Doctor of Philosophy

The PhD by Practice Based Research (PBR) provides you with an opportunity to conduct high-impact doctoral research.

You’ll be flanked by high-calibre peers and expert guidance from academic supervisors.

Our research offering means you can innovate with brilliant minds from sectors as diverse as Business Administration, Entrepreneurship and Innovation and Finance and many more.

A collegial, supportive environment Our Community of Practice model develops enduring relationships within our communities, creating a rich environment to pursue PhD research informed by social and economic priorities.

The PhD by PBR is designed to support you at every stage of your research journey.

You’ll stay connected to your peers throughout your research and gain ongoing support and feedback opportunities.

Your supervision panel is comprised of leading research academics based at Swinburne.

The expert guidance of your supervisors complements your peer support and ensures you have the one-on-one attention you need to navigate each step of your PhD.

You will undertake supervised research with the aim of making a significant and original contribution to your discipline or profession. Research areas are diverse and include Finance, Entrepreneurship and Innovation, Consumer Neuroscience, Accounting, Advertising, Business Administration, Educational Practice, Executive Education, Human Resources, International Business, Management, Marketing, Public Relations, and Social Investment and Philanthropy.

The PhD by PBR is a program run through the Faculty of Business and Law. It is generally completed over six years part-time (three years full-time).

In the first two years, you’ll undertake a custom training workshop program to ensure you have mastery over the foundations of doctoral research. This workshop is run four times a year on-campus by highly-experienced, internationally recognised researchers in their disciplines.

In the third and fourth years as you implement your research plan and collect and analyse data, we offer more tailored training and support.

• a bachelor degree (three or four years) and a Masters by Research or
• a bachelor degree (three or four years) and an Honours year or
• a bachelor degree (three or four years) and a Masters by Coursework or
• a bachelor degree (three or four years) and a postgraduate diploma in Psychology or
• a bachelor degree (four years) in an approved discipline.

The Doctor of Philosophy program has the objective of producing graduates with the capacity to conduct research independently at a high level of originality and quality. Graduates will demonstrate a capacity to design, conduct and report sustained and original research. While the research is conducted under a supervisor students are expected to demonstrate the ability to work independently.

A Doctor of Philosophy graduate is expected to be able to:

• conduct independent research at a high level of originality and quality
• independently conceive of, design, conduct and complete a research project or program
• understand their given substantive area as well as the given methodological approach(es)
• communicate an argument convincingly, with clarity and relevance to appropriate audiences.

Other key skills obtained by research graduates include:

• Independent thinking
• Decision-making skills
• Good judgement
• Logical thought, rationality
• Communication skills
• Project management skills
• Data analysis
• Problem solving
• Critical thinking