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PhD in administration – International Business

Are you interested in international issues? Are you interested in the international strategy of companies, their locations, major global issues or the governance of organizations and institutions? Do your doctorate in a community of internationally renowned researchers and develop cutting-edge expertise to build a career in academia or the business world.

Overview

Your PhD in short

Offered by HEC Montréal jointly with Concordia and McGill universities and the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM). This unique partnership provides access to a multitude of courses and professors specialized in international business or related fields.
Full-time program allowing you to complete your studies in 4 or 5 years.
Tuition fees waived and competitive funding for the first four years of your studies.

Program characteristics

  • Doctoral
  • 90 credits
  • Full-time
  • Day
  • On-site
  • Côte-des-Neiges

For an academic or corporate career

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60%

of graduates from this PhD program hold 
positions at Canadian or foreign universities. 
All the others are working as executives, 
managers or consultants in the private sector.

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40%

hold management or leadership 
positions in companies, or 
operate as experts.

Publications by our students

  • Canadian Journal of Administrative Sciences
  • Journal of Sports Economics
  • Management Communication Quarterly
  • Information Systems Journal
  • Journal of International Business Policy
  • Journal of Knowledge Management
  • European Management Journal
  • European Planning Studies
  • Environment and Planning A
  • Regional Studies

Diverse research interests

  • International trade
  • International Finance
  • Geopolitics of international affairs
  • Global governance
  • Knowledge and innovation management
  • Risk management in international business
  • Territorial development
  • Regional innovation systems
  • International strategies
  • Relations between multinationals and stakeholders
  • Foreign investment and development

The power of international business research

HEC Montréal offers doctoral students in international business a stimulating scientific environment, including a research chair and three professorships.

Chair

Chair in Innovation and Regional Development, directed by Pr David Doloreux

Professorships

Prestigious awards

Research groups and knowledge transfer centres

The doctoral program in administration requires a minimum of 90 credits, structured across three phases: preparatory coursework, specialization, and the dissertation.

The program typically spans between three and six years.

Phase I – Preparation (if necessary, maximum 1 year)

The preparatory phase courses allow you to acquire the necessary knowledge before starting the PhD-level courses. These are generally graduate-level courses and do not count toward the program’s total of 90 credits.

Phase II – Specialization (maximum 2 years)

  1. At least 10 seminars among those proposed, respecting the minimum required for each type

  2. Writing of scientific paper

  3. Comprehensive exam

Phase III – Dissertation (maximum 3 years)

  1. Writing of the dissertation
  2. Public presentation of the dissertation proposal
  3. Defence

Deadlines for submitting admission applications

  • Fall term: no later than January 5th
  • Winter term: no admissions
  • Summer term: no admissions
     
Currently studying in a master's program?

You can apply for admission to a doctoral program, even if you have not yet completed your current program (MSc or MBA). If your application is accepted, your admission will be conditional upon you receiving your degree before the start of the doctoral program, meaning before late August.

Conditions and required documents

Documents required for admission

You will need to provide documents as part of the admission process.

Check the list of required documents

Capacity is limited for certain programs. HEC Montréal does not guarantee that all eligible applicants will be accepted.

Program funding

At least $30,000 per year for your first 4 years of study.

This amount may include various sources of funding: bursaries, remuneration for teaching activities, research activities, etc.

A letter detailing the funding offer will be sent when you are admitted.

Financial support from the Office of Research and Knowledge Transfer

Maximum of $5,000 for the duration of studies

Depending on available funding, the Office of Research and Knowledge Transfer may grant assistance of up to $5,000 for the duration of your studies. The aim is to support your efforts in scientific research and publication, and to help you in your job search. Learn more about funded activities.

Tuition fees

Fees for research-oriented programs are calculated per term. If you take courses that are not in your program structure, you must pay an additional fee per credit based on the applicable rate (PDF, 105 KB).

Estimated annual fees

Other financial resources

HEC Montréal encourages you to apply for bursaries with Quebec and Canadian funding agencies (annual competitions). Student Services (SAE) offers support for preparing your applications.

For any questions, email analyste.bourses [at] hec.ca (analyste[dot]bourses[at]hec[dot]ca).

The following list covers specific projects proposed by professors for which students are sought. 

However, this list is not exhaustive, and we invite you to contact our professors for information on other potential projects or to propose your own research topics in your application.