Metadata
Title
Postgraduate research opportunities A-Z
Category
graduate
UUID
45f490524ca7471c98fbf7f9a5ba1cac
Source URL
https://www.gla.ac.uk/postgraduate/research/management/
Parent URL
https://www.gla.ac.uk/postgraduate/research/
Crawl Time
2026-03-11T05:55:43+00:00
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Postgraduate research opportunities A-Z

Source: https://www.gla.ac.uk/postgraduate/research/management/ Parent: https://www.gla.ac.uk/postgraduate/research/

Postgraduate research

Management PhD

A management PhD is a research intensive degree programme for students with a strong academic background. The PhD program develops researchers in Management for careers in academia, industry and public service.

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Overview

Our programme combines robust taught research training and applied research practice within a flexible timeframe of three to five years. Beginning with foundation training in research methods, you will follow advanced training pathways in qualitative and quantitative methodologies and benefit from extensive training in research skills.

As a postgraduate researcher, you will form the bedrock of our research community, and we will actively encourage you to engage with peers while publishing your research and participating in research seminars, training retreats, workshops, conferences and presentations.

Our research is organised into six research clusters and we offer expert guidance on PhD projects in:

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Testimonial from Carole Couper

Testimonial from Carole Couper

Adam Smith Business School is triple accredited

Study options

Routes into Management PhD

Depending on your prior qualifications, experience and the quality of your research proposal, you can enter the PhD directly or undertake our MRes in Management programme first. If you enter the PhD directly you will be required to pass two compulsory taught courses in research training in your first year.

Direct entry onto the PhD will require you to work on implementing your research proposal from the onset and you are expected to complete your PhD in three years.

You will need a Masters degree in business or management at Merit or 60% and above that includes coverage of appropriate research methodologies. You will also need to produce an outstanding research proposal that will attract two PhD supervisors.

Your PhD progression will depend on the successful completion of taught courses and progress of your independent research in year one.

MRes in Management

If you do not meet the direct entry criteria for the PhD, your research journey could begin with our highly relevant and structured MRes in Management programme.  This provides training on specialist management topics of your choice and core research skills. Your training will be highly applied and aimed at developing a robust PhD proposal. For your MRes dissertation you could be working with a potential PhD supervisor and this work may directly contribute to your PhD.

This route is open to students:

Your admission to PhD will depend on successful completion of the MRes at Merit or above and a research proposal that attracts a supervisor.

Assessment and Progression

A PhD is an independent research project and the criterion for the award is a significant contribution to knowledge. This judgement is made on the basis of a thesis of between 70,000 and 100,000 words and an oral examination (viva voce).

The progress of your independent research will be formally reviewed once a year and your continuing registration on the PhD programme will depend on a successful Annual Progress Review.

Entry requirements

As an applicant for one of our research degrees, you should possess a Masters degree at 60% (Merit) or an overseas equivalent, with a significant component in Business or Management.

If you have a Masters degree in a subject other than the one you plan to research you will need to demonstrate specialist academic knowledge, for example through your masters dissertation or, in exceptional cases, prior experience of management.

Candidates who do not meet the entry criteria should consider the integrated route through MRes.We consider all applications on their own merit and cannot review individual eligibility before you apply.

English language requirements

For applicants from non-English speaking countries, as defined by the UK Government, the University sets a minimum English Language proficiency level.

International English Language Testing System (IELTS) Academic and Academic Online (not General Training)

Common equivalent English language qualifications accepted for entry to this programme

TOEFL (ibt, mybest or athome)

Tests taken up to 20 January 2026

Tests taken from 21 January 2026

Pearsons PTE Academic

Cambridge Proficiency in English (CPE) and Cambridge Advanced English (CAE)

Oxford ELLT

LanguageCert Academic SELT

Password Skills Plus

Trinity College Tests

University of Glasgow Pre-sessional courses

Tests are accepted for 2 years following date of successful completion.

Alternatives to English Language qualification

For international students, the Home Office has confirmed that the University can choose to use these tests to make its own assessment of English language ability for visa applications to degree level programmes. The University is also able to accept UKVI approved Secure English Language Tests (SELT) but we do not require a specific UKVI SELT for degree level programmes. We therefore still accept any of the English tests listed for admission to this programme.

Pre-sessional courses

The University of Glasgow accepts evidence of the required language level from the English for Academic Study Unit Pre-sessional courses. We would strongly encourage you to consider the pre-sessional courses at the University of Glasgow's English for Academic Study (EAS) Unit. Our Pre-sessional courses are the best way to bring your English up to entry level for University study. Our courses give you:

For more detail on our pre-sessional courses please see:

We can also consider the pre-sessional courses accredited by the below BALEAP approved institutions to meet the language requirements for admission to our postgraduate taught degrees:

Fees and funding

Fees

2026/27

Fees are based on the annual fee for full-time study. Tuition fees for part-time study will be charged at half the full-time annual fee.

Irish nationals who are living in the Common Travel Area of the UK, EU nationals with settled or pre-settled status, and Internationals with Indefinite Leave to remain status can also qualify for home fee status.

Alumni discount

We offer a 20% discount to our alumni on all Postgraduate Research and full Postgraduate Taught Masters programmes. This includes University of Glasgow graduates and those who have completed a Study Abroad programme, Exchange programme, International Summer School or Erasmus programme with us. This discount can be awarded alongside most University scholarships. No additional application is required.

Possible additional fees

Depending on the nature of the research project, some students will be expected to pay a bench fee (also known as research support costs) to cover additional costs. The exact amount will be provided in the offer letter.

Fully funded scholarships

Support

Training opportunities

Management PhD Training Programme

Year 1:Core foundation courses

Years 2 & 3: Optional foundation and advanced courses:

Further development and training

In addition to formal training, Management hosts a number of research events including twice yearly PhD retreats, seminars, workshops and conferences, that are open to staff and research students.

Research Support

The Adam Smith Business School provides financial support for PhD students to attend international academic conferences to present research.

We offer students a generous allowance to participate in external training courses.  For example with:

How to apply

Identify potential supervisors

All Postgraduate Research Students are allocated a supervisor who will act as the main source of academic support and research mentoring. You may want to identify a potential supervisor and contact them to discuss your research proposal before you apply. Please note, even if you have spoken to an academic staff member about your proposal you still need to submit an online application form.

You can find relevant academic staff members with our staff research interests search.

Also see our research clusters & members in:

Gather your documents

Before applying please make sure you gather the following supporting documentation:

  1. Final or current degree transcripts including grades (and an official translation, if needed) – scanned copy in colour of the original document.
  2. Degree certificates (and an official translation, if needed): scanned copy in colour of the original document.
  3. Two references on headed paper and signed by the referee. One must be academic, the other can be academic or professional. References may be uploadedas part of the application form or you may enter your referees contact details on the application form. We will then email your referee and notify you when we receive the reference.  We can also accept confidential references direct to rio-researchadmissions@glasgow.ac.uk, from the referee’s university or business email account.
  4. CV
  5. Name of potential supervisor
  6. Research proposal.  Candidates are required to provide a single page outline of the research subject proposed (approximately 1000 words). This need not be a final thesis proposal but should include:
  7. a straightforward, descriptive, and informative title
  8. the question that your research will address
  9. an account of why this question is important and worth investigating
  10. an assessment of how your own research will engage with recent study in the subject
  11. a brief account of the methodology and approach you will take
  12. a discussion of the primary sources that your research will draw upon, including printed books, manuscripts, archives, libraries, or museums
  13. an indicative bibliography of secondary sources that you have already consulted and/or are planning to consult

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International Students

Our research environment

Induction

Postgraduate researcher blogs