The School welcomes applications for research degrees in accounting, economics, finance and management. The PhD degree is a research qualification based on preparation of a dissertation under the supervision of one or more staff members. Research students are normally registered for the MPhil degree in the first instance and, subject to satisfactory progress, are upgraded to PhD status normally during their second year of research. Usually, students should hold a good taught Masters-level qualification, such as an MSc, before commencing their PhD. Research for the PhD degree should usually be completed by the end of the third year as a research student.
Use the links from this page for additional information about the PhD programmes offered by the three Departments in the School. The other links give access to further details of the programme.
Before considering whether you would like to apply for a PhD at Bristol, you should investigate whether we can offer expert supervision in your chosen research field. Use these links for more information about potential supervisors in accounting & finance, economics and management.
You can find information about recent PhD graduates of the School are listed on this page.
Bristol's Departments of Accounting and Finance, Economics and Management have many advantages, including an enthusiastic research community, a welcoming atmosphere and excellent research facilities. The Departments are large enough to have expertise in many fields, but small enough to be friendly and to allow regular contact between students and staff members.
The Department of Accounting and Finance was ranked 4th in the UK in the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise (RAE), and the Department of Economics joint 6th. For the Department of Economics, 85% of its research activity was recognised as internationally excellent or world-leading.
Research facilities are very good, with extensive provision of networked software and databases, and online access to all leading journals. We aim to offer many of our PhD students access to communal office space and sole use of a computer, even in their first year of research.
Here's what some of our current and former PhD students have said about their experience at Bristol.
