Hi, I know this is a MBA website. I am wondering if MBA is a logical foundation for PhD opportunities. Also, as my background is in luxury goods and services. I am wondering if I could use it to apply for retail PhD opportunities. I have narrowed down five choices and would like to get some feedbacks regarding the reputation of the programs.

1. University of Tennessee, http://rhtm.utk.edu/graduate/
2. University of North Carolina, Greensboro, http://bryan.uncg.edu/cars/
3. University of South Carolina, http://sc.edu/study/colleges_schools/hrsm/index.php
4. Cranfield University, https://www.cranfield.ac.uk/som/research-degrees/phd-programme/phd-opportunities
5. University of Surrey http://www.surrey.ac.uk/business-school/research/marketing-and-retail-management

No, an MRes, MPhil or MLitt with a major research element would be much better. To get into a great PhD aim for research-focussed schools where you can develop a robust research proposal and a strong grounding in research theory. Lancaster and Edinburgh stand out for retail.

Hi, sorry that I was not clear. I am currently pursuing a Global MBA at National Taiwan University. I am curious to find out PhD programs in near future. I went to Edingburgh / Lancaster PhD program website, I did not see retail as an option. Are you suggesting the marketing Phd?

Thank you,
Han Hsiang

[Edited by Han Hsiang Hsiao on Sep 18, 2016]

I've not researched how it's organised at Lancaster but almost certainly (as here at Edinburgh) you would first find a supervisor interested in retail and in your topic, and then apply to the PhD of whichever department of the business school they happen to be in. Our retail research group (http://www.business-school.ed.ac.uk/about/groups/219/retail) spans departments. Lancaster will similarly have retail research in marketing, in operations & management science, OB, finance etc. If you are looking only for a "PhD in retail" then you'll eliminate the best programmes available to you.

Unless your NTU GMBA thesis will be a major, journal-quality, scholarly research paper with a theoretical element, I'm suggesting you first take some sort of masters in research (we call it an MSc by Research http://www.business-school.ed.ac.uk/msc/msc-by-research) and then apply for a PhD with a scholarship in the best business school you can find.

Dear Duncan,
At the moment, I am more than half way of my GMBA program. I do not think that I would have more time to invest in another MS degree unless it is part of a PhD program. I already have a master in science in Luxury goods and services from International University of Monaco. It is more a taught degree, not a research oriented degree though. How about PhD from Solvay Brussels School of Economics and Management? I am interested in the topic of NeuroPricing in the retail sector.

Indeed, a masters in research includes the course work that you would normally find in the first year of a US-style five year PhD. But the background you have now makes it very unlikely that you would be admitted directly into a top PhD. This you should take a masters in research in order to develop a research proposal and find schools with possible supervisors. From what I can see, there is no-one at Solvay who would be a credible PhD supervisor on the neuroscience of retail pricing (unless Rothenberger is making a major shift). More probable schools would be Bocconi, Cal tech, Chicago Booth, Reykjavik, USC Marshall and, if that is not already obvious to you, then you will benefit from a year to get more into the exisiting research and build connections with possible supervisors.

[Edited by Duncan on Oct 19, 2016]