Entry requirements

Applicants should hold a 2.1 at undergraduate level and a Merit at Master’s level in a relevant discipline, from a UK or other approved university and/or equivalent. You must submit a research proposal of approximately 1,500 words on your intended topic.

In Kent Business School, entry to all research programmes is in September only. The deadline for PhD applications is 31 July.

All applicants are considered on an individual basis and additional qualifications, professional qualifications and relevant experience may also be taken into account when considering applications.

Months of entry

September

Course content

The Management Science group at Kent Business School is one of Europe’s leading centres in the areas of location analysis and transportation and logistics. Particular interests of the staff include discrete and continuous location, routing problems, including green or reverse logistics, and the design of heuristic and exact solution methods.

The group is also known in the areas of soft OR, research metrics, big data, data envelopment analysis, and environmental management. We welcome student research projects on a variety of topics including:

  • Location analysis
  • Routing problems
  • Critical Infrastructure Protection
  • Environmental management
  • Operations management
  • Multivariate analysis
  • Big data
  • Insurance/warranty data analysis and management
  • Research metrics
  • Soft OR
  • Data envelopment analysis and performance measurement

Students working on relevant research topics in logistics or performance measurement are invited to join the Centre for Logistics and Heuristic Optimisation or the Anglo-Chinese Business and Management Centre, respectively.

The group is a member of NATCOR and students can attend a wide range of courses and workshops in the field of operational research and management science. Students interested in more mathematical topics are advised to follow the ‘Operational Research’ programme while those interested in more applied topics or operations management are advised to choose ‘Management Science’.

Location

You will be based either at the Canterbury or Medway campus, depending on where your first supervisor is based, for the duration of your PhD. Should you be based at Medway you will be expected to travel to Canterbury for compulsory modules and events run by the Graduate School. There is a regular University shuttle bus, which runs between Canterbury and Medway during term-time, this service is free for students.

Information for international students

Please see our International website for entry requirements by country and other relevant information. Due to visa restrictions, international fee-paying students cannot study part-time unless undertaking a distance or blended-learning programme with no on-campus provision.

English language entry requirements

The University requires all non-native speakers of English to reach a minimum standard of proficiency in written and spoken English before beginning a postgraduate degree. Certain subjects require a higher level.

For detailed information see our English language requirements web pages.

Need help with English?

Please note that if you are required to meet an English language condition, we offer a number of pre-sessional courses in English for Academic Purposes through Kent International Pathways.

Fees and funding

For further information about funding, including scholarships, please visit our funding web pages.

Qualification, course duration and attendance options

  • PhD
    part time
    60-72 months
    • Campus-based learningis available for this qualification
    full time
    36-48 months
    • Campus-based learningis available for this qualification

Course contact details

Name
Kent Business School
Email
phdinfo@kent.ac.uk
Phone
+44 (0)1227 827726