Programme

The PhD programme enables students to develop a sound methodological background, multidisciplinary knowledge, a broad cultural openness and the ability to study problems in an innovative way by combining different perspectives of analysis.

The commitment of the Department of Engineering Management offers students an ideal environment to acquire frontier knowledge and cultivate their research interests in a broad spectrum of topics.

The PhD programme can be full time or part time, depending on the type of pathway:

• General pathway (full time): 3 years;
• Executive track: 4 years. For more information click here
• International and double doctorate pathway: 3 to 4 years.

For further information click here.

The DRIG programme trains professionals capable of conducting highly qualified research in the fields of management, economics and industrial engineering, both in universities and other research institutions. PhD graduates acquire advanced skills to pursue careers in manufacturing and service companies, regulatory bodies and other public institutions.

Prospective PhD students are offered various placement opportunities, including positions in:

• Italian and foreign universities;
• research and training institutes, in liaison roles between universities and companies, or in technology transfer centres in Italy and abroad;
• management and strategy consulting companies, with an advanced view of business areas;
• national (ministries, regulatory authorities, local institutions) and international (EIB, IMF, World Bank, European Commission, ECB) public institutions;
• innovation-oriented multinational companies;
• enterprises in highly innovative environments.

To support placements, a series of initiatives are proposed to share experiences, services and information, including the Career Service's “Placement program for PhD”, in collaboration with the PhD School of the Politecnico di Milano.

The DRIG programme is based on three main pillars:

• Development of the doctoral thesis. The thesis is the core of the doctoral programme; it enables students to develop cutting-edge research skills and to produce an original scientific contribution on a topic relevant to academics and practitioners
• Core courses. They focus on cutting-edge research methodologies and topics in the fields of management, economics and industrial engineering.
• Choice of learning activities. Students can customise their study plan according to their research interests. The aim is to develop students' scientific knowledge on specific topics and to expose them to the international scientific community through participation in doctoral schools or laboratories and the presentation of their research at international conferences.

Doctoral students carry out their research and training under the supervision of experienced scholars in the selected fields.

You can view the lines of research via this link.

Courses

Each doctoral student must obtain at least 25 CFU by participating in doctoral teaching courses.

Each course lasts approximately one week and consists of classroom lectures, individual study and group work.

All courses are taught in English.

Course calendar 2023-2024

The doctoral thesis (125 CFU) represents an original contribution to the advancement of knowledge in the candidate's field of research.

The research will be supervised by members of the doctoral faculty, who will guide the candidate in setting up and organising the day-to-day activities underlying the development of the thesis.

The thesis may take the form of a monograph or a collection of scientific papers.

At the end of each year, candidates are required to present the progress of their research project before a committee and a discussant from the doctoral faculty. This is an essential step for admission to the following year.

At the end of the doctoral studies, the Faculty Council evaluates the candidates. Those who receive a positive evaluation submit their thesis to two external commissioners for revision:

if the assessment is positive (or in any case after integrating the comments received from the external reviewers), the candidates may discuss the thesis before a committee of three members, at least two of whom must be external to the Polytechnic.

The thesis must be consistent with the lines of research developed within the PhD Department.

Yearbooks and doctoral theses

Summaries of the theses are published in our yearbooks: https://www.dottorato.polimi.it/en/phd-programmes/engineering/management-engineering

For more information, please fill in the form.

PhD Office: phd-ges@polimi.it

In addition to the PhD programme in Management Engineering, the Department is also involved in the following PhD programmes delivered in collaboration with other departments of the Politecnico di Milano:

Ph.D. program in Data Analytics and Decision Sciences (DADS)

Ph.D. program in Science, Technology, and Policy for Sustainable Change (STEP-CHANGE)