Doctoral Programme in Business Economics PhD students in Business Economics need to earn 60 credits (60 ECTS) through a combination of mandatory and elective modules, as outlined below. After successful completion of all required steps and after gathering at least 60 ECTS, the student obtains the certificate of doctoral education. Exemptions are only possible for the course component (see programme details below). 1. Mandatory modules a) Coursework Total ECTS: minimum 21, no maximum Timing: Can be spread across first 2 years, at least 15 ECTS in first year Which courses? Students can choose from: Advanced courses: o Courses at PhD or Advanced Master s (MaNaMa) level, either at KU Leuven or at another university. Courses are considered to be at Advanced Master s level when the course is part of an Advanced Master s program, provided that it is not taught at initial master s level and is not meant to cover a knowledge gap for students entering the Advanced Master s program. Only exceptions to this rule are courses that are part of a research major or predoctoral major at Initial Master s level, and which are research-oriented. These are considered to be of Advanced level. o Advanced courses on the PhD course list (see below: PhD course list). Initial-level courses: o All Master courses that do not meet the criteria defined above are considered to be at Initial Master s level. Courses at Initial Master level can be taken for max. 9 ECTS, and need to be motivated by supervisor (except when they are on the PhD course list: see below) Only courses with formal exam/evaluation are accepted Summer Schools are allowed under the same conditions as courses (Phd or Advanced Master s level, indication of workload/ects, formal evaluation required). Phd course list: 1
This list contains courses that are commonly taken as courses for the PhD programme, and that have been approved as such by the PhD commission of the Faculty of Economics and Business (FEB). The goal of this list is to streamline the approval of the PhD programme proposals. PhD students can choose among these courses, but are not obliged to do so. The list contains 2 sections: Approved courses at Advanced level Approved courses at Initial level: these require no further motivation when proposed in a student s course program. Each research group can request/motivate the addition of Advanced courses to this list (e.g., when an Advanced Master course ceases to exist and the courses naturally become part of an Initial Master). Each group can also request/motivate the addition of a number of Initial Master courses, which are relevant and frequently taken by their PhD students. The request needs to be motivated by the research group, and will be decided upon by the PhD Commission of the FEB. Final score: Student needs to obtain at least 14/20 on average, and at least 10/20 for each course individually, for the courses that are effectively taken. The score on courses for which the student obtained exemption does not count in the final score. Courses or summer schools that are graded using a pass/fail mark: pass means 14/20, fail means score below 10/20. Retake: There is a 2 nd examination opportunity for students that failed a course (mandatory retake) or obtained between 10/20 and 13/20 (optional). The 1 st and 2 nd examination opportunity need to take place in the same academic year. Exemptions? Exemptions can be granted for courses at Advanced level (see Which courses? above), provided at least 14/20 was obtained for the course. Courses that belong to the PhD course list qualify for exemption when minimum score of 14/20 is obtained. These courses are considered to be of Advanced level (Section 1) or Initial Master s level (Section 2). The supervisor needs to approve all requests for exemption. b) Comprehensive exam or literature review Total ECTS: 6 Timing: At the latest 18 months after start of PhD program 2
Depending on the research group involved, the student either: completes a formal comprehensive exam: in this case, the group decides on the literature that is part of the exam material. The final score (possibly pass/fail) for the exam is determined by the professors of the group. writes a literature review paper. This paper needs to be formally presented at a seminar. The final score (possibly pass/fail) is determined by the professors of the group. completes a reading course. Only reading courses with formal evaluation of the workload are accepted. The deadline (18 months after the start of the program) can be postponed if necessary for reading courses, e.g., in case these take place biannually. c) Doctoral Proposal Timing: At the latest 18 months after start of PhD program d) Seminar on Research methodology/deontology and Ethics in Research Total ECTS: 1 Lecture organized by the Research Coordination Office on Research Integrity (3 hours). Information on times and locations will be sent by email. e) Doctoral seminars At the doctoral seminar(s), the student presents the current state of the PhD research to the members of the supervisory board (supervisory committee), resulting in a pass/fail mark. First doctoral seminar Total ECTS: 4 Timing: Indicative: At the latest 2 years after start of the PhD program Second doctoral seminar Total ECTS: 4 Timing: Indicative: At the latest 3 years after start of the PhD program 3
f) Conference participation Total ECTS: max. 6 (3 ECTS per participation) At least 2 active participations (i.e., student needs to present) in an international conference (not twice the same paper) ( 3 ECTS per participation). Participations in doctoral colloquia/workshops and poster presentations also qualify. g) International publication Total ECTS: 6 ECTS International journal publication with impact factor (Web of Science) or book chapter published by recognized scientific publisher (VABB list: see http://www.ecoom.be/en/vabb for list of accepted publishers). 2. Elective modules a) Skill courses Total ECTS: 1 ECTS per 6 hours of course, Max. 6 ECTS in total These courses either contain a research component, or soft skills : Academic English for junior researchers (ILTS) Courses offered by Doctoral Schools (http://ghum.kuleuven.be/phd/practical_students/youreca_dshss.html) Software courses by ICTS (e.g. Matlab) b) Additional seminars Total ECTS: 3 ECTS per seminar, Max. 6 ECTS in total Presentations in seminars or workshops at KU Leuven or other universities 4
c) Review skills Total ECTS: 2 ECTS per reviewed paper; Min. 4, max. 6 ECTS in total Students review at least 2, max. 3 scientific papers written by fellow PhD students of the same group (2 points per review), or journal papers for which they have been asked to act as reviewer. Reviews of papers by invited speakers also qualify. Supervisor of PhD student checks the review and determines on pass/fail. d) Teaching Total ECTS: 9 ECTS in total Min 12 hours teaching in bachelor or master program (e.g. 4 hours of teaching, repeated during 3 consecutive years). Course teacher ( titularis ) decides on pass/fail. Only class teaching qualifies, supervision of master theses does not qualify. e) Publication Total ECTS: 6 in total The PhD student needs to have at least two official FEB working papers, published with consent of the supervisor. f) Conference proceedings or journal paper without impact factor Total ECTS: 3 ECTS Conference proceeding (international conference, full paper published in proceedings) or publication in journal without impact factor. 5