Management, Governance and International Development Cluster
Research Degrees (PhD/MPhil)
The MGiD group is heavily involved with IDPM's research degree programme, and actively encourages applications from suitably qualified candidates who wish to obtain a research degree.
IDPM's research students are part of the International Development stream of the research training programme of the Manchester Graduate School of Social Sciences and Law. All of our students receive formal tuition in areas such as Issues in Development Policy Research, Development Research Design, and Quantitative and Qualitative Research Methods.
Reasons for Embarking on a Research Degree
The successful completion of a research degree can be one of the most fulfilling events of a person's life. Research degrees involve hard work and commitment, yet they have the potential to provide tremendous excitement and reward for all those involved with the process.
There are numerous reasons why people apply for places on the research degree programme. In some cases, applicants have already completed an MSc/MA/MBA programme (in a relevant area such as Human Resource Management/Development, Organisational Change and Development, Management Information Systems, Public Policy and Management, International Development) and wish to pursue further a particular area of interest in depth. Other people apply to join the programme because a sponsor has asked them to research a specific topic. Others people apply to join the programme in order to enhance their careers, particularly in higher education establishments throughout the world.
In What Subject Areas do we Offer Supervision?
Faculty members of the MGiD group have a wide range of specialist interests in the areas of management and governance in development (see MGiD Research Projects). We are happy to supervise both PhD and MPhil students. Our research students are from countries such as: Belarus, Ghana, Lebanon, Mauritius, Mexico, Nepal, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Russia, Sri-Lanka, Tanzania, Vietnam, Zambia. This listing provides an indication of the truly international nature of our research programme.
In order to provide an indication of the types of theses that we supervise, the abridged titles of some of the research theses that we are currently supervising are provided below:
- A new learning model for self-development
- A diagnosis of organisational culture in Mauritius
- Human Resource Management in Tanzania
- Administrative training education in the Sultanate of Oman
- Facilitating workplace learning through e-communities
- Leadership with integrity in Nigeria
- Capacity-building for Public Management Reform and Regulatory Governance
- Systematic training as a capacity building strategy in developing countries civil services
- Cross-cultural comparisons of managerial ethics
- Industrial Relations in the Tanzania-Zambia Railway Authority
- Institutional reforms and policy of poverty reduction in Ghana
- The benefits of outward looking HRD Orientation in Namibia
- Organisational culture and HRM in the Dominican Republic: a gender perspective
More information on the supervisory capacities of cluster members in this area can also be obtained by visiting the Research Opportunities section of this website or by visiting individual staff pages.
Taking Things Further
If you feel that you may be interested in embarking on a research degree within IDPM, you can follow this link for further information on admission requirements and how to apply. You are advised to note that there are very few university scholarships available for the research programme. Hence, if you are not funding yourself, you are strongly advised to investigate potential sources of funding before applying for a place on the programme. Applicants should be confident of obtaining access to the resources that are needed to explore their area of research interest for 3 years (in the case of PhD students) and 1 year (in the case of MPhil students).
If you do decide to apply for a place on the PhD or MPhil programme, please try and be clear about what it is you wish to research. If you want your proposal to be considered by the MGiD group, please make this clear on your application form. Members of the MGiD group will then go through your proposal in detail, so it is worth spending some time thinking about what it is you want to research and how. Try and include some up-to-date references in the proposal. We can then seek to match your proposal to the specialist interests of a Faculty member. We'd be delighted to hear from you!