PhD Degree Requirements
Students in the SSE PhD proggram must complete the coursework specified in the General Program Requirement (20 credit points) as well as that for his or her chosen field (40 credit points).
Fulfillment of the General Program Requirement indicates that a student has achieved broad knowledge in the basic methods and disciplines relating to the study of business administration.
The elective courses, open to students after they have fulfilled the general program requirements, provide a student with more specific insights into methodology, theory, and empirical aspects of their chosen field of study. In parallel with coursework, students are often engaged in research apprenticeship developing their skills as professional researchers.
The importance of this part for rapidly getting a feel for what an academic career means cannot be overestimated, and is seen as a core ingredient of the program.
The research leading to the dissertation is the final requirement for the PhD. This process normally begins early in the program, to become the main activity during the final years.
During the second year the student is expected to find a subject field for the dissertation. When the dissertation plan has been approved, a supervision committee is appointed. The doctoral student defends the dissertation in a public, oral examination featuring an external opponent appointed by the faculty of the Stockholm School of Economics.
Dissertations are of two types: monographs or so-called consolidated dissertations. The monograph dissertation contains a defined scientific problem treated in a structured, comprehensive way. The consolidated dissertation consists of three to five separate scientific papers, each treating well-defined problems, usually within one subject field.
The requirements regarding the contents of the dissertation involve three criteria: the problem must be relevant, the student must show methodological competence, and the result/s must show some degree of originality.