MPhil/PhD in Management - Information Systems and Innovation

Programme Code: RPMGIS

Department: Management

For students starting this programme of study in 2020/21

Guidelines for interpreting programme regulations

Prerequisite Requirements and Mutually Exclusive Options

# means there may be prerequisites for this course. Please view the course guide for more information.

Progression and upgrade requirements

All students are expected to gain broad knowledge of the subject from graduate level course work in their first year and active participation in workshops, seminars and conferences to complement the expertise gained from intense thesis research.

In the Summer term of each year the progress of each student is discussed at the MPhil/PhD Board, which is a general meeting of all ISI research student supervisors, the ISI PhD Programme Director, and the ISI Faculty Group Lead. Students who are deemed not to have made satisfactory progress will either be refused permission to re-register or will be required to produce written work over the summer as a condition for re-registration in the autumn. Student supervisors will attend the MPhil/PhD Board and provide reports on progress.

End of Year 1: Re-registration for the following year if approved by the PhD programme director.

Year 2: Michaelmas Term by Week 6: Students submit their Research Proposal* for upgrade to PhD. The Research Proposal for upgrade to PhD includes: 1) the research question(s); 2) a concise literature review through which the significance of the proposed research is articulated; 3) a discussion of research methodology; 4) preliminary data collection and analysis or a ‘pilot’ study; and 5) discussion of research ethics and risks.

Year 2: Michaelmas Term by Week 11: The Upgrade Panel, which for each student will consist of two ISI faculty and the student’s two supervisors, will interview students. If the submitted work is of an acceptable standard, students will be upgraded from MPhil to PhD. Should the submitted work fall short of an acceptable standard, then the Upgrade Panel can decide either to ask for further work to be submitted no later than at the end of the Lent Term, or that the student should not be allowed to continue the studies.

By the end of Year 2: Students must have progressed to PhD registration to continue their studies.

All progression and upgrade decisions must be approved at the next appropriate Departmental PhD Committee meeting.

Year 3: Lent Term by Week 6: Students who have upgraded to PhD must have submitted their Progression Package: a) two draft chapters (an introduction and a substantive chapter) totalling no more than 20,000 words; b) a thesis outline; c) a timeline for completion and d) a bibliography. The material is then assessed in a viva voca by the PhD panel consisting of two assessors from the ISI Faculty Group, the PhD supervisors, the PhD Programme Director, and the Faculty Group Lead.

End of Year 3: Re-registration for the final year 4 will be based on satisfactory progress reports and research activity and approved by the Programme Director in close consultation with Supervisors and with the approval of the PhD committee.

Progression to PhD registration

For PhD registration students are required to achieve marks of 60% in 4 units/papers with no failed papers.  Students achieve 50-59 in half a unit (1 classification mark) can only progress if approved by the PhD Programme Director, and will be required to resit. Resits should be taken at the next available opportunity. Any exceptions to this are unlikely to be allowed and can only be approved by the PhD committee.

The final decision to recommend a student upgraded from MPhil to PhD is taken by the Department’s PhD Committee at their next appropriate meeting.

Students who have not made sufficient progress to be converted from MPhil to PhD registration by the end of their second year will normally have re-registration made conditional on further progress (details to be decided by the PhD Committee) or will be prohibited from re-registering.

Programme Structure - PhD

Students should aim to have a complete first draft of their thesis in years three to four and allow three to six months for revision and submission. The submission of the Third Year Progression Package by Week 6 of the Lent Term in the 3rd Year is an important step to achieving this demanding time frame.  Students will meet regularly with their Supervisor(s) each term throughout the programme. They are expected to focus on the research and writing of their thesis, the continued development of research ideas for publication, participation in relevant training courses and career development activities.

Award of the PhD

The PhD is awarded according to the rules of LSE.

Rules for the composition and content of theses within this programme

There are two formats of PhD Examination in the Department of Management. These align with those set out in Regulation 48 of the Regulations for Research Degrees that provide for two different formats of PhD submission/examination to be followed, as appropriate, according to the normal practice in your field.

The two formats approved by the Department of Management and applicable to this programme are:

1. A monographic thesis addressing a single subject in an integrated way.

OR

2. A set of publishable papers on a set of related topics within the context framed by an introductory and concluding chapter, and adhering to the following guidance: 

• An introduction to explain the justification for the research question and articulate the links between the papers.
• Papers may be written with others/co-authored. Candidates may find it helpful to use CRediT taxonomy to define their contribution and evaluate if their contribution to a paper is sufficient to warrant inclusion in their thesis.
• The candidate must solely write the introduction, all linking material and the discussion.
• A minimum of 3 papers. This is a standard number in the paper by thesis format, but it is up to the candidate to decide how many papers to include, considering the advice of their supervisor and the normal practice in their field of study.

Within Management the norms between fields are variable, and therefore it is important to understand this and discuss the practices and examination norms and how best to meet the expectations and requirements of the job market in your field with your supervisor and the Programme Director. The composition of your thesis should be discussed and agreed with your supervisor and the Programme Director.

Note for prospective students: 
For changes to graduate course and programme information for the next academic session, please see the graduate summary page for prospective students. Changes to course and programme information for future academic sessions can be found on the graduate summary page for future students.