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PhD Entrepreneurship, Innovation & Strategy

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Global Research Scholarship

Strathclyde Business School is offering up to 15 PhD fee-only awards.

These will be competitively awarded to outstanding applicants for PhD study with a start date of 1 October 2024.

Applicants must have an excellent academic track record with appropriate external recognition and be able to demonstrate commitment to their chosen field of study. Applications are welcome in all of our subject areas but we particularly welcome applicants interested in any of our areas of research expertise. The awards will apply for each year of study, up to a maximum of 36 months of full-time study.

Deadline:

30 April 2024

Funding:

Funded

John Anderson Research Studentship Scheme (JARSS)

John Anderson Research Studentship Scheme (JARSS) doctoral studentships are available annually for excellent students and excellent research projects.

There are two main sources of funding:

  • Central University funding
  • Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council - Doctoral Training Partnership (EPSRC - DTP) funding.

The JARSS 2023/2024 competition will open in October 2023 and students successful in this competition will commence studies in October 2024. Faculties will set their own internal deadlines for the competition.

Academics/Supervisors make the applications for this scheme and there are various deadlines across the Department and Faculties, therefore, in the first instance, all interested students should contact the Department where they would like to carry out their research.

Deadline:

Funding:

Funded

THE Awards 2019: UK University of the Year Winner

Course structure

Year 1

In your first year, you'll need to take a number of classes offered through our Business & Management (MBM) course.

If you already have postgraduate training in business or social science research methods, you'll be expected to earn a Postgraduate Certificate (PgCert) in Business & Management before you can progress to the PhD.

If you don't have any postgraduate training in business or social science research methods, you'll need to gain a Masters of Research (MRes) in Business & Management before you can progress to the PhD.

These classes provide research training in accordance with the Economic & Social Research Council's (ESRC) guidelines.

You'll also participate in an Entrepreneurship Research class as part of your research methods training. This class introduces you to the breadth of entrepreneurship research.

Years 2 & 3

This is where you'll actively pursue your individual research project with support from your supervisors.

You'll be evaluated every six months and when your thesis is complete, it'll be evaluated by an internal examiner from our department along with an external examiner from another university before you defend it to your VIVA committee.

Every January or February, you'll also be required to present at our Entrepreneurship Research Conference.

You're encouraged to submit your research for presentation at national and international research conferences too, along with taking part in doctoral training workshops.

Triple-accredited business school

Afsa Mukasa
Talk about stellar life moments and achievements, and the Strathclyde doctoral experience definitely makes the list. Every time!
Afsa Mukasa
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Fees & funding

All fees quoted are per academic year unless otherwise stated.

Entrants may be subject to a small fee during the writing up period.

Fees may be subject to updates to maintain accuracy. Tuition fees will be notified in your offer letter.

All fees are in £ sterling, unless otherwise stated, and may be subject to revision.

Annual revision of fees

Students on programmes of study of more than one year (or studying standalone modules) should be aware that tuition fees are revised annually and may increase in subsequent years of study. Annual increases will generally reflect UK inflation rates and increases to programme delivery costs.

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Scotland
  • 2024/25: £4,786
  • 2023/24: £4,712
England, Wales & Northern Ireland
  • 2024/25: £4,786
  • 2023/24: £4,712
International
  • 2024/25: £19,600
Additional costs
Course materials

Students are required to cover the cost of binding their thesis. Also, they may need to purchase books for research

Placements & field trips

Students can apply for the department or supervisor to fund conference participation.

International students

International students may have associated visa and immigration costs. Please see student visa guidance for more information.

Other costs

Along with possible travel costs, there may be other data collection and preparation costs. Some also elect to have transcription done professionally and those doing paper surveys, especially in hard to reach sections of developing countries, may sometimes need to pay local research assistants to help with that. At the end, most students, including native English speakers pay for professional proofreading as well.

Funding

Take a look at our funding your postgraduate research web page for funding information.

You can also view our scholarships search for further funding opportunities.

Postgraduate research opportunities

Search for all funded and non-funded postgraduate research opportunities.

Please note: the fees shown are annual and may be subject to an increase each year.

Postgraduate research at the Strathclyde Doctoral School

The Strathclyde Doctoral School provides a vibrant and comprehensive student-centred research and training environment in order to grow and support current and future research talent.

The School encompasses our four faculties and is committed to enriching the student experience, intensifying research outputs and opportunities, and ensuring training is at the highest level. As a postgraduate researcher, you'll automatically become a member of the Strathclyde Doctoral School.

