Fellow Programme in Management- Business policy

The Fellow Programme in Management- Business policy is the doctoral programme of the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad. The objective of the programme is to provide students with necessary skills to identify and research complex issues in the field of management. FPM seeks candidates with outstanding academic backgrounds, intellectual curiosity and discipline needed to make scholarly contribution.

IIMA's doctoral programme provides strong opportunities for inter-disciplinary education and research. The small entering class ensures close interaction with the faculty, where students can determine their own direction under the guidance of their thesis advisory committee.

Students generally take four to five years to complete their doctoral studies including two years of rigorous course work. Course work in the first year provides a general management overview and develops basic skills for analysing managerial problems. In the second year, students take advanced doctoral level courses in their areas of specialization. The doctoral dissertation, for the next couple of years, provides them with an opportunity to make original contribution to an area of management or to one of its source disciplines. Our doctoral students find challenging opportunities in India as well as abroad and a variety of research and strategies. The FPM of IIMA is recognised as equivalent to Ph. D. in management by the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India.

The primary focus of the Business policy area is on Issues in Formulation and Implementation of Corporate and Competitive strategies from a general management perspective. It has undertaken research and consulting on corporate response to economic reforms, management and analysis of competitive forces in Indian industries, business growth and diversification, turnaround strategies, technology transfer, transnational investments, management of public enterprises, small enterprises and entrepreneurship, management of family owned organizations, and innovations and corporate strategy.

A doctoral student in the Business Policy programme takes a wide range of courses, including those in their area of specialization and in various other management areas. The first year courses are the same for all fields of specialization. The table highlights the Area Specified Courses for Business Policy in the first year. It also shows a typical course work in the second year that may be offered to a student with interest in Business Policy. Students can develop their own programme of study in consultation with the faculty to complete the course requirements

First Year (Area Specified Courses)
-Economic Environment and Policy II
Plus any two of the following:
-Human Resource Management, Macro Organizational Behaviour,
-Operations Management I, Finance I, Finance II, and Marketing I

Second Year
-Entrepreneurship
-International Strategic Management
-Strategic Management I and II*

Third Year
-Comprehensive Examination
-Dissertation

Fourth Year
-Dissertation

*Core courses for second year students in Business Policy area.