DOCTORATE AT HHL
(Dr.rer.oec.)
A unique structured doctoral program
Pursue your doctoral degree at one of Germany’s leading business schools with HHL’s unique structured Doctoral Program in Economics and Business Administration (Dr. rer. oec.). Designed for ambitious professionals, the program combines academic excellence with flexible part-time study, enabling you to pursue your research alongside your career.
Our structured curriculum equips you with a strong theoretical foundation and practical research skills, supported by Colloquia and Summer Meetings in a collaborative, international environment. Located in the heart of Leipzig, HHL offers the ideal setting to grow academically and professionally.
At a glance
- Doctoral degree: Dr. rer. oec.
- Program format: Remote or hybrid
- Language: English
- Rolling admission with no application deadline
- Standard period of study: 3 years
- Eligibility: Master’s degree in business or economics (or related field) with the final grade of a 2.5 or better
- Accreditation: Doctoral AACSB
Five Reasons for HHL’s Doctoral Program in Economics and Business Administration
- Combine your career with a prestigious doctoral degree while pursuing academic excellence.
- Flexible part-time structure allows you to balance work and studies effectively.
- Specialized courses and research seminars to develop advanced academic skills.
- Access to HHL’s faculty, career services, and a strong alumni network for career support.
- Hybrid learning model offering both online and in-person sessions for added flexibility.
The HHL Doctorate: Program Overview
HHL’s Doctoral Program focuses on your research project
The Doctoral Program of HHL is designed on a part-time basis and is particularly of interest to research-oriented candidates, seeking to combine their job with a postgraduate degree. It includes coursework in the form of lectures and seminars, independent research and participation in doctoral forums, research colloquia, summer schools and conferences.
HHL’s Doctoral Program standard period of study is three years. Doctoral candidates have the flexibility to arrange the coursework according to their individual schedule. All seminars take place in an online or hybrid format.
Core Modules
- Philosophical Underpinnings of Economic and Management Research
Elective Modules
Various courses from three areas:
- Research Fundamentals & Knowledge Transfer
- Quantitative Research Methods
- Qualitative Research Methods
Doctoral Colloquia
Doctoral Colloquia
Dates for colloquia are offered regulary (completely online via MS Teams). The event includes two presentation types: the Research Colloquium (recommended in Year 2) and the Doctoral Colloquium (recommended in Year 3). Full participation is mandatory to earn ECTS credits.
Purpose:
The Colloquium is a forum for discussion and feedback on ongoing research. Presentations should not be final but rather in progress to benefit from constructive input.
Format (both types):
- 15-minute presentation
- 15-minute discussion
Research Colloquium:
- Present a research paper (for cumulative dissertations) or a self-contained chapter (for monographs)
- Work must not be published yet
- Can be completed externally (e.g., conferences), with written approval from the supervisor
Doctoral Colloquium:
- Present an overview or interim results of your dissertation
- Cumulative dissertations: present the introduction chapter
- Tailored for an academic but non-specialist audience
Guiding Questions:
- What is the research problem?
- What is the gap in current research?
- What is your proposed solution?
Summer Meetings
Summer Meetings
Summer Meetings take place once a year in June or July in a hybrid format and are a core part of the Doctoral Program. Two Summer Meetings must be completed during the program—ideally in Year 1 and Year 2. Registration is via CampusNet once dates are announced.
Format:
- Two-day block seminar
- Full attendance is mandatory for ECTS
- Not graded
Purpose and Value:
Through workshops and lectures, HHL professors and leading external scholars explore cutting-edge topics in economics and business. The Summer Meeting also offers space for doctoral students to discuss their research progress and connect with peers and faculty, strengthening the doctoral community.
Past topics have included:
- Leadership in the Anthropocene
- Entrepreneurship in Africa
- Sustainability and Finance
- Artificial Intelligence and Governance
- Leading in a VUCA World
- Growth and Sustainability
A fun evening event (like a campus BBQ or visit to a local Biergarten) is also part of the experience—encouraging in-person participation for the best learning, networking, and social exchange.
External Course Recognition:
Doctoral students may request recognition of relevant external doctoral-level courses if they are:
- At the doctoral level (not master’s),
- Graded,
- Comparable in ECTS, and
- Content-relevant.
Approval by the Doctoral Committee or responsible HHL professor is required before registration for the external course.
Program Schedule
Admission
We are offering a rolling admission, which allows you to start the Doctoral Program in your preferred term. Admission to the Doctoral Program at HHL is highly competitive and the participation in such a program in Germany differs from an American Ph.D. or a DBA program: It requires that the candidate finds a professor to supervise his or her doctoral thesis and a research proposal has to be submitted.
Application Process
- Step 1: Check whether you fulfill the formal admission criteria: a Master’s degree in Economics or Business Administration with a final grade which is equivalent of the German grade “good”.
- Step 2: Define your research topic and inform yourself about the HHL chairs
- Step 3: Identify and contact potential supervisors from the HHL faculty according to your research topic.*
- Step 4: If talks progress, start writing your research proposal in accordance with your potential HHL supervising professor
- Step 5: If you obtain a confirmation of supervision, apply online, selecting your supervisor.
- Step 6: The Doctoral Committee evaluates your application.
- Step 7: You will be informed by the Admissions Officer about the final decision of the Doctoral Committee via email.
- Step 8: You receive the official admission documents and you get enrolled in the program.