Find out more about the Doctoral School

Amy Hyslop, PhD student, standing in University gardens
With the launch of the Doctoral School at Strathclyde, there's even more support in place for PhD students, which is fantastic. I feel really connected to my PhD community and always know there's someone there to talk to.
Amy Hyslop
PhD student
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Supervisors

Supervisors are assigned to you by the Hunter Centre for Entrepreneurship.

Please let us know which two supervisors you'd like to work with, but the department will team you up with whoever's best to support your research.

Once we've received your application, your research proposal is passed to potential supervisors for consideration. If your chosen supervisor is available to work with you, they will confirm this and nominate a potential second supervisor.

As soon as a second supervisor is confirmed, an offer of study will be sent to you through Pegasus, our online application system.

If you accept our offer, you'll receive a full offer in writing via the email address you provide.

NameArea of expertise

Aylin Ates

  • strategic management
  • performance management
  • manufacturing ecosystems mainly in small and medium enterprise context

Iain Cairns

  • democratic businesses and the financial arrangements to support their establishment and development.

Lucrezia Casulli

  • international entrepreneurship
  • internationalisation of firms
  • cognitive processes in entrepreneurs
  • entrepreneurial mindset

Phil Considine

 

Sarah Dodd

  • impact of socio-cultural factors on the nature, quality and quantity of entrepreneurship, including socio-economic marginality, social ties, religion, politics, and the family
  • a special interest in alternative, or inclusive, small business start-up and growth, and current field work explores punk rock, craft beer, and social enterprise
  • also studied social capital and networking, growth strategies, family business, entrepreneurship education, and cross-cultural conceptualizations of the entrepreneur. An additional research stream includes the relationships between theology, religion and entrepreneurship

Abdullah Gok

  • innovation management/policy
  • science policy
  • enterprise policy
  • social innovation and data science approaches to study science, innovation and entrepreneurship

Matthew Hannon

  • examines the policy and market conditions necessary to accelerate low-carbon energy technology and business model innovation

Paul Lassalle

  • migrant and minority entrepreneurship
  • contextualised entrepreneurship
  • internationalising ventures
  • entrepreneurial ecosystems
  • opportunity creation
  • diversity in entrepreneurship

Jillian MacBryde

  • innovation
  • the future of manufacturing
  • new business models emerging from technological innovation

Dave Mackay

  • processes, practices and pathologies of strategy and innovation
  • use of technology and platform approaches to support strategy and innovation activities
  • dynamic capabilities at an organisational and managerial level
  • strategic management of digital transformation (at the interface of digital disruption, digital maturity and digital innovation initiatives)

Dilshod Makhmadshoev

  • institutional theory, comparative institutionalism, institutional voids
  • SME and MNE internationalisation, international entrepreneurship
  • SME and entrepreneurship development in transition and emerging economies
  • global value chains and development

Russell Matthews

  • technology and innovation-driven business models within young growth-oriented ventures

Peter McKiernan

  • how organisations learn about how their future might unfold and how they might prepare their current strategies to cope

Suzanne Mawson

  • entrepreneurship, specifically business growth and development in the context of young ventures and SMEs
  • high growth/scale-up entrepreneurship, including the nature and processes of growth in these firms, their support requirements (financial and otherwise) and the wider public policy context and support mechanisms designed for high growth firms/scale-ups (high growth entrepreneurship policy)
  • interested in wider issues related to business growth including the role of entrepreneurial financing; the effect of changes in ownership structure and business models; the drivers of transnational entrepreneurial migration to entrepreneurial ecosystems for accelerated growth; the development and impact of business accelerator programmes at both firm and economy levels; and firm start-up and growth ambitions amongst refugees and economic migrants

Samuel Mwaura

  • enterprise/ SME finance
  • inclusive entrepreneurship (diversity, minority, women's entrepreneurship)
  • innovation
  • SME performance/ growth
  • link between entrepreneurship and households
  • entrepreneurial ecosystems
  • SME clusters and local/ regional economic development policy
  • entrepreneurship in developing country contexts

Katerina Nicolopoulou

  • social, diversity and sustainability aspects of entrepreneurship
  • social innovation for social and economic growth
  • entrepreneurial ecosystems in the context of emerging economies
  • the concept of cosmopolitanism as a disposition for addressing global challenges and entrepreneurship

Sreevas Sahasranamam

  • The role of institutional factors on entrepreneurship and innovation. In terms of context, focus either on emerging markets or consider cross-country comparisons.

