PhD Business Administration Admissions, Top Colleges, Online, Subjects, Salary, Jobs, 2023

PhD Business Administration is a research-based course of 3 – 5 years. The course aims to create people with a high skilled analytical understanding of business principles. It deals with new methodologies in Key Performance Indicators, Management, Quantitative and Qualitative techniques.

Check out top PhD Business Administration Colleges in India.

The main objectives of the course are to bring principles of scientific methodology in business inquiry, development of analytical skills, and research in business. There is also a focus on understanding and improving measurement, scaling, and sampling methods which are the core tools of Business.

The PhD scholars work in various areas of business management like Applied Econometrics, Business Analytics, Financial Management, HR & IT management, Emerging issues in Organization Behavior, etc. The PhD also gives a sphere of working on Research Report writing.

To become eligible to apply for this course, the candidates should have completed a master’s degree in business-related courses. The admissions are usually based on the entrance exams.The fees for PhD Business Administration vary a lot in every college and university. It varies from INR 9,000 to INR 85,000 per year. In some of the institutes, the PhD courses are sponsored by the government or the institute itself, through scholarships. And the PhD scholars also receive stipends.

The candidates who complete PhD Business Administration get jobs in the areas of administration, education, finance, sales & marketing, MNCs, etc. Some of the job profiles available for them are Associate Managers, Management Professors, Operation managers, Administration managers, etc. The average salary can range from INR 7 lakh to 17 lakh per annum.

Through their career growth, they can aim to become researchers and HR management at Director levels. Certain MNC companies have corporate-level director levels. These are also open for candidates. CEO, COO levels are also available for such candidates after a few years of job experience.

PhD Business Administration: Course Highlights

PhD Business Administration is a research-based course and usually opted by candidates who want to conduct research and release journals. The basic information about the course has been mentioned below.

Course Level
Doctorate

Full-Form
Doctorate in Philosophy – Business Administration

Duration
3 to 5 years

Examination type
Semester

Eligibility
Masters level qualification in relevant fields with a minimum of 55% aggregate in final year examination.

Admission Process
National level exams or University-specific Paper mode Offline entrance examination.

Course Fee
INR 9,000 to 90,000

Average Salary
INR 1,00,000 to 1,30,000 

Top Recruiting Companies
The banking sector, universities, MNCs, Administrative sectors, etc.

Job Positions
Assistant Manager, Administration Manager, Events Executive, Business Administrative Executive, etc.

PhD Business Administration: What is it About?

• PhD Business Administration is the pinnacle of Business and Management education. It focuses on methodologies and ways to conduct research, create designs to work on assets and liabilities.
• The focus is on problem-solving, game planning, business strategy, and researching layouts in various disciplines of business.
• The course also focuses on Data Analysis and related tools that have been prevalent in recent years.
• PhD scholars get to understand the various data analysis tools like Statistical Techniques, Measures of Central Tendency, Variance & Covariance Analysis, Factor, Discriminant, Cluster Analysis, and Multiple Regression & Correlation.
• Through this course, the candidates need to work on the research subject and create their thesis.
• Some of the popular research topics in PhD Business Administration are: Resources Management & Sustainable Development, Managing Innovation & Technology, Resurge of businesses & companies after COVID crisis, Social Entrepreneurship, and The Sulci & Gyri of Accounting and Finance

Why study PhD Business Administration?

• India is a vast country with countless numbers of businesses emerging. Even foreign companies are also finding a place in India. Therefore the candidates with a PhD in Business Administration have high career scopes.
• The recent reforms in GST, Export laws, renovated taxation, Make In India movement, Atmanirbhar Bharat Mission has increased the demand of highly skilled professionals to take up leadership roles in industries.
• PhD scholars learn to run an organization in a more effective way. They focus on improving the quality of the business, reducing the cost, providing job opportunities, increasing the assets and reducing liabilities, etc. Overall they learn how to take the company towards progress.

PhD Business Administration Admission Process

The admission process for PhD Business Administration is conducted through various national entrance examinations like GATE, UGC-NET, CSIR-NET, ICAR, etc. Some of the institutes conduct their own entrance exam, followed by a personal interview round.

A typical admission process for PhD Business Administration is mentioned below:

• Application: The candidates should apply to the institute by filling up the application form, submitting the documents required, and paying the application fees.
• Evaluation: The candidates will be evaluated based on the marks or rank scored at the national level or state level entrance exams.
• Interview: A merit list of shortlisted candidates will be released and they will be called for an interview.
• Enrollment: The candidates clearing the interview will be sent an offer letter to join the institutes. The candidates will have to select to accept the offer letter within the deadline and the initial amount.