If you have any questions or doubts regarding the doctoral program, contact us: doctorate@hhl.de
Application Documents
Once you have received a supervision confirmation from a HHL professor, you may apply online with the following documents, which will then be assessed by HHL’s Doctoral Committee:
- Confirmation of supervision from an HHL supervisor (letter of acceptance)
- Final transcript AND a degree certificate of each completed degree programs (at least one of them has to be a Master’s degree in Economics or Business Administration with a final grade which is equivalent of the German grade “good”)
- Letter of motivation
- Curriculum vitae
- Research proposal* **
- Portrait photo of yourself
* These documents can be handed in during the admission process.
** You find an overview of the research topics of our faculty below.
The admission requirements can also be found in the Doctoral Regulations (in German).
What our alumni say
HHL Alumni in Academia HHL Alumni in Companies HHL Alumni Leading Their Own Business
Prof. Dr. Philip Meißner
Chair of Strategic Management and Decision Making, ESCP Business School Berlin | Doctoral graduate of 2011 (Chair of Strategic Management)
HHL provided me with the perfect framework for my doctorate. In addition to research at the chair of Professor Torsten Wulf, I was able to develop new methods for strategic planning in a practice-oriented way by working at the Center for Strategy and Scenario Planning together with Roland Berger: For me, the perfect balance of research, practice and teaching.
Dr. Wiebke Stranz
Principal | Roland Berger
The Doctoral Program at HHL Leipzig Graduate School of Management was not only an outstanding academic experience for me, but also a time in which I built a strong (international) network. I had the opportunity to participate in various academic conferences in Germany and abroad and to present the research work of the Chair. The cross-chair collaborations with my peers and professors not only significantly influenced my professional development, but also my personal growth and have developed into lifelong friendships. The valuable network I built at HHL has been instrumental in preparing me for a successful start as a strategy consultant at Roland Berger.
Dr. Christina Schreiter
Founder and CEO form & fertig GmbH | founder and CEO Let's Ads GmbH | Doctoral graduate of 2019 (Chair of Marketing Management)
After completing my Master of Science at HHL, I returned to my hometown in 2014 to complete my doctorate. As a research assistant at the Marketing Management Chair of Prof. Dr. Manfred Kirchgeorg, I supported practical projects as well as teaching courses. Looking back, I particularly appreciate the value of the well-founded way of working during my doctoral studies – a competence that has proven extremely helpful in my role as founder and CEO of two companies. Of course, I also benefit from HHL’s large network. I am proud of my academic journey at the “Gründerschmiede” and always look forward to an opportunity to return to m
Career Development
The HHL Career Development will help guides you on your way to start a new employment or to develop on the job. The career support does not end once your aim is reached – you may contact the team of HHL’s career service Regardless of where you are in your professional journey.
- CV and Cover letter checks
- Personal career coaching
- Mock interviews
- Experienced hire job newsletter
- Company and HHL alumni contacts
- Salary information (and advice on negotiations)
Also the wide network of HHL alumni can prove to be a door opener to the targeted position. The HHL alumni are an active, international community offering lots of possibilities for networking.
Network
A worldwide network as a source of inspiration and innovation
As a Doctoral Student at HHL, you will be a member of a multi-faceted network. HHL as an institution, as well as the Chairs and Centers, maintain relations to partners from business, research and academia in Germany and abroad. They are a source for support and exchange. The close contact to external partners offers possibilities for joint research and transfer projects.
The HHL network comprises regional partners such as the local Leipzig University and the Leipzig Foundation for Innovation and Technology Transfer, and stretches over renowned German research institutions like the KIT and Hasso Plattner Institute to the world’s top research institutions such as the Harvard Business School and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
The HHL community itself is a strong network. The SVI-Endowed Chair for Marketing, for instance, unites all current and former Doctoral Students in the Academic Marketing Association, which offers regular meetings for mutual exchange. You will experience HHL’s close ties to its alumni in various ways.
We are looking forward to your commitment to further develop and shape the HHL network.
Tuition Fees and Financing Options
The Doctoral Program is particularly of interest to professionals seeking to combine their career with a degree of distinction within the broad field of Economics and Business Administration. The program can be finished in less time depending on individual circumstances. The Doctoral Program consists of coursework, lectures and seminars as well as participation in Colloquia and Summer Meetings.
HHL itself does not offer any scholarships.
Tuition fees
Tuition fees
Total tuition: € 19,800, including:
Enrollment fee: € 2,500
Examination fee: € 1,000
The tuition fee amounts to EUR 19,800 for the entire program (including an enrollment fee of EUR 2,500 and an examination fee of EUR 1,000, which is to be paid in three installments at the beginning of the first, second and third academic year.
The tuition fees for the Doctoral Program are tax deductible as anticipated professional expenses. Get first tips by reading the brochure “Steuertipps” (in German). For detailed information please contact your legal tax advisor.
Scholarships
Scholarships
Seize funding opportunities
Would you like to concentrate on your research only and attend HHL’s doctoral program without working? Then you may apply for a scholarship to cover the tuition fees (and/or living expenses).
There are plenty of scholarship options from other foundations for German and for international students. The following list gives you starting points for your scholarship search:
- Scholarship tips from the German Association of University Professors and Lecturers (in German)
- Funding opportunities recommended by the German Academic Exchange Service
- Stipendienlotse (in German)
HHL itself does not offer any scholarships for the Doctoral Program.
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