Eleanor Shaw

  • entrepreneurial capital, creative industries, entrepreneurial diversity and firm growth
  • engaged research which is of value to teaching, engagement with small and entrepreneurial firms and relevant to informing the development of economic and social policy in the areas of enterprise, innovation and creativity

Emilee Simmons

  • pedagogy - active learning, blended learning, team based and problem-based learning
  • business development and growth - particularly in social enterprise and sustainable business growth
  • enterprise and entrepreneurship education
  • entrepreneurial mindset, thinking and skills

Marisa Smith

  • innovation 
  • high value manufacturing 

Anna Spadavecchia

  • small business finance
  • regional policies for small businesses and clusters
  • innovation in small businesses and clusters
  • the use of patents by corporations and independent inventors

Efstathios Tapinos

  • strategy process
  • foresight
  • perceived uncertainty
  • scenario planning
  • strategy tools
  • sensemaking

Bernd Wurth

  • entrepreneurial ecosystems and the context for productive entrepreneurship 
  • entrepreneurial economies, structural changes, and regional development
  • networks and how they manifest themselves in institutions and culture
  • entrepreneurial universities as gatekeepers and anchor organisations
  • transformative innovations and scale-ups
  • learning, collaboration, and information flows in complex social systems
  • modelling complex systems using system dynamics, agent-based modelling, GIS, and network science 
  • methodological innovation around complex events for modelling emergent behaviour

Nadia Zahoor

  • development and management of strategic alliances
  • knowledge acquisition in strategic alliances
  • internationalisation strategies
  • innovation capability and performance
  • social capital and consequences
  • SME performance/growth

 

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FT European Business Schools 2023 Ranking logo
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Support & development

Postgraduate Certificate (PgCert) in Research Methodology for Business & Management

As part of your PhD degree, you'll be enrolled on the Postgraduate Certificate in Research Methodology for Business and Management. 

This certificate is designed to support you by developing your skills as a researcher. Your researcher training will provide you with the intellectual foundations that you will need for your journey into either the higher-level learning needed for advanced postgraduate research degrees or to work in a range of research focussed roles within organisational settings.

Course highlights:

  • course can be studied as a blended or fully online programme depending on your circumstances
  • course is ideally suited to part-time students juggling studies with other work
  • strong practical focus including training in software and advanced quantitative and qualitative methods
  • rich and diverse learning environment where you will study with students from around the world and studying a range of postgraduate research degrees
  • opportunity to learn from academics who are leaders in their field and working at the cutting edge of business research

Most students complete the PgCert in their first year but you can take courses throughout your degree.

Careers

The University Careers Service can help you with everything from writing your CV to interview preparation.

Student support

From financial advice to our IT facilities, we have a wide range of support for all students here at Strathclyde. Get all the information you need at Strathlife.

Our research

Our research develops a stronger understanding of how entrepreneurs can better create new value for business and society. 

Taking part in national and international research groups help to ensure that our research is evidence-based, useful, and impactful for business leaders and policymakers. The Hunter Centre for Entrepreneurship based at the University has long provided national and international leadership in these research and practice fields.

Find out more about our research

International students

We've a thriving international community with students coming here to study from over 140 countries across the world. Find out all you need to know about studying in Glasgow at Strathclyde and hear from students about their experiences.

Visit our international students' section

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Apply

Entry requirements

For entry onto our postgraduate research programmes, we normally look for a first-class or upper second-class UK Honours degree, or overseas equivalent, in a relevant business or social science related subject. For PhD applications, we also normally expect a Masters degree, or overseas equivalent, although there are often exceptions. When reviewing your academic achievements, we're particularly interested in grades which relate to independent research (for example, a research project or dissertation). A strong score in these elements may allow us to consider entry with a lower degree classification.

Strathclyde Business School is committed to supporting a diverse and inclusive postgraduate research population. We make decisions on entry by assessing the whole person and not relying solely on academic achievements. On that basis, please ensure that your application (via your CV and covering letter) can evidence your resourcefulness, commitment and resilience as demonstrated by broader professional and life experiences. This evidence should be centred on your ability to undertake and complete a PhD and contribute to a positive PhD community.

You can prove your knowledge of English by:

  • Passing a Secure English Language Test from our list of accepted providers with an IELTS (or equivalent) score of 6.5, with no individual element below 5.5.
  • We will also consider evidence of prior study using English as the medium of instruction, if this study was in the last five years.
  • The University has an English Language Teaching unit that offers a pre-sessional course – both on campus and online - allowing applicants to upskill in the use of English language in preparation for undertaking a postgraduate research degree. More information on the course and how to apply is available on the Pre-sessional webpage. PGR applicants should add a Pre-sessional application to their main degree application on the Applicant Portal, selecting the Pre-sessional programmes for Postgraduate students. For more information, or if you have any questions, please contact elt@strath.ac.uk.

