Select your language

Program objectives

  1. Train high-level human resources so they can make an effective contribution to the development of knowledge on the cutting edge of the Administrative Sciences
  2. Promote significant advances in the knowledge of business administration
  3. Constantly seek the consolidation of new and existing research groups
  4. Seek the broad diffusion of academic knowledge through appropriate means

Program philosophy

The program is focused on the development of knowledge in the area of business administration.

The program’s main component is the doctoral dissertation. Other components are designed to provide the student with skills and training necessary to produce a high-quality piece of work. The student must, in their dissertation, demonstrate mastery of the chosen topic and a broad theoretical knowledge of the topic’s line of research.

The dissertation must demonstrate originality in the way the topic is treated and contribute to the theory and practice of business administration. Mastery of the chosen methodology is fundamental however, it is also important that the candidate demonstrate an understanding of alternative methodologies.

Specific disciplines and materials are complementary to the goals of the dissertation and the development of the research. As a result, the courses that are offered will focus on epistemological issues about research methods and pedagogical practices, in addition to disciplines whose content contributes to theoretical mastery of the dissertation’s research.

Since the program is aimed fundamentally at the deepest training of the researcher/professor and the production of high-quality work, the program is structured on the student’s ability for teamwork and guidance by professors on the one hand, and on the academic quality of the dissertation on the other. As a standard policy, the program states that doctoral students must produce science with their supervisor. Student monitoring by the Doctoral Program Committee is fundamental to the student and the Doctoral program’s success as a whole. The committee has instituted mechanisms for student monitoring and for supervisor/student work efficiency. As a result, the Committee will evaluate each Doctoral student on an annual basis. It will consider the following factors:

  • Fulfillment of disciplines and the grades achieved by the student;
  • Development of the dissertation;
  • Participation in CEPEAD’s extracurricular activities;
  • Evaluation of academic production;
  • Participation in research group activities;
  • Participation in teaching activities;
  • Performance in the qualification exam, where appropriate;
  • Performance on the dissertation project, where appropriate;
  • Dedication to the program;
  • Recommendation for the student to remain in the program.

The Committee is responsible for promoting activities that benefit the development of academic production with the goal, beyond the doctoral dissertation— which could be published as a book—of producing at least one published paper per year authored by the doctoral student.

Program duration

The duration of the Doctoral Program in Business Administration is a minimum of two and a maximum of four years. The program commences in the first semester of each year.

Target audience

Professionals who are especially inclined to work on the cutting edge of knowledge, able to address and resolve complex problems in applied social sciences, and have an interest in a career as a researcher. Preference is given to students who have completed a master’s degree in a relevant discipline and are able to dedicate themselves to the program for a period of up to four years. The program accepts candidates from different fields of study and knowledge who have appropriate qualifications are interested in contributing to the area of business administration.

Number of places

For the first semester of 2015, 28 (twenty-eight) places will be available. They will be distributed among the different research areas as follows: eight places for research in Finance; five places for research in Human Resource Management (HRM) and Organizational Behavior; seven places for research in Organizational and Corporate Studies and eight places for research in Marketing, Strategic Administration, and Operations.

Student obligations

  1. Participation in the research centers linked to the dissertation subject. Participation will consist of sharing experiments completed and underway at the Center, sharing the local bibliographic archive and education among the members of the center. These activities are worth up to two credits to students, based on the researcher’s recommendation and confirmation by the doctoral coordinating committee.
  2. Participation in extra-curricular activities planned by CEPEAD of interest to the student’s research area, such as research meetings, thesis and dissertation defenses, conferences, and other activities.
  3. All students enrolled in the Doctoral Program (whether they are scholarship holders or not) must carry out a teaching internship. This amounts to 60 hours of teaching delivered in the Department of Administrative Sciences. The content will be related to the student’s research area or related topics, as a support for the student’s pedagogical training, and approved by the supervisor. The internship must be completed during the doctoral program. Teaching activities will be developed by the doctoral students under the guidance of the supervisor and will include courses, seminars, or special topics offered to undergraduate students.
  4. Academic production is a highly recommended activity for doctoral students. A student who writes an article or research presentation in the same research area as their dissertation during the regular period of the Program that is accepted by a conference or indexed journal will receive one credit per article with a limit of three credits. The request for credit attribution will be made by the student and approved by the supervisor.

Ethical principles

  1. The student must discuss with the supervisor any academic work involving collaboration or help from third parties for the dissertation or publications.
  2. The student must not interfere in the activities being developed by the research group (e.g., by hiring services or using secretarial and scholarship holder hours, or making recommendations for hiring decisions at other institutions during the life of the contract and without the knowledge of the supervisor).
  3. For any work in collaboration with the supervisor, the student must first discuss the authorship of the paper.
  4. In any mention of the dissertation work by the press or other media, the student must make reference to the supervisor, the research group, CEPEAD, and UFMG.
  5. The student may not publish any work about the dissertation topic in an academic meeting or any other research vehicle without prior authorization by the supervisor.
  6. Requests for supervisor changes must first be discussed with the supervisor.
  7. The supervisor is responsible for constituting the examining committees and extending formal invitations to its members for participation in the defense exams.
  8. The student’s dissertation, as well as their attributions about the dissertation’s topics, must refer to the work of the supervisor. The student’s dissertation must contain references to the work of the examiners, particularly where they have published on the subject.