Doctor of Philosophy in Management

The doctoral program (PhD) at the Faculty of Management (FoM), South Asian University is structured to build deep competencies in research methodology, disciplinary theory, academic writing, and pedagogy. It is designed to prepare scholars for rigorous, high-impact research and effective teaching in the field of business management. The coursework ensures a strong grounding in analytical thinking, ethical scholarship, and methodological precision, aligned with international academic benchmarks.

Doctoral Students specialize in one of the following areas:

• Decision Sciences
• Economics & Social Sciences
• Entrepreneurship
• Finance
• Accounting
• Information Systems
• Marketing
• Organizational Behavior & Human Resource Management
• Production & Operations Management
• Public Policy
• Strategy

Note: Scholars are encouraged to conduct interdisciplinary research in the area of Business Management.

PhD Admission Eligibility Criteria:

1. General Eligibility
   • 12 years of schooling + 3/4-year Bachelor’s degree
   • Postgraduate degree
   • Minimum Marks Requirement:
     • Social Sciences and Law: 50% or equivalent grade
     • Science subjects: 55% or equivalent grade
2. Integrated Degrees
   • Candidates with integrated Bachelor + Master degrees (minimum 5 years of higher education after 12 years of schooling) are eligible.
3. Four-Year Bachelor’s Degree
   • Candidates with a 4-year Bachelor’s degree are eligible if they have:
     • 80% marks (or equivalent grade) for Science subjects
     • 75% marks (or equivalent grade) for Non-science subjects
4. Other Provisions
   • Only degrees from Government-recognized universities/institutions are accepted.
   • Degrees based solely on work experience are not acceptable.
   • Candidates already awarded a Ph.D. or exited with an M.Phil. at SAU cannot be re-admitted, unless approved by the President in special cases.

Modes of Admission

Admission to various PhD programmes is offered through two modes:

1. SAU Entrance Test Mode:

• For Indian Candidates: Center-based online tests conducted by the University on stipulated dates.
• For other SAARC Candidates (excluding India): Proctored online tests on stipulated dates.

2. Direct Admission Mode (Without SAU Entrance Test):

• In India: Based on scores from national-level tests.
• In Other SAARC Countries: Based on national-level test scores or qualifying examination results from recognized institutions/boards.
• For Non-SAARC Candidates: Based on scores obtained in their qualifying examination (from recognized institutions).

Under the Entrance Test mode, the admission procedure for the PhD programme consists of an Entrance Test followed by an interview.
Under the Direct and Executive modes, candidates will be shortlisted and called directly for the interview.
For further details, please refer to the General Guidelines for the PhD Programmes.

The number of scholarship seats through the Entrance Test mode is 6, while the number of seats through the Direct & Executive mode shall be based on availability.

Updated soon.

Research Methodology

• Foundations of Research
• Research Problem and Objectives
• Literature Review
• Research Design
• Qualitative Research Methods
• Quantitative Research Methods
• Sampling
• Measurement and Scaling
• Reliability and Validity
• Hypothesis Testing
• Data Analysis (Basics)
• Advanced Analytical Concepts
• Qualitative Data Analysis
• Research Ethics

OB-HR

• Evolution of HRM
• HR planning and workforce planning
• Job analysis: job description and job specification
• Recruitment and selection
• Training and development
• Performance management systems
• Motivation theories (Maslow, Herzberg, McClelland, Vroom)
• Employee engagement
• Organisational commitment
• Leadership and talent management
• Compensation and reward systems
• Industrial relations
• Psychological contract
• High performance work systems

Marketing Management

• Marketing concept and evolution
• Consumer behaviour
• Market segmentation, targeting, positioning
• Marketing mix (Product, Price, Place, Promotion)
• Branding and brand equity
• New product development
• Services marketing
• Digital marketing basics
• Customer relationship management
• Marketing research
• Integrated marketing communication

Operations Management

• Nature and scope of operations management
• Process design and analysis
• Capacity planning
• Facility location and layout
• Quality management
• Total quality management
• Lean operations
• Six Sigma
• Productivity
• Scheduling
• Inventory basics
• Project management

Supply Chain Management

• Supply chain concepts and structure
• Procurement and sourcing
• Logistics and distribution
• Inventory management
• Demand forecasting
• Supplier relationship management
• Bullwhip effect
• Supply chain integration
• Risk and resilience
• Sustainability in supply chains

Finance

• Financial management objectives
• Time value of money
• Capital budgeting
• Cost of capital
• Financial statements analysis
• Ratio analysis
• Working capital management
• Risk and return
• Portfolio theory basics
• Corporate governance Investment decision making

Information Systems Analytics

• Information systems in organisations
• Types of information systems
• Enterprise systems
• Decision support systems
• Management information systems
• Digital transformation
• Big data concepts
• Business analytics
• Descriptive, predictive, prescriptive analytics
• Data visualisation
• Artificial intelligence in business
• Technology adoption models