to seven years part-time). Students produce a thesis comprising no more than 80,000 words, excluding the bibliography and appendices.
MRes (Masters in Research)
The MRes programme equips doctoral candidates with core research skills and a wide knowledge of contemporary management theories and practices. There is no direct application to this programme. The Department recommends enrolment to students on an individual basis as a first part of the PhD programme, normally when the doctoral candidate has an undergraduate degree as their highest qualification. See below for an example of the components of the MRes programme. The MRes is recognised by the ESRC's Scottish Graduate School as part of a 1+3 doctoral programme.

Find out more about research in the Department.

Applicants for research degrees in the School of Management are required to choose a potential supervisor before applying.

First, you will need to choose a research group relevant to your area of interest. To decide which research area within the School is for you, look for more information in the web pages about the School's research groups. If you cannot find your particular area of interest within the thematic research groups, it is unlikely that the School could provide you with supervision.

Having identified your research group, you need to identify a potential supervisor. Each group's web page has a list of academic and research members that links to more information about each person. You can also check the main list of academics on the School's People page which shows research keywords for staff.

Contact a prospective supervisor by sending them your research proposal, which should be no longer than 1,500 words excluding references, and your CV. They will expect you to have a research background in your chosen field.

Then, after you have agreement from a prospective supervisor, you should complete the online application, as indicated in the 'How to apply' section below.
Research students within the School are funded from a wide range of sources including UK research councils, charities, industry partners and overseas agencies. This section and the Scholarships page provide information about current postgraduate funding opportunities.

Your tuition fees will depend on your fee status and the degree you are applying for. In addition to tuition fees, you will need to cover the cost of your accommodation and everyday living, including food, travel and laundry. You should also set aside an allowance for books, equipment, field trips and other fees.

Your offer of a place for postgraduate study does not guarantee financial support. However, the University of St Andrews has many postgraduate scholarships that you can apply for, alongside the other funding sources listed here and at Scholarships.

After submitting your study application, you may apply for any available awards separately through the scholarships and funding catalogue found at Scholarships. Within the catalogue, closing dates and eligibility are listed separately for named individual awards. Prospective research students can apply for most awards without first holding a study offer.

If you are a new applicant to the University of St Andrews, you will receive a unique link directly to the scholarships and funding catalogue.

If you are a current student at St Andrews, you can access scholarships and funding through 'My Applications' on MySaint.

School of Management funding opportunities

When new competitive PhD studentships are offered by the School, details will be posted here.

ESRC Scottish Graduate School doctoral studentships

The School of Management is a member of the ESRC's Scottish Graduate School of Social Science (SGSSS) doctoral training centre. ESRC SGSSS studentships and scholarships are awarded annually. The scholarship competition opens in autumn, for degrees starting the following September.

See Economic and Social Research Council studentship funding for eligibility and application information.

University funding opportunities for prospective students

Below is a selection of general funding opportunities that may be relevant to research with the School of Management. You can view a longer list of general funding opportunities on the Scholarships page.
- AD Links Foundation Postgraduate Scholarship (UK) or AD Links Foundation Postgraduate Scholarship (EU) - for PhD students from the UK and EU and aimed particularly at those with an interest in sport
- Carnegie PhD Scholarships - for students with a first-class Honours undergraduate degree from a Scottish university who wish to pursue a PhD in Scotland
- China Scholarship Council - the University of St Andrews has a collaborative agreement with the China Scholarship Council to develop research collaborations between the UK and Chinese universities and research institutions. Available to Chinese students wishing to undertake a PhD at the University of St Andrews.
- Commonwealth PhD Scholarships - for candidates from least developed countries and fragile states in the Commonwealth, for full-time doctoral study at a UK university
- Douglas and Gordon Bonnyman Scholarship - for postgraduate students from any country starting a PhD in the arts or humanities.
- Fulbright-University of St Andrews Award - for students from the USA who have applied to a UK university to study the Arts or Humanities at doctoral level
- Gibson-Sykora Scholarship –for entrant postgraduate students normally resident in Poland
- Trudeau Scholarships –outstanding Canadian doctoral candidates in social sciences and humanities programmes. Candidates must be doing research in areas related to the Foundation's four themes: human rights and dignity; responsible citizenship; Canada and the world; and people and their natural environment.
- University of St Andrews Accommodation Award for PGR students.
The School would usually expect a first class or 2.1 degree in a relevant subject and a distinction at Masters level, with a significant component of advanced study in the intended area of specialism. However, qualifications are less important than the proposed topic, the quality of the research proposal, and the identification of an appropriate supervisor.

Language requirements

Doctoral students are expected to present fluently in English and to have a solid command of written academic English.

International students who do not have English as their first language must have an IELTS score of 7.0 or above, with a minimum score of 6.5 in every section of the test.