PhD Business Administration Eligibility

• Candidates should have completed 10+2+3+2 or 10+2+4+2 of continuous study in recognized universities/boards.
• Candidates should have completed MBA, MPhil, or any other master’s degree course in the relevant field.
• They should have scored a minimum of 55% in the master’s degree programs.
• Sound knowledge of English knowledge is necessary for taking admission in PhD Business Administration. This is because the medium for instruction is in the English language. Also, the dissertation and research work is to be done in the English language.
• Candidates having a minimum teaching and work experience of 5 years will be given higher preference.

PhD Business Administration Entrance Exams

Some of the entrance exams that are considered for admission into PhD Business Administration are UGC-NET and ICAR NET. Some universities also conduct entrance exams of their own, if the student has not appeared for the national level exam.

Some of the university level entrance examinations are mentioned below:

Exam Name
Application Period
Exam Date
Exam Mode

GATE
September 30, 2022
February 4, 5, 11 and 12, 2023
Online

UGC NET
20 Jan 2023
21 Feb 2023
Online

How to prepare for PhD Business Administration Entrance exams?

Each of the entrance examinations mentioned above for PhD courses has a few aspects in common, while there are some unique aspects. While most of the exams, owing to the current COVID 19 concerns, are being conducted online on MCQ pattern.

• The exams usually include questions related to General Aptitude, General Awareness, and Analytical skills. Some exams also evaluate verbal and mathematical skills.
• As a student may need to appear for more than one entrance examination, it is thus beneficial to prepare for all types of subjects that are asked in these exams. A preparation for aptitude, awareness, analytical skills, Mathematics, verbal skills, essay writing skills, and numerical ability should be done.
• A thorough study of these subjects should be completed by practicing previous year question papers. Get a sample and previous year question papers to prepare for the examinations.

How to get admission in a good PhD Business Administration college?

• First of all the candidates should be eligible to apply for the entrance exam i.e, they should fulfill the minimum eligibility criteria of the exams and also the institutes.
• They should prepare a time table to work on every section properly. The concepts should be clear and a lot of practice will be required.
• The candidates should go through the previous year’s question papers to understand the type of question asked.
• They should try to find the topics that are repeated every year. Such topics should not be missed out while preparing.
• The candidates should also prepare for the interview round along with preparing for the entrance exam.
• They should be updated with the dates of all the entrance exams.

PhD Business Administration Top Colleges

The following table gives information about the top colleges for PhD Business Administration in India. These colleges are top-level colleges based on placement, location, and accreditation.

Name of college
Location
First-Year Tuition Fees
Average Salary per annum

Indian Institute of Management
Ahmedabad
INR 23,00,000 (complete fee taken together)
INR 25,83,000

Indian Institute of Management
Bangalore
INR 23,00,000 (complete fee is taken together)
INR 26,28,000

Indian Institute of Management
Kolkata
INR 27,00,000 (complete fee is taken together)
INR 26,98,000

Indian Institute of Management
Lucknow
INR 3,00,000
INR 20,05,000

Indian Institute of Management
Kozhikode
INR 2,22,000
INR 26,69,000

Indian Institute of Management
Indore
INR 50,000
INR 22,92,000

Xavier Labour Relations Institute
Jamshedpur
INR 2,12,500
INR 15,42,000

Management Development Institute
Gurgaon
INR 2,33,000
INR 22,05,000

Department of Management Studies, IIT R
Roorkee
INR 14,680
INR 9,18,000

Indian Institute of Management
Udaipur
No tuition fees charged, since the PhD students receive full fellowship that cover the tuition fees.
INR 13,20,000

PhD Business Administration College Comparison

The table below is a comparison between the top two colleges for PhD Business Administration. The two colleges are IIM Ahmedabad and IIM Bangalore. The comparison is made on the basis of ranking, admission process, course fees, salary, etc.

Name of the College
Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad IIMA
Indian Institute of Management Bangalore – IIMB

Overview
IIMA was the second IIM established after IIM Calcutta. It is an institute of national importance. It was established in 1961.
IIMB is a public business school that started in 1973. It was the third IIM to be established in India. 

