PhD Studentships in Business & Management

Lancaster University Management School (LUMS) are offering three-year PhD studentships in Business & Management, under the auspices of the North West Social Sciences Doctoral Training Partnership. Programmes are available in the following areas:

• Management (Entrepreneurship and Strategy)
• Management (Organisation, Work and Technology)
• Management Science
• Marketing

We are looking for highly-motivated doctoral candidates to join our international community of researchers and students from more than 180 countries.

LUMS is a quadruple-accredited, world-ranked management school, that has a reputation for outstanding research. In the UK’s latest Research Excellence Framework, REF 2021, we were rated as first for Research Power – recognising the breadth and depth of our work – and joint-first for our research environment, providing the perfect platform for future research talent to develop and flourish. In REF 2021, 90% of our research was rated world-leading or internationally excellent. Our commitment to high-quality doctoral research is demonstrated by LUMS PhD graduates obtaining academic, research and consultancy positions in quality institutions around the globe.

Our PhD Business & Management pathway programmes offer advanced research training courses, high-quality supervision by internationally-recognised academics, and participation in the School’s wider research community, making your PhD experience challenging and rewarding.

LUMS is part of the ESRC North West Social Sciences Doctoral Training Partnership, together with the Universities of Liverpool and Manchester. Fully-funded studentships are offered through this partnership for UK, EU and Overseas students. You will need to have been offered a place on one of the above programmes before being put forward for ESRC funding. We will also be offering funded LUMS studentships and all the applicants for the ESRC competition will be also considered for this internal funding.

To join our world-leading research environment, candidates must have an excellent first degree and outstanding Masters level degree performance. Qualifications should be in a related discipline to your intended PhD studies.

Full-time studentships will commence in October 2026 for research proposals that align with the research interests of the relevant department and that will enhance the research reputation of LUMS. All studentships pay a generous living allowance and offer a fee waiver for three years.

More details on LUMS PhD programmes can be found at: www.lancaster.ac.uk/lums/postgraduate/phd-programmes

Important deadlines

We recruit candidates on a continuous basis.

Application deadline for ESRC scholarships: 2nd February 2026

Application deadline for LUMS scholarships: 16th March 2026

We will be reviewing the applications received after this date as they may still be eligible for funding from a department. However, to maximize your chances of receiving a scholarship, we advise all candidates to submit their application as soon as possible.

Online information session

We are inviting you to attend an online information session about LUMS PhD programmes on 13 January 2026 12:00-13:30 (GMT). Prospective students will obtain information about our PhD programme and the application process, funding, our world-leading research, living in Lancaster, and job opportunities after graduation. To attend, please register at LUMS PhD Studentship & Funding information session - Events - Lancaster University The online information session will be presented by the Directors of LUMS Doctoral Programmes.

Further details about all these awards can be found at: Funding for PhD | Lancaster University

For more information, contact Sarah Patterson or Matthew Watson at: lums-phd@lancaster.ac.uk

To apply, go to: www.lancaster.ac.uk/lums/postgraduate/apply-for-phd