PhD in Leadership
Examine how leadership works.
Advance how it is understood.
Explore leadership, governance and organisational life through sustained scholarly inquiry. Develop an original contribution to knowledge with individual faculty supervision and a flexible research pathway.
Program Facts
The Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Leadership at Monarch Switzerland is a fully online, part-time doctoral programme offered through Monarch Global Research Institute, with a standard duration of 36 months. Designed for experienced professionals and aspiring researchers, it enables doctoral study alongside a career without the need to relocate.
- Institution
- Monarch Switzerland
- Department
- Monarch Global Research Institute
- Award
- Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Leadership
- Study Mode
- Fully Online
- Standard Duration
- 36 Months
- Study Format
- Part-Time
- Designed For
- Experienced Professionals and Aspiring Researchers
- Residency
- No Relocation Required
- Language
- English
- Institution Location
- Switzerland
This doctoral program may be completed fully online, including the doctoral defence. No relocation is required. Candidates may select an in-person doctoral defence when offered by Monarch.
An extended-duration pathway is available. Completion depends on research progress and fulfilment of the programme’s academic requirements.
Beyond the practice of leading.
Towards a deeper understanding.
How is leadership constructed, interpreted and enacted—and what does it mean for the people and institutions it shapes?
Situated within Monarch’s PhD in Business Research framework, the PhD in Leadership provides a structured environment for examining leadership through interdisciplinary and comparative perspectives. Candidates engage with its human, ethical and strategic dimensions across organisational and societal settings.
The programme draws on the European research-degree tradition of supervised inquiry, methodological rigour and original scholarly work. Leadership is studied not simply as a set of techniques, but as a complex phenomenon shaped by culture, cognition, institutions and systems.
A scholarly pathway with a distinct purpose.
The PhD emphasises theoretical development and an original contribution to knowledge. For candidates whose primary interest is applied leadership practice, Monarch also offers the Doctor of Leadership →.
Bring a leadership question
that deserves deeper examination.
These illustrative directions are starting points for discussion. Your topic may be interdisciplinary or highly specialised; its scope and methodological approach are refined through proposal development and academic review.
Leadership, ethics and responsibility
How do leaders interpret responsibility, navigate competing values and influence ethical life within organisations?
Governance and institutional life
How do authority, accountability and institutional structures shape leadership and collective decision-making?
Culture, identity and influence
How is leadership experienced across cultures, professional identities and organisational relationships?
Leadership and organisational change
How do leaders and followers make sense of uncertainty, adaptation and transformation?
Cognition and lived experience
What can reflective and interpretive inquiry reveal about how people understand and enact leadership?
Systems and societal contexts
How do wider social, cultural and global forces influence leadership within complex institutions?
An independent voice
in leadership scholarship.
Critical theoretical engagement
Examine leadership, governance and organisational dynamics through multiple theoretical and interdisciplinary perspectives.
Methodological discipline
Develop rigorous research design and qualitative or interpretive competencies, including phenomenology and lived-experience inquiry where appropriate.
Original scholarly contribution
Construct a coherent, defensible argument that advances understanding within a clearly defined leadership research domain.
Reflective theory–practice dialogue
Use theory to question leadership experience and deepen the explanatory value of your inquiry.
Academic writing and communication
Produce analytically rigorous scholarly work and develop your capacity to engage with academic and professional audiences.
Research independence
Build intellectual confidence, ethical awareness and a scholarly identity through faculty dialogue and participation in Monarch’s research community.
From an important question
to an original contribution.
Progress is organised around academic milestones, with faculty guidance throughout. Each stage strengthens the conceptual clarity, methodological coherence and independence of your research.
Research foundations
Develop research design, academic writing, critical thinking and philosophy-of-science skills. Engage with leadership literature and appropriate research methods.
Proposal and approval
Frame your research problem, theoretical foundation and methodology. Define assumptions, limitations and scope for formal academic review.
Supervised inquiry
Undertake sustained research, refine your analysis and develop your theoretical positioning through regular supervisory dialogue.
Dissertation development
Bring your findings and argument together in a substantial research manuscript, refined through successive drafts and critical feedback.
Final academic review
Submit your dissertation for formal evaluation and consider appropriate opportunities for publication and scholarly dialogue.
Designed for working professionals.
Primarily remote, asynchronous study combines continuous faculty supervision with milestone-based progression. Optional on-site scholarly workshops offer additional opportunities for engagement. Standard and extended pathways support different professional circumstances.
The M.Phil. within your doctoral journey.
The programme incorporates the Master of Philosophy in Business Research, recognising research competence through two distinct routes.
Master-in-Passing
Candidates who successfully complete all doctoral requirements receive the M.Phil. in Business Research in passing upon conferral of the PhD, recognising the research design, theoretical framing and analytical competence developed during the programme.
Master-in-Exit
Candidates concluding their studies before doctoral completion may qualify for the M.Phil. as a terminal award by submitting a completed five-chapter master’s thesis and satisfying the relevant academic requirements. Unlike the PhD, this award does not require an original contribution to knowledge.
Bring intellectual curiosity.
A clear purpose. A question to pursue.
Academic preparation
Applicants normally hold a recognised master’s degree or equivalent qualification and demonstrate capacity for independent, critical inquiry. Prior research or publication experience is advantageous but not required.
Experienced professionals with a bachelor’s degree may be considered upon the Dean’s recommendation, where leadership achievements, responsibility and relevant professional development demonstrate preparation for doctoral-level study.
Who should consider this pathway?
Reflective executives, academics, consultants, coaches and professionals who want to contribute to leadership knowledge. Candidates may work in business, NGOs, international organisations, public institutions, military settings or other complex organisational environments.
The Academic Board reviews applications for research potential and alignment with Monarch’s supervisory expertise.
Two timelines.
One scholarly standard.
Choose a study pathway that fits your professional responsibilities. Both pathways retain the same supervision standards and degree outcomes.
36 months
A structured timeline for sustained doctoral research alongside your professional commitments.
60 months
A longer study timeline for candidates balancing research with substantial professional responsibilities.
Connecting scholarly inquiry
with organisational understanding.
Dr. Louise Delaney · Ireland
PhD in Business Research – Doctor of Leadership
Drawing on more than twenty years of senior management experience in Ireland’s multinational technology sector, Dr. Delaney examined leadership culture as an antecedent to innovation in American multinational technology subsidiaries in Ireland.
Her qualitative study used interpretative phenomenological analysis to explore leaders’ lived experiences and identify structural, cultural and adaptive enablers of innovation. It illustrates the wider Monarch community’s engagement with leadership scholarship.
Candidates can develop their scholarly identity through academic dialogue, conference participation and opportunities to contribute to the Monarch Research Paper Series.
Shape your contribution
to leadership knowledge.
Discuss your research interests, academic preparation and goals with Monarch.