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Postgraduate research degrees

1. In accordance with Article 4 of the AMBA Criteria for the Accreditation of DBA Programmes, the DBA degree is intended for candidates with at least three years relevant professional experience who wish to make a substantial contribution towards the further professionalisation of managerial practice by undertaking a critical analysis of, and by systematically applying, relevant theories and research findings in their own professional practice. Candidates must hold either an MBA degree or an equivalent Master’s degree. Research candidates without the necessary pre-qualifications may be admitted once they have passed a special entrance examination.

2. PhD research students are subject to the rules and regulations laid down by those universities that are entitled to award PhD degrees, and must obey the instructions given by supervisors attached to them. The main difference between a DBA and a PhD degree is the more theoretical nature of the latter. As a supplementary requirement, Via Vinci requires PhD students to have the same professional experience as is required of DBA students. Moreover, no exception may be made for PhD research candidates who do not possess the necessary pre-qualifications; they are not entitled to take the special entrance examination.

3. The first step in the process is a personal interview between the candidate research student and the Director of Studies at Via Vinci, during which the candidate sets out his or her ideas. If the Director of Studies believes that these provide a suitable platform for a research project, they are then used as a basis on which to formulate a research topic.

4. Once a suitable research topic has been identified, a thesis statement is formulated and a doctorate research plan compiled in consultation with the Director of Studies. The first year of the degree centres on a module entitled ‘Planning academic research’ which every student is required to attend and which is given by Professor Herman Kuipers. A summer course on academic discourse is also held in the first year (this will be held in France in 2008).

5. Once both the research topic and thesis statement have been identified, the Director of Studies, working in close consultation with the research student, tries to find a suitable supervisor from within the network of university professors, contacts him or her and draws up a supervision contract. This contract, which is based on the doctorate research plan, makes clear when meetings are to be held between the research student and the supervisor, details the amount of work the supervisor is required to perform and commits the supervisor to arranging for the candidate to receive his or her doctorate provided that his or her doctoral thesis is of sufficiently high quality.

6. Practical tutors act as sparring partners for research students. Practical tutors are professional people with relevant experience as academics, managers or entrepreneurs. Supervisors may also act as practical tutors.

7. Whilst candidates may in theory embark on a postgraduate research degree at any time, the intention is to form classes of research students. Normally speaking, research students may expect to take three years to complete their degree, assuming that they spend an average of two days a week on it.

8. The idea is to publish every doctoral thesis, either in full or in the form of an abstract. To this end, Via Vinci pursues an international strategy aimed at maximising the opportunities offered by digital media. Via Vinci also seeks to employ more general means of publicising doctoral theses.