Location 
Ahmedabad
Bengaluru

Average Fees
INR 23 lakh
INR 23 lakh

Admission process
CAT, GMAT, etc
CAT, GMAT, GRE, and NET

Average Salary Package
INR 25.83 lakh per annum
INR 20 lakh per Annum

Top Recruiting Companies
The Boston Consulting Group, Accenture, PwC, JP Morgan Bank, HSBC Bank, Hindustan Unilever Limited, Microsoft, FinIQ, ABG, Aditya Birla Group, American Express, Bajaj Finserv, etc. 
Accenture, Deloitte USI, Deloitte India, AT Kearney, Boston Consulting Group, Bain & Company, Strategy, EY-Parthenon, McKinsey & Co, etc.

PhD Business Administration Syllabus

The following table gives the minimum prescribed syllabus for a business administration course at PhD level. This course can have add-on courses, guest lectures, projects, and seminars. These add on activities are done to enhance the practical understanding and approach of the student. But these add on subjects would differ from university to university.

Semester 1 (Compulsory Subjects)
Semester 2 (Compulsory Subjects)

Strategic Management
Research Methodology

Quantitative Techniques
Case Work

Financial Accounting for Managers
Research Paper

Human Resource Management
Literature Review

Computer Applications
Ethics of Research Proposal Management

Social and Economic Environment
–

Semester 3
Semester 4

Submission of Research Proposal
Submission of Research Thesis

Optional Subjects

Human Resource Management
Financial Management

Managerial Leadership
Mergers & Acquisitions

International Human Resource Management
International Finance

Training and Development
Portfolio Management & Security Analysis

Marketing Management
Operations Management

Product Management
Supply Chain Management

CRM
Project Management

Service Marketing
Business Engineering

Internet Marketing
Technology Management

Books for PhD Business Administration

Some of the books the students can refer while pursuing PhD Business Administration are mentioned below:

Name of the Book
Author

Business Research Methods
Cooper, D.R., Schindler, P.S. and Sun, J.

Rethinking the Process of Operational Research & Systems Analysis.
Tomlinson, R. and Kiss, I.

Business Data Analysis using Excel.
Whigham, D

The Economic History of India under early British Rule
Dutt, R.C., 2013

Game Theory for Applied Economists.
Gibbons, R.S.

PhD Business Administration Course Comparison

PhD Business Administration vs PhD Finance

The table below gives a comparison with PhD Business Administration and PhD Finance. These two courses are highly opted by the management students. Few of the differences are mentioned below.

Check out: Top PhD Finance Colleges in India.

Parameters
PhD Business Administration
PhD Finance

Full form
Doctorate of Philosophy in Business Administration
Doctorate of Philosophy in Finance

Domain
Focussed on a deeper understanding of Applied Econometrics, Business Analytics, Financial Management, HR and IT Management, and Emerging Issues in Organizational Behavior.
The course focuses on the understanding of Financial Management, Accounting, Economics, Corporate Finance Theory, Statistics, and Investments.

Degree Type
Doctorate
Doctorate

Admission Process
Entrance Exams
Entrance Exams

Eligibility
Masters level education with a minimum of 55% in courses related to Management, Business Administration, Statistics
Masters level education with a minimum of 55% marks in courses related to Accountancy, Economics, and Mathematics

Course Fee
INR 27 lakh
INR 30 lakh

Average starting salary
INR 12 lakh – INR 16 lakh per annum
INR 4 lakh – INR 8 lakh per annum

Top recruiting companies
The banking sector, universities, MNCs, Administrative sectors, etc.
Apple, Citigroup, Deloitte, Amazon, Facebook, Accenture, Bain & Company, etc

Career Job options
Assistant Manager, Events Executive, Administration Manager, Business Administrative Executive, Associate Manager.
Stockbroker, Statistician, CFA, CA, Corporate Banking.

PhD Business Administration Job Prospects and Career Options

PhD Business Administration opens up high responsibility and high-end jobs for successful candidates.

• The candidates who have completed PhD Business administration can work as Assistant Manager, Administration Manager, Events Executive, Business Administrative Executive/Business Development Manager, Associate Manager, etc.
• With work experience in the field, the experienced candidates can also aim for higher positions like Directorial positions, CEO, COO, CFO, and Vice President of a company.