Before you apply

Writing your research proposal

When preparing your research proposal please use the following template:

1. Working title

2. Layman’s summary of proposed research [max. 250 words]

Give us a brief summary of your proposed research project written for members of the public, rather than researchers or professionals. Why is this research important? What global/societal issues does it solve? What impact could it have on business and management in the future.

3. Research aim and objectives (or question(s)) [max. 500 words]

What’s the question you want to answer? How will you attempt to answer this question?

4. Literature review [max. 500 words]

Provide a brief overview of relevant literature to indicate any debates the research aims to engage with; any gaps or problems that have been identified; or what models the project hopes to explore or test.

5. Methodology [max. 300 words]

Provide an outline of the proposed research methodology.

6. Timeline [max. 300 words]

A PhD is 36 months minimum study (full time). In 6 months increments, indicate what you think the main activities will be. This is important as we need to assess the achievability of your proposal. This should be presented in tabular format.

6. References

Please use Harvard referencing throughout.

Notes:
  • please use Times New Roman 12 pt font
  • 1.5 line spacing
  • 2.5cm margin all round
  • hard return between paragraphs

Getting a reference

Read our help on how to choose references and what the referees need to supply.

The application

During the application you'll be asked for the following:

  • your full contact details
  • a cover letter explaining:
    1. why you have chosen Hunter Centre for Entrepreneurship PhD Programme and a particular supervisor (if applicable)
    2. how we can add value to your proposed research
    3. how you can bring value to us along with your future career aspirations
  • a copy of an up-to-date CV
  • academic transcripts for both your degrees which clearly show the modules studied and the grades gained for each module
  • proof of English language proficiency, less than two years old, if English isn't your first language
  • two references, one of which must be academic – the references should focus on your academic and research skills, as well as your suitability to undertake PhD level study
  • funding or scholarship information
  • research proposal of 250-1,000 words in length, detailing the subject area and topic to be investigated; please use our guidance above and attach it with your application

By filling these details out as fully as possible, you'll avoid any delay to your application being processed by the University.

Accepting an offer

Once you've accepted our offer, we'll need you to fulfil any academic, administrative or financial conditions that we ask.

UK or EU students

If you're applying as a UK or EU student, you'll then be issued with your registration documentation.

Start date: Oct 2023 - Sep 2024

Hunter Centre for Entrepreneurship

PhD
full-time
Start date: Oct 2023 - Sep 2024

Start date: Oct 2023 - Sep 2024

Hunter Centre for Entrepreneurship

PhD
part-time
Start date: Oct 2023 - Sep 2024

Start date: Oct 2023 - Sep 2024

Hunter Centre for Entrepreneurship

MPhil
full-time
Start date: Oct 2023 - Sep 2024

Start date: Oct 2023 - Sep 2024

Hunter Centre for Entrepreneurship

MPhil
part-time
Start date: Oct 2023 - Sep 2024

Start date: Oct 2024 - Sep 2025

Hunter Centre for Entrepreneurship

PhD
full-time
Start date: Oct 2024 - Sep 2025

Start date: Oct 2024 - Sep 2025

Hunter Centre for Entrepreneurship

PhD
part-time
Start date: Oct 2024 - Sep 2025

Start date: Oct 2024 - Sep 2025

Hunter Centre for Entrepreneurship

MPhil
full-time
Start date: Oct 2024 - Sep 2025

Start date: Oct 2024 - Sep 2025

Hunter Centre for Entrepreneurship

MPhil
part-time
Start date: Oct 2024 - Sep 2025

Start date: Oct 2024

Research Methodology in Business and Management

MRes
full-time
Start date: Oct 2024

Start date: Oct 2024

Research Methodology in Business and Management

MRes
part-time
Start date: Oct 2024

Start date: Oct 2025 - Sep 2026

Hunter Centre for Entrepreneurship

PhD
full-time
Start date: Oct 2025 - Sep 2026

Start date: Oct 2025 - Sep 2026

Hunter Centre for Entrepreneurship

PhD
part-time
Start date: Oct 2025 - Sep 2026

Start date: Oct 2025 - Sep 2026

Hunter Centre for Entrepreneurship

MPhil
full-time
Start date: Oct 2025 - Sep 2026

Start date: Oct 2025 - Sep 2026

Hunter Centre for Entrepreneurship

MPhil
part-time
Start date: Oct 2025 - Sep 2026

Start date: Oct 2025

Research Methodology in Business and Management

MRes
full-time
Start date: Oct 2025

Start date: Oct 2025

Research Methodology in Business and Management

MRes
part-time
Start date: Oct 2025

 

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Contact us

SBS PGR Admissions

Director of Postgraduate Research

Email: sbs-pgradmissions@strath.ac.uk