International School of Management - ISM

The ISM Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) is a rigorous and fully accredited doctoral program designed to prepare exemplary professional practitioners and scholars.

Why Professionals Choose the PhD at ISM

• Quality: The PhD degree is accredited in the US and Europe and recognized worldwide.
• Flexible: The PhD degree is designed to be completed within a five to seven-year time frame, with accelerated options available.
• Customized: There is four-course core curriculum in the PhD program, thus giving candidates the choices and flexibility they need to meet their individual career goals and professional responsibilities. Instead, candidates work very closely with their academic advisor to ensure that all major business disciplines are addressed during their course of studies.
• International: With courses offered on campuses in Paris, New York City, Tokyo, and Shanghai, as well as an E-Learning Option, candidates may adapt their studies as their work and travel schedules demand. Candidates will receive certificates from ISM's partner institutions if they participate in one of the international programs.
• Recognized: ISM is proud to provide our doctoral candidates a first class education that prepares them to continue their professionals careers or enter academic immediately upon graduation. ISM alumni have been actively recruited to teach in their areas of expertise at leading American universities such as the University of Chicago and Irvine University.

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The Traditional Option

The Traditional Option, capitalizing on ISM's Paris campus, as well as its international programs, takes place in the classroom to provide candidates with the opportunity to Network with one another face-to-face, and share their experience and knowledge. Given the intensive course format, ISM provides candidates with the necessary reading materials one month before each seminar.

The E-learning Option

The E-Learning Option takes advantage of ISM’s extensive E-Learning curriculum which offers candidates the possibility of completing some or even the majority of their PhD Coursework on-line. It is designed for working professionals who may not be able to manage the travel-time required to attend each traditional seminar. With this option, candidates study as their schedules permit, adjusting the pace of the coursework to the demands of their personal and professional lives.

• Attending 2 seminars in Paris, each worth 1.5 credits.
• Attending a combination of ISM's Paris, New York, Tokyo and Shanghai seminars.

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Professional Assessment

The Doctoral Dissertation

• A project that is both original and pertinent to current international business theory and practice and the candidate’s current or future professional responsibilities.
• Demonstrative of the candidate’s understanding of how conceptual knowledge or academic theory applies in specific contexts.

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Graduation Requirements

• 15 DBA coursework credits
• 12 PhD coursework credits (4 research courses)
• A 15-hour academic course researched, prepared, and taught
• 2 Professional Assessment Case Studies
• 1 doctoral dissertation under the close supervision of their Director of Research and the Dean of the PhD program

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