Some of the jobs along with its description and salary is mentioned in the table below:

Name of Job Profile
Job Description
Starting Average Salary

Associate Manager
Associate Managers are the connecting link between the Project Managers and the rest of the team. They mainly create project plans, build up budgets, coordinate team resources, direct the team, and distribute responsibilities.
INR 12,21,861 per year

Administration Officer
They carry the operations of the organization, predict business growth, supervise, and support employee needs.
INR 4,98,973 per year

Business Development Manager
BDMs are responsible for managing expectations and developing business solutions for organizations. They are also responsible for creating avenues for more revenue generation, increasing brand loyalty, and customer satisfaction.
INR 6,01,685 per year

Chief Executive Officer – CEO
As a CEO, the employee is in charge of the complete organization. They drive strategic planning, fiscal operations, etc. They also establish new relationships with business leaders.
INR 30,44,733 per year

Vice President / CFO
Responsible for strategic forward-thinking, overlooking the management of company finances. Create tie-ups with current and future investors, Partake in audits, etc.
INR 36,51,736 per year

Source: Payscale

PhD Business Administration Future Scope

• PhD Business Administration is a pinnacle in Business Administration education. The developments within India, ease of doing business, taxation reforms in the country have given the infrastructure and financial domain a better career scope.
• As international companies find a place in India, and as domestic companies become more sophisticated, there is a definite need for students with PhD qualification to take up high responsibility positions.
• While PhD Business Administration is the pinnacle of business education, the candidate can still pursue other branches of education to gain a good experience. Courses related to International Markets, Securities, and debt can be looked into to gain an upper hand in interviews and job roles.
• Working abroad is also another golden opportunity for PhD graduate students.
• With some initial struggle, high-end jobs with good work experience are a very high possibility, and thus big scope in the future for career growth.

PhD Business Administration FAQs

Ques. How is the job market for PhD Business Administration candidates?

Ans. PhD Business Administration, also known as DBA qualifies the candidate as a specialist and consultant in the domain. Academic and practical areas in Applied research open up for candidates. These have a high demand in the industry.

Ques. How long is the PhD Business Administration?

Ans. PhD Business Administration varies from 3 years to 5 years in different universities of India.

Ques. Are there reservation quotas for SC/ST and OBC for PhD Business Administration?

Ans. Each university follows the government rules in setting up seats for candidates from reserved categories. Refer to admission notifications to know about seats for reservation category candidates.

Ques. Is it beneficial to pursue an MBA before Ph.D. in Business Administration?

Ans. MBA is one of the requirements to take admission for PhD Business Administration. While MBA focuses on the current knowledge of Business, PhD focuses on researching new concepts and improving business statistics and strategies. While there are other Masters programs that can lead to a PhD MBA can also be done as an additional degree after PhD Business Administration. Yet, the PhD covers all aspects of an MBA.

Ques. What is the focus on Financial Market Operations in the course?

Ans. Financial Market Operations brings in the concept of Economic Development, Structure of Capital Market, Securities, and Exchange Board of India, and related fundamentals. FMO is one of the core subjects of Business Administration.

Ques. What are Game Theory Applications in the course?

Ans. Game Theory Applications are related to the Pricing and Output strategy of a business. These are based on what is known as the Nash equilibrium. It helps to properly situate a company in the market, so as to help gain assets and reduce liabilities.

Ques. Are there comparative courses to PhD Business Administration?

Ans. There are many PhD level courses in India. For PhD Management domain, PhD Operation Management is one option. PhD Marketing is also a good option, PhD Business Management are some good choices.

Ques. How is life after completing PhD Business Administration?

Ans. A candidate who completes PhD Business Administration can start a career with early footprints on high-end career roles. Starting as Associate Manager, the candidate can gain early jumps towards Directorial positions. The candidate can eventually become a CEO or CFO of a company.

Ques. What is the registration process for PhD Business Administration at various universities?

Ans. Eligible students can give various national level entrance tests like GATE, UGC-NET. They can also give SLETs which are specific to the state.

Ques. Are there reservation quotas for SC/ST/OBC for PhD Business Administration?

Ans. Reservation of seats in various colleges is available as per government norms.

Ques. Which Delhi colleges are best to study full-time PhD Business Administration?

Ans. The best full-time PhD Business Administration in Delhi can be pursued in many colleges. For a complete list of such colleges, check here.

Ques. Is GRE score accepted for PhD Business Administration colleges?

Ans. GRE is an international qualifying exam and is accepted by some of the colleges in India for PhD Business Administration. For the list of colleges, check here.

Ques. How many colleges provide PhD Business Administration in the state of Maharashtra?

Ans. There are 7 colleges that provide PhD Business Administration in the state of Maharashtra. For the complete check here.