FAQ
Find a few answers to frequently asked questions below.
Q: I am not a business major. Is this a problem?
A: No. We happily look at candidates who have majored in neighbouring disciplines (e.g. economics or psychology) or in subjects that appear even further removed at first sight (e.g. physics, engineering). The PhD program course is geared towards providing you with the necessary training you need to become proficient to do research in our field. That said, we do expect you to have a clear idea of what you sign up for at the time of your application, and to have demonstrated an appetite for conducting research in the social sciences. As a general rule, we only consider candidates with strong quantitative training and excellent grades in the prior university programs.
Q: I don’t speak German. Is this a problem for you?
A: No. For us this does not pose a problem at all. Our working language is English. However, please consider whether you want to live in a German-speaking city for four years before applying.
Q: I do not have EU citizenship. Is this a problem?
A: In general, this need not pose a problem as long as you are being offered a position by us, however, there are more bureaucratic steps to go through for non-EU citizens and thus the process may take longer. Not holding EU member citzenship should not discourage you from applying.
Q: At which points during the year do you take in PhD students?
A: Students are admitted to the PhD program at the beginning of either the winter semester (October) or summer semester (March) of each academic year.
Q: I would like to conduct my PhD studies next to my regular work. Is this possible?
A: No. This is not possible. We do not supervise external PhD students.
Q: I have a very specific idea that I would like to pursue as part of my PhD. Is this possible?
A: While this is not entirely impossible, experience shows that it is highly unlikely that, by the time you start to engage in your own independent research, this question will still be the one you want to pursue for the rest of the program. Moreover, research proposals for the PhD thesis always require mutual interest of both the candidate and a supervisor within the subject area. In any case, we discourage you to apply to our department if you already have a very specific idea of what you would like to research. You will find other departments/universities to be much more open to this kind of supervision.
Q: You currently do not have a job opening. Can I apply to the PhD program regardless?
A: You may apply to the PhD program in Management irrespective of our subject area advertising a job offering at the time when you apply. The PhD program in management is administered centrally by the Department of Business Administration, and they decide on admissions. However, if your goal is to eventually do your PhD-related research with the strategy subject area, you should contact us before applying to see if we are interested in working with you. This will depend on your prior training, your grades, and – in the case of us having no offerings – your ability to spend four years full time with us without us providing you with financial support.