Doctoral-Level Education

Doctoral-level education is typically aimed at producing scholars and research-oriented professionals, who are expected to work at the frontier of a discipline. They are expected to become competent to teach at graduate and postgraduate levels. They are also expected to develop the skills to provide research-based service to the users of their specific disciplines. In the field of management, doctoral-level education tends to offer a relatively wider range of choices with respect to the subject of study. That is so because management covers a large domain of practical concerns and allows multiple disciplines to contribute to the development of its conceptual repertoire. Therefore, well-designed doctoral-level programmes in management tend to include taught components covering various management issues and a strong input in research training to help students appreciate the sheer variety of research approaches relevant to the cross-disciplinary and metadisciplinary work required in management. Management research is expected to make contributions, which ultimately can be translated into the improvement of managerial practice in some domain. Therefore, it usually gets inextricably linked to the problems of practical reason.

Through a doctoral-level programme, you are expected to develop a number of research skills, e.g., skills required in making observations and collecting data, building models, thinking analytically and synthetically, communicating with the wider research community (especially through academic writing and oral presentations), engaging in critical debate with other scholars, managing research-based projects, designing and teaching advanced courses, etc. These would require intensive practice and self-guided learning, although you can benefit from effective guidance and mentorship.

By choosing to apply for a doctoral-level programme in management, you can give a new impetus to your interest in the fundamental issues linked to practical affairs, and also learn from others with a similar interest. This is likely to become a transformational experience for you and, perhaps, trigger a few life-long passions.

Expected Profile

XIMB offers a number of research areas for FPM applicants. You can see a complete list on our website. Against each research area, you can find the name and contact details of the respective guide. Most guides have specified the expected profile of the person they are prepared to guide. It is your responsibility to ensure that you fulfil the expectations of the guide in the research areas you are interested in pursuing. Otherwise, your candidature may get rejected at a later stage in the application process. If you have any doubts on this matter, please feel free to contact the guides directly. At this stage, if you wish to make any changes to the subject areas (or any other details) in your online application form, you may do so until the last date of application.

Preapplication Contact

You should feel free to contact the Institute as well as the potential guides during the application process. We want you to be clear about your broad area of research interest and ensure that it matches with ours. Even if you are not very clear about your research interest, you should try to identify some alternative areas and explore some broad research themes within those areas. You should choose such areas where the expected profile matches with your own profile and you have sufficient grasp of the relevant fundamental knowledge. You may need to embark on a careful study of the basic and advanced literature (e.g., academic journals) related to the research area selected by you. The guides would be more comfortable with candidates who show high levels of commitment and have prepared adequately for undertaking doctoral-level work.

The FPM is a relatively new programme at XIMB. We expect the programme to enhance the intellectual culture in our Institute. That is why the programme is made fully residential. We expect the FPM students to organise academic events, lead intellectual debates, publish academic writings, carry out research projects, and help maintain a high level of intellectual enthusiasm within the Institute. You should ensure that your priorities and expectations match with those of the Institute and of the specific research guide you choose to work with.

Personal Interview

Based on their eligibility, academic and professional profile, and performance in the XIMB Research Aptitude Test (XIMB-RAT), a small number of candidates will be invited for a personal interview/consultation at Bhubaneswar. In this part of the selection process, you will get an opportunity to discuss your research interest, career plan, any special needs, etc., with your potential guides and other faculty-members. Please remember that you should be as particular about choosing the right research area and the right guide as we are about choosing the right candidate. It is a process of mutual selection.

Programme Components

Some information about the programme components is given here, in order to give you an idea of what is involved in doing the FPM. The duration of the FPM is three years. However, under extraordinary situations, it may be extended in units of six months, up to a total period of four years. The first 18 months constitute the preregistration period (which can be extended up to 24 months).

Course Work

During the preregistration period, you are required to attend the core courses offered by the Institute, in the business management stream, which will give you an exposure to the basic curriculum of management and a variety of pedagogical approaches followed. In this component, you will be required to follow a set of academic norms, failing which, you may be disqualified to continue in the programme. You will be expected to attend classes regularly, fulfil all the requirements of the courses, participate in all the course-related activities, and, above all, achieve a level of performance higher than a specified minimum.

In addition to the core courses, you may also be advised to do some additional/advanced courses (offered by our Institute or any other body). This will depend on your intended area of research.

Research Seminars

Another major part of your activities during the preregistration period will be the Research Training Seminars and the Research Review Seminars. In the Research Training Seminars, we would like to focus on the general issues of research, such as the nature and purpose of research, research process and research programmes, demarcation of research, methodology of research, research thinking and research language, etc.

We would also cover specific research projects, new research topics, research methods, etc. Some of the seminar in this series would focus on the operational aspects of doing research projects, writing research papers, making research presentations, etc. You will be required to attend these seminars and write reports on the same, which will be evaluated.

Research Review Seminars will be delivered by you after you finish your course-work. During the preregistration phase, you will be expected to present 4 review seminars. You should prepare a written report (in the form of a working paper) to be circulated before each seminar. Based on the discussions in the seminar, you should revise the paper and identify areas of further study. These seminars will help you identify and review the relevant literature and narrow down the choices for a suitable topic for your thesis.

Thesis Registration

After successfully completing the preregistration phase, you will be ready to register for your thesis. For this purpose, you should prepare a thesis proposal. The proposal should define the specific study you intend to carry out, elucidate your research approach and method, identify a work plan, and anticipate the kinds of effort required in completing the work in time. Once the proposal is approved, you will enter the thesis stage of the programme. This should culminate in the production of a final thesis, at the end of the prescribed period. We expect the research outputs emerging from your work to conform to high standards of scholarship and serve as meaningful contributions to the relevant academic debates at the global level.

Financial Assistance

All FPM students will be given a fellowship of Rs.10,000 per month in their first year, to be renewed annually, subject to satisfactory performance. Ordinarily, the fellowship will be continued for a period of 3 years. Beyond that, if required, the fellowship may be extended in units of six months, for a total period of 4 years. There will also be an opportunity for research assistantships of Rs.5,000 per month, in lieu of 20 hours of assistance per week. Most students should be able to provide the required number of hours towards research assistance from their second year onwards, taking their possible earnings to Rs.15,000 per month from the second year onwards. Research students will have access to facilities such as workspace, library, computer, telephone, fax, photocopying, etc., to be used strictly for research related activities.

You will not pay any tuition fees. However, certain expenses (such as accommodation fees) will be charged to you. Some essential research-related expenses will be reimbursed, subject to the availability of funds.

Campus Life

The campus life at XIMB is dominated by a youthful culture maintained by our postgraduate students. Over the years, our students have evolved mechanisms to encourage various extracurricular activities in the arts, literature, media, sports, music, dramatics, spirituality, and social service. There are also student bodies to encourage professional activities in the various areas of management. Students also make an effort to interact with external experts drawn from various walks of life. We expect you to familiarise with these student activities and participate in the ones suiting your interest and temperament.

Best wishes,

Prof. Sandip Anand FPM Coordinator Email: sandip@ximb.ac.in

Ms. Alora Kar FPM Programme Office Email: alora@ximb.ac.in Tel: 0674-6647812; Fax: 0674-2300995