Colleagues in the School of Business and Management pursue research as members of one or more of our research centres or theme groups.

Our research centres

• Centre for Critical and Historical Research on Organisation and Society (CHRONOS)
• Digital Organisation and Society Research Centre (DOS)
• Centre for Research Into Sustainability (CRIS)

Our theme groups

• Intercultural and international perspectives on management
• Knowledge and organisational learning
• Working life

Our researchers

A full list of our researchers, publications and projects can be found here.

Full-time PhD students have an annual review and also a semi-annual review (SAR) every year. Part-time PhD students have an annual review. The SARs and annual reviews are opportunities to reflect upon progress and achievements as well as to set goals for the coming six to twelve months.

Students are required to attend and pass three research methods courses as part of the upgrade process to the PhD route. Specifically, students need to attend and pass Philosophy of Methods, Qualitative Research Methods for Doctoral Students, and Quantitative Research Methods for Doctoral Students.

The upgrade time scale and process is in accordance with Royal Holloway processes and guidelines.

We are committed to attracting high-quality PhD students and as such you will need to meet our entry criteria. These are:

• Usually an undergraduate degree at 2.1 level and a Masters with Merit
• A high-quality research proposal
• A credible personal statement
• Strong performance at interview

Before applying we recommend securing a supervisor in order to apply for your research project.

We advise getting in touch with the Director of Postgraduate Education for your chosen research degree to inquire whether there is any other additional material they require you to submit in your application

English language requirements

All teaching at Royal Holloway is in English. You will therefore need to have good enough written and spoken English to cope with your studies right from the start.

The scores we require

• IELTS: 6.5 overall. Writing 7.0. No other subscore lower than 5.5.
• Pearson Test of English: 61 overall. Writing 69. No other subscore lower than 51.
• Trinity College London Integrated Skills in English (ISE): ISE III.
• Cambridge English: Advanced (CAE) grade C.
• TOEFL ib: 88 overall, with Reading 18 Listening 17 Speaking 20 Writing 26.

Country-specific requirements

For more information about country-specific entry requirements for your country please see here.

Graduating PhD students have gone on to junior academic positions with the following institutions:

• Lancaster University Management School
• Loughborough University
• Queen Mary University
• Coventry University
• Northampton University
• Roehampton University
• Brunel University
• Oxford Brookes University
• Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University
• King Faisal University
• Princess Nourah University
• the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce
• Tehran University of Medical Sciences
• the International Islamic University Malaysia
• University of Lagos
• University of Sheffield
• University of Sussex

They have also progressed to mid-level academic positions, such as Senior Lecturer/Associate Professor, with the following institutions:

• Southampton University
• Universiti Utara Malaysia
• University of Greenwich
• Kingston University
• Liverpool John Moores University
• Northumbria University
• Portsmouth University
• Sheffield Hallam University
• the University of Westminster
• National Chengchi University, Taiwan

Some have been appointed to high-level professorial positions with the following institutions:

• Chester University
• Prince Mohammad Bin Salman College of Business and Entrepreneurship.

Home (UK) students tuition fee per year*: £4,786

EU and international students tuition fee per year**: £25,500

Other essential costs***: There no additional costs in excess of £50 per item.

…How do I pay for it? Find out more about funding options, including loans, grants, scholarships and bursaries. 

* and ** These tuition fees apply to students enrolled on a full-time basis in the academic year 2025/26.

* Please note that for research courses, we adopt the minimum fee level recommended by the UK Research Councils for the Home tuition fee. Each year, the fee level is adjusted in line with inflation (currently, the measure used is the Treasury GDP deflator). Fees displayed here are therefore subject to change and are usually confirmed in the spring of the year of entry. For more information on the Research Council Indicative Fee please see the UKRI website.

** This figure is the fee for EU and international students starting a degree in the academic year 2025/26.  

Royal Holloway reserves the right to increase fees for overseas fee-paying students annually. Be aware that tuition fees can rise during your degree (if longer than one year’s duration), and that this also means that the overall cost of studying the course part-time will be slightly higher than studying it full-time in one year. The annual increase for continuing students who start their degree in 2025/26 will be 5%.  For further information see fees and funding and the  terms and conditions.

*** These estimated costs relate to studying this particular degree at Royal Holloway during the 2025/26 academic year and are included as a guide. Costs, such as accommodation, food, books and other learning materials and printing, have not been included. 

Scholarships

The School offers a limited number of merit-based scholarships that contribute towards tuition fees and/or maintenance.  These scholarships are highly competitive. Applicants are expected to have an outstanding track record of academic achievements and research potential.

The Scholarship competition for the academic year 2023/2024 has now been closed. Please check back later for announcement for academic year 2024/2025.