Examples of these courses include research methods or data gathering methodologies. Some programmes place greater emphasis on participation in seminars rather than a defined coursework schedule and students are expected to attend and participate in a given number of seminars to acquire a higher level knowledge within a particular field.

The volume of coursework required differs widely from institution to institution. The examples below illustrate the variety of structures in coursework requirements in international institutions.

• The London School of Economics specifies that a PhD student in Economics is expected to spend the first two years completing coursework in Microeconomics, Macroeconomics and Econometrics, in addition to completing a field course. Upon completion of these courses, the student may begin writing the thesis.

• Stanford Business School expects its PhD students to engage in at least three lectured courses, one in Microeconomic Analysis, one in Econometric Methods and a choice of Organization or Psychology in order to meet all their degree requirements. The coursework requirement here does not normally exceed one year of study.

• The University of Copenhagen Faculty of Science requires a coursework component corresponding to six months (30 ECTS credits) of courses at an adequate scientific level. The remainder of the total of 180 ECTS credits must, however, be fulfilled by research, thesis writing and participation in research activities outside the faculty and contributions to international conferences and publications.

• NUS, the National University of Singapore School of Business has a more intensive course requirement, whereby a doctoral student is expected to take a preparatory class, submit a summer paper, and enrol in an extensive coursework schedule.

Where a fixed schedule of mandatory coursework is not specified as a PhD requirement, the actual coursework a student should take is often assessed in consultation with the supervisor, who is best able to evaluate any gaps in the student’s knowledge prior to beginning the thesis component. At the end of the coursework phase some programmes may require an examination to be upgraded in status.

Information on any coursework elements of a PhD programme are typically very well communicated by the universities, so if you have concerns or questions regarding this element of your doctoral study you can find plenty of information on the respective institution’s website.

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