If you have been taught solely and wholly in English for the duration of your undergraduate degree (at least three years or more), it is unlikely you will need to provide evidence of English proficiency. The selection panel considering your application will decide whether or not an IELTS or TOEFL score or language training will be required.
When to apply

If you intend to self-fund your studies or receive funding from another source, you can apply at any time to begin studies in August, September, October, January or May.

If you do not intend to self-fund your studies and have a funded studentship (for example SGSSS), applications can be made throughout the year for September entry.

At present there is no closing date for applying to the programme. There is, however, intense academic competition for places at St Andrews, and only a limited number of spaces are available.

Submit a full application

After you have determined a potential research supervisor, as in the 'research supervisors' section above, you can start your application online. If a 'Management' option is not immediately available on the web form, please select 'Business School'.

You will need to complete the online application form and upload the following supporting documentation:
- covering letter stating research area, motivation for the project and its relevance to a particular thematic group
- research proposal, which must be no longer than 1,500 words excluding references
- up-to-date curriculum vitae
- details of two academic referees, including email addresses
- academic transcripts, which must be certified copies
- a piece of coursework by you, in the area in which you intend to study. This must be different from your research proposal and no longer than 3,000 words.
- IELTS or TOEFL certificate if English is not your first language. The School requires an IELTS score of 7.0 or above, with a minimum score of 6.5 in every section of the test.
- confirmation of supervision agreement.
A doctoral candidate in the School of Management works closely with their supervisor, while undertaking a focused programme of original research. Read about the School's current postgraduate cohort and their research interests.

A range of research seminars, meetings and presentations provide support and encouragement throughout the period of study. At workshops and conferences, students meet with colleagues from other universities, share experiences and present their work as it develops.

Modules in the social sciences, addressing philosophy and methods, are available for Management doctoral students to audit. In recent years, these modules have considered topics including:
- how to design and produce a research dissertation
- fundamental concepts of quantitative analysis
- theoretical approaches in the social sciences
- theoretical and practical introduction to the collection, analysis and writing of qualitative social science research
- professional development.
In addition to research training in the School and advanced training provided by the Scottish Graduate School of Social Science (SGSSS), doctoral students have access to the Centre for Educational Enhancement and Development (CEED). Within CEED, GRADskills is a free, comprehensive training programme supporting academic, professional, and personal development with activities and workshops.

At the end of the programme, students will submit a well-developed thesis for examination by experts in the appropriate field of research. This oral examination represents the culmination of the candidate's study and dedicated work. It is not uncommon for candidates, by the time of their examination, to have given papers at academic conferences or to be in the process of submitting papers for publication in peer-reviewed journals.
Registered MRes students are required to complete 100 credits of core social science and management modules, one 20-credit module from a list of options, and the 60-credit MN5399 MRes Dissertation in Management Studies.

As an example, the MRes for 2022-2023 required students to complete 100 credits from:
- MN5001 Contemporary Global Issues in Management (20 credits)
- MN5002 Contemporary Conceptual Issues in Management (20 credits)
- SS5101 Being a Social Scientist (15 credits)
- SS5102 Philosophy and Methodology of the Social Sciences (15 credits)
- SS5103 Qualitative Methods in Social Research (15 credits)
- SS5104 Quantitative Research in Social Science (15 credits).
In addition, students chose one 20-credit option module from the following list of modules:
- MN5401 International Marketing
- MN5421 Managing People in Global Markets
- MN5501 Scenario Thinking and Strategy
- MN5510 Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Creativity
- MN5511 Leadership in Organisations
- MN5514 Managing Natural Resources
- MN5515 Entrepreneurship and Business Development
- MN5554 Marketing and Society
- MN5604 Financial Systems
- MN5607 International Financial Management
- MN5608 Risk Management
- MN5611 Alternative Investment
- MN5613 Behavioural Finance
- MN5821 Managing Non-Governmental Organisations.
Also required were the full 60 credits from MN5399 MRes Dissertation in Management Studies.

The sum of credits would be 180.

The module list changes from time to time, and some modules have prerequisites. You can learn more about the individual modules via the module catalogue.

Recent research degree success

Ban Lee

Ban examined, with reference to Bourdieu, financialisation in the unique institutional structure of the art market.

Shuting Liu

Shuting's research considered detrimental effects of inequality on self-worth, alongside marketplace support for 'fair work'.

Muhammed Hasan Yilmaz with a river and urban skyline in the background

Muhammed Hasan Yılmaz

Muhammed presents new evidence on the impact of governance characteristics on bank policies from the perspective of stakeholders.

Meredith Schertzinger

Meredith considered individual runners, group identity and online exercise classes in the context of the coronavirus pandemic.

Postgraduate research in Management

Research supervisors

Funding and fees

Entry requirements

How to apply

Doctoral programme structure

MRes programme

Recent research degree success