Ph.D. in Company Management and Economics Brno University of Technology

The Company Management and Economics doctoral program aims to educate experts highly qualified for research in the field of company management, for teaching and doing research at universities, and work in international organizations, domestic and global companies.

Emphasis is put on acquiring deep and systematic knowledge and understanding of theories and mastering modern methods and procedures applicable to economics as a field of science, next on adopting advanced methods for research in economics, company management, and on developing expertise in econometrics.

Students concentrate on their own research, finding solutions to research problems focusing on comprehensiveness and theoretical background of the solutions found. An integral part of students' activities is publishing the research results, their interpretation, and subsequent presentation taking different forms (presentation at research forums, at scientific conferences, writing papers, conceiving and presenting research projects, etc.), but above all, writing and defending a dissertation.

The Company Management and Economics doctoral program is intended for graduates in economic Master's programs.

Course structure

1st year of study, semester one

• Economics 3
• Methodology of Science and Research Work in Economics and Management
• Research outputs 1

1st year of study, semester two

• Economics 3
• Methodology of Science and Research Work in Economics and Management
• Research outputs 1

2nd year of study, semester one

• Academic Writing
• Foreign internship - study stay
• Presentation of the research plan of the dissertation
• Research outputs 2
• Teaching Practice
• Business Management Theory
• Information Management
• Marketing Theory
• Methods of Economic Management of Enterprises
• Sustainability and Circular Economics
• Theory and Practice of Financial Management
• Theory of Management

2nd year of study, semester two

• Academic Writing
• Foreign internship - study stay
• Presentation of the research plan of the dissertation
• Research outputs 2
• Teaching Practice
• Business Management Theory
• Information Management
• Marketing Theory
• Methods of Economic Management of Enterprises
• Sustainability and Circular Economics
• Theory and Practice of Financial Management
• Theory of Management

3rd year of study, semester one

• Foreign internship - study stay
• Research outputs 3

3rd year of study, semester two

• Foreign internship - study stay
• Research outputs 3

4th year of study, semester one

• A small defense of the dissertation
• Research outputs 4

4th year of study, semester two

• A small defense of the dissertation
• Research outputs 4

Fulfillment Criteria

The study requirements for students of the Company Management and Economics program can be found in individual curricula.

The key required subject is the Methodology of Science and Research Work in Economics and Management, which is offered in cooperation with the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic. The program's main objective is to teach the students how to do research, to improve their knowledge and practical skills needed for scientific work, as well as to teach them how to write a good dissertation.

The first year also includes the Economics III course aiming to improve the use of analytic tools needed in micro-economy, particularly concerning the analysis of the supply part of market mechanism with special emphasis on mathematical models, acquainting the students also with alternative approaches to demand and supply forming. In the macro-economy part, emphasis will be laid on the theory of exogenic and endogenic economic growth and the theory of state policy, improving the students' capabilities to apply the acquired knowledge in the context of company management. The second year includes the required Academic Writing course to develop the student's communication skills needed to describe their research and general academic genres while improving their stylistic skills typical of academic writing.

In the second year, students are required to choose one of the below-listed courses to augment their expertise and skills needed for writing a quality dissertation.

• Theory of Management;
• Sustainability and Circular Economics;
• Information Management;
• Marketing Theory;
• Business Management Theory;
• Theory and Practice of Financial Management;
• Methods of Economic Management of Enterprises;

The required courses and the one optional chosen are then completed by an exam.

Since an individual curriculum must include research activities based on the dissertation focus, starting in the first year, the following research outcomes are required:

• In the first year, a student must have at least one publication (a contribution to a domestic/international conference proceedings or paper published in a reviewed journal) corresponding to the dissertation focus, having the structure of a research paper with a co-authorship of at least 80%. The student will receive credit for the fulfillment of this condition from his or her supervisor.
• At least one publication is required in the second year, too, (paper in a Jimp or JSC-type journal or a contribution to a Defendant-type conference) with a co-authorship of at least 80%. The student will receive credit for the fulfillment of this condition from his or her supervisor.
• At least one publication is required in the third year (research paper in a Jimp or JSC-type journal) corresponding to the dissertation topic with a co-authorship of at least 80%. The student will receive credit for the fulfillment of this condition from his or her supervisor.
• In the fourth year, too, a doctoral student is expected to publish at least one research paper in a Jimp-type journal related to the dissertation focus written by the doctoral student alone, or several papers with a co-authorship totaling 100%. The student will receive credit for the fulfillment of this condition from his or her supervisor.

The required research outputs as defined above strongly support the internationalization element since the fulfillment of the publishing requirements (particularly in the third and fourth years) is only possible if the papers published are written in English.

Because of the strong accent of the doctoral study on research with outcomes reflected in the dissertation, required is also a presentation of the dissertation research focus to help assess the setting of the dissertation objective, the progress of work on the topic chosen, the expected research contribution of dissertation as well as the research methodology. The student will receive credit for the fulfillment of this requirement from his or her supervisor.

In order to improve the quality of dissertations, doctoral students must present a "small defense of dissertation" at the supervising department. This defense should help assess the dissertation's scientific contribution, the research methodology, and the fulfillment of the main and partial goals of the dissertation. The student will receive credit for a successful presentation from his or her supervisor.

An integral part of each individual curriculum is the obligation to complete a Foreign Internship - Study Stay in the third or fourth year abroad at a university or research organization whose research focus is the same as or related to one of the dissertations. The stay should contribute to the development of the student's expertise and skills in the given problem area, help him or her establish international contacts, broaden his or her experience and provide him or her with opportunities to engage more closely in the scientific community dealing with problems related to the dissertation focus. The length of the stay is one semester. The student will receive credit for a completed stay from his or her supervisor.

In students of the combined study mode, the stay abroad may take the form of an on-the-job stay at a company or institution working on problems related to the dissertation focus.

The student will receive credit for a completed stay from his or her supervisor.

As an important part, an individual curriculum for a full-time doctoral student will include the teaching practice needed to enhance presentation skills. As a rule, this teaching practice in the first four semesters includes 4 lessons a week on average. For students in the combined study mode, such practice is replaced by their publishing activities with at least one publication (a paper in a type Jimp journal or a contribution to a type D conference proceedings with a co-authorship of 100 % or several publications with the co-authorships totaling 100%. The student will receive credit for the fulfillment of this requirement from his or her supervisor.

Doctoral students of the combined study mode are not required to appear at the supervising department on a regular basis, however, they have to attend the courses offered, consultations, and other events related to the individual curriculum following instructions by the supervisor.

A graduate in Company Management and Economics has acquired highly specialized, systematic knowledge of theories, concepts, and methods in the field of company management and economics, which is among the best on an international scale, thus enhancing the engineering expertise and skills, as well as deep and systematic knowledge and understanding of advanced mathematical and statistical methods of quantitative and qualitative data analysis including deep and systematic knowledge of the methods and procedures of scientific work.

Graduates will find jobs with highly qualified experts in research organizations as heads of research and development teams and can also teach and do research at universities, in international organizations, and at domestic and global companies.