PhD Program (part-time)

Conduct research that has significant societal impact. Our part-time PhD offers you the opportunity to combine your (part-time) job with conducting high-quality academic research that intends to make a significant scientific contribution with a practical and societal impact. Fulfillment of the PhD requirements and successful completion and defense of your dissertation leads to a PhD in Business degree from Nyenrode Business Universiteit.

Have you completed a Master’s degree but want to take your research further? Join our PhD and become part of our community of researchers pushing the boundaries of knowledge. Whether you're looking to advance your expertise, contribute groundbreaking research, or prepare for a career in academia or industry, our part-time PhD in Business provides the mentorship and resources to help you succeed.

Nyenrode’s PhD School has years of experience in supporting the unique needs of our part-time students, with an understanding of the challenges inherent in balancing your work, study, and personal life, while making steady progress on your PhD journey. During your PhD at Nyenrode, you will be guided by faculty supervisors in developing your research, complete courses taught by expert faculty, and build relationships with fellow part-time PhD students, all supported by the staff team in our PhD School. Our PhD program consists of three consecutive phases. Here you find an infographic with a brief overview of the program.

PhD phases

Your PhD can specialize in our areas of expertise , including accounting, auditing, controlling, corporate reporting, finance, tax, entrepreneurships, governance, stewardship, marketing, supply chain management, strategy, organizations, and leadership. Nyenrode also has research collaboration areas that cut across multiple areas of expertise. Gain more insights into the research impact at Nyenrode by visiting our impact cases.  

Phase 1 (1 year)

During the first phase of your PhD program, you will develop and write your PhD research proposal, supported by your faculty supervisor(s). In order to hone the necessary skills to create this research proposal, you will take the required courses ‘Research Design & Planning’ and ‘Philosophy of Science’, as well as the required workshop ‘Academic Reading and Writing’ together with a community of other PhD students.

PhD students who are interested in expanding their knowledge and skill sets could take additional non-mandatory workshops that are relevant in this phase (e.g., conducting a systematic literature review). This phase concludes with the student, together with their supervisor(s), developing a bespoke development plan for the coming years of your PhD journey.

Phase 2 (2 years)

You complete various required courses, workshops and research electives (e.g., Research Data Management, Qualitative Research, Scientific Integrity). All PhD students are welcome to complete any other courses or workshops that are relevant for their PhD but are not part of their training and development plan. In small groups, PhD students can take part in intervision sessions facilitated by an experienced trainer. You will be regularly guided and coached by your supervisory team in your research.

During Phase 2 you will also present your research at our internal PhD Conference, which takes place every year in spring to gain valuable feedback from our faculty. This PhD Conference also hosts workshops from faculty and practitioner experts. For example, our 2025 PhD Conference includes sessions on design thinking, publishing for a practitioner audience, and storytelling in research, as well as featuring the research presentations from our part-time PhD students.

Phase 3 (2 years)

You are entering the last phase of your PhD! In this final phase, you focus on further development and writing of the dissertation. You will be guided and coached by your supervisor or supervisory team. In addition, you will take part in the ‘Getting Published’ course; this courses offers insights from an array of experienced faculty members, ranging from insights into how to asses journals to handling peer reviewer and editor comments. You will also conduct your trial PhD defense. If all goes well, you obtain your PhD degree after the defense: a great and honorable achievement. Truly a reward for life!

While you can complete your PhD in five years, the process may take longer, depending on your own progress and goals. If you have questions about Nyenrode’s PhD, please contact us via phd@nyenrode.nl

For the 2026/2027 academic year starting September 2026, we welcome applications to our part-time PhD between September 1, 2025 and March 17, 2026. Applications are processed on a rolling basis. We encourage you to submit your application as soon as possible. We accept a maximum of 15 new part-time PhD students each academic year.

An acceptance into Nyenrode’s PhD School relies on aspects such as the full application package, on supervisory fit and capacity, and on whether you are able to take part in the required courses of your PhD starting in September 2026. 

Eligibility

To be eligible to apply to Nyenrode’s part-time PhD, you need to meet the following criteria:

• You are highly motivated to conduct rigorous research that aims to bridge the theory-practice divide;
• You are willing and able to combine your (part-time) job with a part-time PhD journey;
• You have obtained a Master's degree or international equivalent (as evidenced by certified copies of your degree and your curriculum vitae).

The application process

Would you like to pursue a part-time PhD at Nyenrode? Please read the following directions and then click the green button ‘apply online’ below. 

As part of a complete application process, you will be asked to upload the following documents:

• Certified copy of your Master's degree or equivalent;
• Copy of corresponding transcript/grade list(s) from your Masters or equivalent;
• Curriculum vitae;
• Application essay form (You can download this mandatory fillable application essay form by clicking here. Please follow the instructions and submit this complete form with your application);
• Reference letter(s);
• Photo.

To make its decision, the Admission Committee may ask you to take a Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT). An indication of the required score is above the 70th percentile (score 650+). If you have taken a GMAT test within the last five years, please upload your GMAT score report as part of the admission process. You do not need to take a new GMAT test to apply for our PhD School, unless requested by the Admission Committee.

Applicants who have obtained their Masters degree or equivalent outside of the Netherlands will be asked for additional information as their degree will be checked by NUFFIC, the Dutch organization for internationalization in education. If you obtained your Masters degree outside of the Netherlands, you will also need to upload the following items:

• Copy of the identification page of your passport;
• Certified copy of your Bachelor’s and Master’s degree and copy of corresponding transcripts/grade list(s);
• If the diplomas (both Bachelor and Master or equivalents) and corresponding transcripts/grade list(s) are in a language other than Dutch, English, French, German, Spanish or Afrikaans, you will need to include a certified English translation of the diplomas and grade lists (including photo printed and sealed by the official translator).

After receiving the full application package, select candidates will be invited to a selection interview. The outcome of your application – and selection interview, if applicable – will be communicated to you.

Do you have any questions about the application process? Please contact us via phd@nyenrode.nl.

The total investment for the part-time PhD for participants who start during Academic Year 2025-2026, is a total of €30,750 (VAT free) for the 5 years, with this fee structure varying over the three different phases.

The fees* differ per phase:

• Phase 1 (1 year) = € 4,250
• Phase 2 (year 1) = € 9,750
• Phase 2 (year 2) = € 9,750
• Phase 3 (year 1) = € 3,500
• Phase 3 (year 2) = € 3,500
• Every additional year € 3,500

*Fees do not cover the costs for books, overnight stays in our campus hotel, and travel expenses, among any other incidental costs associated with your PhD journey. The fees also do not cover visits to (international) academic conferences or PhD consortia (i.e., travel costs, conference fees), or visa costs, etc.

Typically, PhD students pay these fees themselves or receive partial or full fee coverage from their employer.