Kent Business School has over 100 research-active academic staff. Postgraduate research can take place in any subject area where they have expertise. The Organisational Behaviour and Human Resource Management PhD programme will equip you with the skills to align people strategy with business strategy and help organisations flourish.
How do we measure the impact of HR practices on organisational culture, employee performance and business success? Learn the tools of the trade for research in Organisational Behaviour and Human Resource Management on our new postgraduate programme.
Kent Business School performs internationally recognised research. Our specialists in people management and organisation studies draw on techniques from a variety of disciplines such as psychology and sociology in order to develop insight into employee wellbeing, equality and diversity in the workplace, performance management and appraisal.
Kent Business School has over 25 years’ experience delivering business education. Our portfolio of postgraduate programmes demonstrates the breadth, and depth of our expertise. Academic research and links with global business inform our teaching, ensuring a curriculum that is relevant and current. We also hold a number of accreditations by professional bodies.
Studying at Kent Business School (KBS) gives you the opportunity to increase your employability with real-life case studies, a student council and a business society. We have strong links to local and national organisations providing opportunities for projects, internships and graduate placements. The School attracts many high-profile speakers from industry and last year included visits and lectures from staff of the Bank of England, BAE Systems, Barclays, Lloyds Insurance, Cummins, Delphi and Kent County Council.
The School currently has 60 PhD students, who form a dynamic and close-knit research community.
Applicants should hold a 2.1 at the undergraduate
level and a Merit at Master’s level in a relevant discipline, from the UK or
other approved university and/or equivalent. You must submit a research
proposal of approximately 1,500 words on your intended topic.
The deadline for PhD applications is 31 July.
All applicants are considered on an individual basis and additional qualifications, professional qualifications and relevant experience may also be taken into account when considering applications.
Please see our International Student website for entry requirements by country and other relevant information. Due to visa restrictions, students who require a student visa to study cannot study part-time unless undertaking a distance or blended-learning programme with no on-campus provision.
The University requires all non-native speakers of English to reach a minimum standard of proficiency in written and spoken English before beginning a postgraduate degree. Certain subjects require a higher level.
For detailed information see our English language requirements web pages.
Please note that if you are required to meet an English language condition, we offer a number of pre-sessional courses in English for Academic Purposes through Kent International Pathways.
Duration: 3 to 4 years full-time, 5 to 6 years part-time
You are required to write a thesis of the following lengths:
The Faculty Associate Dean (with responsibility for research programmes of study) can approve exceptions from these word lengths after taking the advice from subject experts on different conventions within a subject area.
The 2024/25 annual tuition fees for this course are:
For details of when and how to pay fees and charges, please see our Student Finance Guide.
For students continuing on this programme fees will increase year on year by no more than RPI + 3% in each academic year of study except where regulated.* If you are uncertain about your fee status please contact information@kent.ac.uk.
The University will assess your fee status as part of the application process. If you are uncertain about your fee status you may wish to seek advice from UKCISA before applying.
Find out more about general additional costs that you may pay when studying at Kent.
Search our scholarships finder for possible funding opportunities. You may find it helpful to look at both:
We have a range of subject-specific awards and scholarships for academic, sporting and musical achievement.
Search scholarships
In the Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2021, 80% of our research was deemed ‘world-leading’ or ‘internationally excellent’. The school’s environment was judged to be conducive to supporting the development of high calibre research.
Research activities at Kent Business School are broadly organised into 4 departments:
Research in our Leadership and Management department examines themes in the areas of employment relations, human resource management, organisational behaviour and leadership.
The department covers a wide range of research, including employment relationships, the role of social partners, the effects of skills, technology and culture on the world of work, employee engagement, and the role of leadership.
Kent’s world-class academics provide research students with excellent supervision. The academic staff in this school and their research interests are shown below. You are strongly encouraged to contact the school to discuss your proposed research and potential supervision prior to making an application. Please note, it is possible for students to be supervised by a member of academic staff from any of Kent’s schools, providing their expertise matches your research interests. Use our ‘find a supervisor’ search to search by staff member or keyword.
Full details of staff research interests can be found on the School's website.
The KBS PhD programme is designed to provide thorough training for research careers in academia or industry. Our students generally take up academic appointments in UK or international higher education institutions or work in policy and industry settings.
Each research student is supported by a supervisory team (usually two members of academic staff) who give guidance about the nature of the research, the standard of work required, and about the relevant literature and sources that should be consulted.
Students meet with supervisors each month in-person to discuss the PhD project, talk about any aspect of the research, and agree upon a schedule of work. The co-supervisor provides additional input and ensures continuity.
Formal progression reviews are held at key points in your programme and each student participates in a mandatory research training programme.
All Kent Business School PhD students receive:
All first-year PhD students participate in a mandatory research training programme, including:
In addition, students participate in School research seminars and postgraduate training events organised in the School and through the Graduate and Researcher College. PhD programmes are aligned to the School’s Research Groups and students will become members of these Groups, participating in Group activities.
PhD students with scholarships or part-time teaching within Kent Business School also take modules from the Postgraduate Certificate in Higher Education and receive a teaching qualification.
KBS students benefit from training and development opportunities made available through our membership of NATCOR, the ESRC’s South East Doctoral Training Centre, and the European Doctoral Programmes Association (EDAMBA).
Kent's Graduate School co-ordinates the Researcher Development Programme for research students, which includes workshops focused on research, specialist and transferable skills. The programme is mapped to the national Researcher Development Framework and covers a diverse range of topics, including subject-specific research skills, research management, personal effectiveness, communication skills, networking and teamworking, and career management skills.
Learn more about the application process or begin your application by clicking on a link below.
You will be able to choose your preferred year of entry once you have started your application. You can also save and return to your application at any time.
T: +44 (0)1227 823254
E: internationalstudent@kent.ac.uk
