The Doctoral (PhD) Programme
The Doctoral (PhD) Programme
The Department of Information Systems offers one of the largest PhD programmes of its kind in the world and has had over twenty years of success in providing research training for over one hundred scholars. Former students are currently at leading institutions in Britain, North America or their home countries throughout the world. Our students are well known as contributors to major international conferences and most of them have published in academic journals before they complete their studies. There are some 50 students from over 20 countries curently enrolled on the programme and each year 10-15 students join the programme. Between 1997 and 2000, 22 students gained their PhDs - for comparison, in the same period there were only 148 PhDs in information systems in the whole of North America.
The doctoral programme has been integral to the Department of Information Systems since its origins in the 1970s. As a department of the LSE, we have always been closely allied to research in other parts of the School, in recent years this has meant particular collaborations with the departments of Accounting & Finance, Anthropology, Economics, Government, Industrial Relations, Law, Operational Research, Philosophy, Social Psychology, Sociology, and programmes in Media & Communication, Gender Studies, Development Studies, and within the European Institute.
The minimum period for the course of study is not less than two academic years for full-time students, and three years for part-time students for the PhD. The first year of study is full-time, but students may transfer to part-time status after that. Although the programme is designed to take three years, most students take around four years to complete the doctorate.
MPhil/PhD students in Information Systems follow a structured programme in their first year. The goal of the programme is to facilitate the transition from MSc work to active research by incorporating an element of directed course work in the first year has four elements, two courses and two seminars. The courses are normally Interpretations of Information or one other course suited to the student's research interests to be agreed individually with the department. The seminars are one in Research in Information Systems which discusses key texts on principles and methodologies of information systems research and one in which research material is presented and discussed. In order to proceed to research in subsequent years students must pass examinations in their courses and show progress with their research - the upgrade process. Students may also follow courses from the MSc programme.
Periodically during their research students present their work in progress at the IS research seminar series. LSE doctoral students have regularly been successful in being selected to present their work to doctoral consortia to leading IS conferences in the UK and internationally.
In order to ensure students are maintaining their rate of progress there is a review of progress at the end of their second year.
Supervision
You will be assigned a supervisor when you enter the programme. In addition, when you are preparing your materials for consideration for upgrading from MPhil to PhD student status, you will be assigned two "assessors" who will read that material and judge your progress. Normally one of those two will then continue to act as your "second supervisor" who will be available to you for informed consultations and who is prepared to take over supervision if, for example, your supervisor takes a sabbatical leave. Some students make formal arrangements for dual supervision, either with two members of the Department of Information Systems or with someone from another department.
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last updated
22 November, 2005
