Human Resource Management and Organisation Studies

Entry requirements

We will consider all applicants with 2:2 or above, or equivalent international qualifications. For some courses, there may be additional requirements which can be found on our website.

Months of entry

January, April, October

Course content

PhD Human Resource Management and Organisation Studies gives you the opportunity to interrogate the theories and practice of organisation in relation to work, management and the experience of employment.

We welcome applications from students from a variety of backgrounds and nationalities, with wide ranging social science and interdisciplinary research interests, including recent graduates from a range of disciplines, experienced practitioners, professionals and policy makers.

We welcome theses exploring research that considers the historical, socio-economic, cultural, and political context within which work and its organisation takes place, as well as that which has critical implications for contemporary organisational and management practices.

You can tailor your research to a profession or sector of your choice and may choose to pursue research in one of the following areas:

• human resource management and approaches to wellbeing
• environmental sustainability and ethics
• sociology and social psychology of work
• employee relations
• work and organisation studies
• gender, diversity and intersectionality in the workplace
• creativity and organisational change
• information systems in organisations
• precarious employment and vulnerability
• public sector change and reorganisation
• organisational spatiality and design

Essex Business School, where this course is based, provides a highly flexible and supportive PhD experience, where your supervisors develop your professional skills and research expertise in your chosen area.

We are the largest department at the University of Essex, with a large research community, including more than 100 doctoral students from more than 40 different nationalities.

You will join our Organisation Studies and Human Resource Management Group and will participate in the research activities of the group and its primary research centre, the Centre for Work, Organisation and Society This will provide you with access to academic and industry expertise, as well as the opportunity to network with scholars from around the world.

You may be eligible for funding from the South East Network for Social Sciences (SeNSS).