MPhil/PhD in Management - Information Systems and Innovation

Programme Code: RPMGIS

Department: Management

For students starting this programme of study in 2021/22

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. Students are expected to meet regularly with their Supervisor(s) each term throughout the programme.

Timeline of activities

The normal duration of PhD study is four years of full-time study including the time spent as an MPhil student in years 1 and 2.

Award of the PhD

The PhD is awarded according to the rules of LSE.

Year 1

Courses (as described above)

Year 2

MG599 Research Proposal and Upgrade panel

Autumn Term by Week 6: Students submit their Research Proposal* for upgrade to PhD (MG599).

Autumn Term by Week 11: The Upgrade Panel, in the form of a viva voce to assess the research proposal.  The Upgrade Panel will consist of two ISI faculty as assessors and the student’s two supervisors. 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 Winter Term or recommend to the Department’s Annual Progression meeting that the student should not be allowed to continue their studies.

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

Year 3

Winter Term by Week 6: Students submit their Progression Package: a) two draft chapters (an introduction and a substantive chapter) totalling no more than 20,000 words; b) a thesis outline; and c) a timeline for completion and d) a bibliography. The material is then assessed in a viva voce by a panel taken from the MPhil / PhD Board.

Year 4

By the end of Year 4: Submission of PhD thesis and scheduling of viva.

Annual Progression

In the Summer term of each year the progress of each student is discussed at the ISI 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. The ISI MPhil / PhD Board will recommend that students who are deemed to have made satisfactory progress during the year be permitted to re–register for the following year.  Those deemed not to have made satisfactory progress either be refused permission to re-register or be required to produce satisfactory written work over the summer as a condition for re-registration in the autumn.

All progression and upgrade recommendations by the ISI MPhil / PhD Board must be approved at the next appropriate DoM PhD Committee meeting.

Progression to year 2

For progression to year 2 (and hence upgrade to PhD) students are required to achieve marks of 60%+ in the three year one papers.

Students who achieve 50-59 in a half unit course in year one can only progress to year two if approved by the DoM PhD Programme Director and will be required to resit and is not an automatic right.  The general progress of the student will be taken into consideration when deciding to allow a resit. Resits should be taken at the next available opportunity.

Students who achieve 50-59 in more than one half unit (or equivalent) in year one will not normally be permitted to progress to the second year.

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.