PhD in Business Studies

Reach the pinnacle of your career without having to rearrange your life!

Anytime, anywhere, no boundaries, no classrooms!

CIRCLE International works in partnership with 80 universities across the world. We facilitate academic study and debate that explores and examines consumer behaviour in the local, regional, national and international contexts.

Our distance-learning PhD programme offers a more flexible way to study for a research degree – and allows you to undertake a PhD from wherever you are based in the world. Completing a PhD with CIRCLE International is an exciting, challenging and rewarding experience and forms the foundation for your future career in academia or the world of trade and industry.

Develop your full potential with a PhD from CIRCLE International

A PhD is the highest academic credential available in most fields and takes an average of 5 years beyond a master’s degree to complete. It is arguably the most prestigious degree available.

Our PhD is a programme of independent, self-directed academic research, supported by a personal supervisor. It makes an original contribution to knowledge and must be written up In a thesis. The programme seeks to enable students to gain the technical and intellectual skills to pursue doctoral research across a broad range of business disciplines.

We provide the opportunity for you to develop your full potential by conducting your studies within a world-class research institution. You will receive research training and supervision from internationally recognised scholars across a wide range of disciplines. Our goals are to inspire and challenge you intellectually and prepare you for success in your chosen career. The completion of a PhD from CIRCLE will not only equip you with the skills for doctoral research, necessary for a successful career in academia but will also enhance your labour market prospects to work as an executive, consultant or researcher in commerce, industry or the public sector.

Benefits of Distance Learning

Studying for a PhD via distance learning allows you to:

• Work at your own pace
• Complete a PhD on a Part-Time basis – no need to give up existing employment or have to move away from family responsibilities
• Have the flexibility to work with your busy life
• Gain affordable learning and self—development
• Develop your career without having to leave employment
• Continue earning as you study and spread the costs of your course
• Apply new knowledge and insights to you your working life while you are still studying
• Tackle a professional or work-related topic of interest to you in your doctoral thesis.

Structure of the PhD programme

All the Support you need

Each student will be assigned an academic supervisor who will provide guidance on the formal specification of the topic and the general direction of the research.

Professors in Circle are passionate about their subject and aim to share their knowledge and experience with you from the start of your time studying with us.

You’ll keep in touch with your supervisor through regular supervisory meetings provided online or by telephone. Regular supervision helps to ensure that the research progresses in the appropriate direction. Full-time doctoral students make contact with their supervisors on at least ten occasions during the year.

Structure and Assessments

To aid students in the transition to independent research and help them acquire the necessary skills, candidates are expected to complete a number of assessed taught modules during the first year of study. This includes online training in research skills and methodology.

Three essays and six case studies must be completed from the modules selected by the student.

The student must also complete one research attend one scientific conference and submit one article for publication before the thesis is submitted.

Each student will undertake a substantial research project that is written up as a thesis of 80,000 words and defended in an oral examination (the “viva voce” examination).

Develop your full potential with a PhD from CIRCLE International

Please use this link to the CIRCLE International website to discover more about the areas of interest covered by our PhD supervisory professoriate.

Please consult the list on the website to determine if there is a match between your research interests and those of potential supervisors.

Entrance Requirements

The PhD programme is reading and writing focused, so doctorate students should be highly literate. They should have advanced research skills, be articulate, and have the ability to comprehend complex texts. Additionally, students should be self-motivated and able to work independently. A master is necessary.

How to apply

Qualifications

Qualifications required for admission to the PhD programme: Applicants will normally be graduates of an approved university holding a Master’s degree in a relevant subject. There is a provision for an applicant to apply for Accreditation of Prior Learning (APL) which may exempt them from specific modules.

English Language Requirements

All teaching on the PhD programme is in English. If your first language is not English, we may require evidence of your competence in the language.

For those whose first language is not English, evidence of this capacity is required. Applicants should reach at least level 6.5 in the IELTS with a minimum score of 6.0 in each of the four elements of the test.or 580/93 for TOEFL.

• An Internet-based TOEFL score of at least 100, with a minimum score of 19 in each element of the test.

Applications

• To apply for the PhD programme please contact us (our contact details are on the last page of this brochure) and we will set you a Postgraduate Application Form.

• Please search the staff research interests of the CIRCLE professoriate on the CIRCLE website. html to make sure we offer PhD supervision in the area you wish to base your research.

• The following supporting documents will need to be sent with your Postgraduate Application Form: two statements from academic referees, academic transcripts of your qualifications and if your first language is not English, we may require evidence of your competence in the language. Please see the details in “English Language Requirements” above.

• Submit your online Postgraduate Application Form

• If you have any questions about the distance learning PhD please contact us.

Doctoral Fees

The minimum registration period for the PhD Programme is three years: the maximum period is seven years.

For our distance learning programmes, we do not distinguish between UK/EU and international studies.
There is no differential fee.