PhD in Management Studies

Applications are only accepted from students who are completing (or have completed) a CJBS Research MPhil, or occasionally from students completing the MPhil Economics Research at Cambridge. (Please see departmental website for the specific MPhil needed for each PhD pathway).

Applicants must have a first-class honours degree (minimum GPA of 3.7/4.0) at the undergraduate level.

Applicants from the MPhil will be interviewed by a panel of faculty members. The PhD admissions committee will then make a decision on the basis of the interview report, the strength of the overall application (with particular weight on academic reference letters) and performance in the Michaelmas term courses. Admissions offers are conditional on the overall performance on the MPhil. The minimum condition is 70% or higher overall mark and 70% or higher in any dissertation.

Post-interview feedback is provided to all interviewees who do not receive an offer.

The application with all supporting documents must be uploaded by the departmental deadline of 7 January 2026 (with the exception of English language scores).

Applicants not studying for a CJBS MPhil must apply to the MRes in the first instance (with some exceptions to this for MPhil Economics Research students). For further details of the MRes visit the departmental website.

Very rarely, an outstanding MRes applicant who can provide clear evidence of outstanding research achievements and substantial relevant research methodology training may be considered for entry to the PhD programme directly (without taking the MRes year in the first instance). They would need a prior masters degree (as described on the MRes pages). In such cases, their application would be transferred to the PhD. 'Outstanding research achievements' means journal publication(s) in a reputable management journal(s).