Doctoral Program

The Doctoral Program is a 36-month, 80-semester credit program of post masters study completed in six 12-week semesters. Under the auspices and general supervision of Institut d'Administration des Entreprises, Université Nice Sophia Antipolis (IAE-UNSA) the doctoral program is the result of a collaborative initiative between IAE-UNSA and the International University of Monaco (IUM). The program leads to the conferral of the Doctor of Philosophy in Business Management (PhD) degree by IAE-UNSA.

IUM is accepting applications for this program in 2009.

The doctoral program is a highly innovative, comprehensive, advanced degree that offers students the opportunity to investigate and explore business disciplines at a sophisticated, in-depth level.

Practitioner-oriented and designed to be of functional significance to the practice of management. A sustained theoretically-based investigation of the management field leading to novel re-considerations of existing work. Purely research-based, original analysis and consideration of data and phenomena to correspond with similar research extant in the academic milieu.

Rigorous reflection and deliberation focused on academic examinations of current developments in the business and management field. In a dynamic format that combines intensive coursework and applied or research-oriented scholarship, the doctoral program seeks to leverage the research achievements and theoretical knowledge of IUM and IAE-UNSA faculty, as well as their managerial expertise and real world experience. The program aims to produce academically well-qualified graduates with a meaningful understanding of the ways in which working managers may impact the multinational business setting - as well as the implications of such actions.

There are effectively two tracks students may choose from: to become theoretical researchers, academics, or teachers; or to embark on careers as applied researchers, consultants, and senior corporate roles.

A distinctive feature of the doctoral program is the project-based nature of both coursework and dissertation; students are not permitted to proceed to doctoral candidacy until they have identified a firm, government entity, or other type of organization that is willing to "sponsor" their research. This sponsorship provides students with a real world laboratory where they can identify specific problems to address through their research, and create useful applications of that research to the firm in question.

The doctoral program consists of four major instructional components: research foundation requirements, the advanced core seminar, the project-based research tutorial, and the dissertation.

1. Frame 1: Research Foundation Requirements (8 credits)
2. Frame 2: Advanced Core Seminar (32 credits)
i. Part I: Domain Survey (8 credits)
ii. Part II: Colloquium (24 credits)
3. Frame 3: Project-Based Research Tutorial (16 credits)
4. Frame 4: Dissertation (24 credits) Within this architecture, each frame builds on its predecessor, establishing an increasingly complex schema of basic theory and methodology for research. Using this broad base of knowledge, students create a blueprint for their research work that channels original ideas into a research agenda.

From this - and with the close assistance of a designated IAE-UNSA or IUM faculty member - students develop a roadmap that enables them to perform research that addresses management research and the current business world.

Although students must be continuously enrolled for the entire doctoral program they are required to be in residence for semester one only.

Students may choose to specialize in finance, management, or marketing through the dissertation only; formal coursework is completed by all students regardless of their dissertation topic.

The program is divided into six semesters so that frames are configured to maximize student-professor interaction as described below.