School of Business and Law, PhD programme
KristiansandOur PhD programme is AACSB-accredited, with generous funding and an excellent study environment. Nearly all of our graduated candidates find relevant jobs, and publish their research in high quality international journals.
Facts about the program
- ECTS credits:
- 180
- Duration:
- 3 years
- Mode of study:
- Full-time
- Semester:
- Autumn 2027
- Teaching language:
- English
About the research programme
Take the next step in your research career with a PhD in Business Administration at the School of Business and Law, University of Agder. As an AACSB-accredited business school, we offer a stimulating and internationally oriented research environment where you can develop your own research profile, work closely with experienced scholars and become part of an active academic community.
The programme combines advanced coursework with independent research leading to a doctoral thesis. Your course portfolio is tailored to your research interests and methodological needs, and candidates are normally affiliated with one of the School’s active research groups. Close interaction with supervisors and other researchers provides a strong academic foundation throughout the PhD journey.
We encourage our candidates to think internationally from the start. Internationalisation is an important part of the PhD experience, and we particularly value opportunities for international research stays, collaboration across institutions and cotutelle agreements with partner universities abroad. As a PhD candidate, you will be encouraged to build international research networks, participate in academic conferences and engage with researchers and research environments beyond UiA.
The programme prepares you for a research career in academia as well as research-intensive and analytical roles in the private and public sectors.
Interested in joining us? Our next PhD cohort starts in autumn 2027.
Description of the programme
For more information about the programme description, learning outcomes, coursework and outline of the programme, please read the PhD programme course plan:
Why take a PhD at the School of Business and Law?
The program currently includes around 40-50 PhD candidates from across the globe working closely with their highly motivated supervisors in an excellent study environment.
High quality education
- Norwegian education is of high quality and controlled by Norwegian authorities
- School of Business and Law is AACSB accredited
- The PhD program is member of EDAMBA and generally recognized for its high quality
- Supervisors are motivated and internationally recognized scholars
Generous funding
- Free education and supervision
- Full salaries (Norwegian level) or scholarships to selected candidates
- Funding offered at the Faculty for international conferences, courses etc.
Our candidates find relevant jobs
- Nearly all graduated candidates find relevant jobs, most in academia but also in the private or public sector
- Several candidates become recognized international academic researchers
Excellent study environment
- Candidates work closely with their supervisors and are integrated in research groups
- All candidates belong to cohorts of students
- Good office space, access to databases and library infrastructure
- Most candidates finish their PhD within 3 or 4 years
- Candidates publish their research in high quality international journals
Read more about working at UiA here
Specialisations
Our PhD programme offers specialisations in:
- International Business
- Innovation and Entrepreneurship
- Finance and Applied Economics
- Management and Human Resources
- Marketing and Consumer Psychology
- Accounting and Auditing
Cotutelle
The School of Business and Law has a strong focus on Internationalization and an increasing number of PhD-candidates are organized as cotutelles, i.e. joint supervision, in partnership with international Business Schools and Universities. Cotutelle-candidates are appointed supervisor, take courses and spend at least one year at each institution. The candidates receive their PhD titles and diplomas from each of the institutions.
You can read more general about cotutelle agreements at this page: Cotutelle
Candidates and universities interested in organizing cotutelle agreements with us are welcome to get in touch with the Director of the PhD programme, Professor Tobias Otterbring.
Funding of studies
Some candidates are offered PhD-fellow positions to finance their studies while others obtain scholarships or other types of external funding, including funding by cotutelle partner universities.
PhD-fellow positions at the School of Business and Law are announced here.
Possible sources of external funding include:
- the Research Council of Norway under the Industrial PhD scheme or the Public sector PhD scheme
- other national or international scholarships
A fully funded project is a requirement for acceptance to a PhD-programme at UiA. Get in touch with the Director of the PhD programme, Professor Tobias Otterbring, if you have access to a scholarship and would like to do your PhD at the School of Business and Law. Private funding from family etc is not allowed per our regulations.
Career prospects
We equip our candidates with a global mindset and contemporary research skills. Our graduates find prestigious jobs within and outside academia, and they publish in top-tier publications on the Financial Times List and ranked by the Chartered Association of Business Schools as Level 4-4* journals. A PhD from the School of Business and Law provides you with opportunities for further career advancement as a researcher or for another career where there are high demands for knowledge and expertise.
Where can you get a job with a PhD from the School of Business and Law?
The majority of our completed PhD candidates (approx. 70 %) work in research and development in academia. Many however, also work in industry or the public sector.
The tasks may include research, academic leadership, analysis work, project work, consultancy, guidance or administrative work. Several of our finished candidates also work as entrepreneurs and have founded their own companies.
Through doctoral work, you acquire skills such as:
- the ability to formulate academic questions and plan research and development work
- written and oral communication
- analytical thinking and the ability to think results- and solution-oriented
- project planning and the ability to work under time pressure
- the ability to see new opportunities and perspectives
- the ability to work with complex academic questions
Where do our graduated candidates work?
Finished candidates from the School of Business and Law work, among other places, at:
- Montpellier Business School, France
- Lund University, Sweden
- Statkraft, Germany
- Drammen Municipality
- Agder county council
- SR-bank
- EDC Paris Business School,
- University of Groningen, Netherlands,
- Economic Policy Research Centre, Uganda
- Aarhus University, Denmark
- Morrow Industries
- Egde Consulting
- University of Southern Norway, Norway
- MTI Investments, Sweden
Testimonials
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A doctoral journey - nothing short of extraordinary
For PhD candidate Rolando Manuel Gonzales Martinez, Norway’s breathtaking landscapes, coupled with access to cutting-edge computational technologies and an extensive repository of scholarly resources, created an intellectually stimulating environment for him to finish his PhD
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An illuminating PhD journey
Mahsa Samsami highlights the value of having a good organized PhD program, and flexibility to tailor her own academic portfolio during the PhD journey
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A sense of belonging through the PhD cohort system
For PhD candidate Erik Lankut, being part of the cohort of PhD candidates, while simultaneously accessing a great working space with faculty colleagues and other PhD candidates across cohorts, created a motivating atmosphere to share, discuss and improve our research and well-being.
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Admissions
To qualify for the program, candidates should normally have:
- A master’s degree, including a master thesis, from an academic institution with good reputation, preferably in Economics, Finance, Law, Business Administration, Innovation Studies, Management, Marketing, Psychology, International Business, or a related discipline (300 ECTS credits), obtained at least with honors (B or better). Generally, at least 90 ECTS credits must be in a relevant subject area for the PhD project.
- Fluency in written and oral academic English.
- Strong qualifications in applied research methods and preferably experiences from studying abroad.
- A research proposal fitting the research interest of one of our faculty members at the School of Business and Law.
Admission into the program is normally done biannually in cohorts, but fully funded students may be accepted outside of cohorts. For more information on full admission requirements, please see our supplementary regulations regarding admission.
Contact
- tobias.otterbring@uia.no
- Phone
- +47 38 14 23 97
- gunvor.guttormsen@uia.no
- Phone
- +47 38 14 16 48