Post Doctoral – Doctor of Literature Program
The Doctor of Literature (D.Litt.) at Monarch is a distinguished post-doctoral program designed for experienced professionals and academics who have already earned a doctoral degree and are now ready to transition from researcher to scholar. This program is intended for those who seek to engage with high-level academic inquiry, challenge prevailing paradigms, and contribute to the reflective, ethical, and philosophical dimensions of leadership, management, and society.
Unlike traditional doctoral programs focused on developing research skills, the D.Litt. assumes scholarly readiness. It is not designed to teach research methods, but to recognize and support candidates who are capable of independent, self-directed scholarship. The program combines two core components: (1) a peer-reviewed publication track, and (2) a comprehensive Doctor of Literature manuscript. These tracks work in tandem to validate both public academic contribution and deeper intellectual synthesis—resulting in a dual recognition that underscores the candidate’s maturity, voice, and thought leadership.
Monarch’s D.Litt. is delivered 100% online, with flexible start dates and personalized faculty mentorship. It is ideally suited for scholars, consultants, senior leaders, and policy thinkers who are prepared to explore critical societal issues through original, cross-disciplinary research. Whether focused on CSR & global business ethics, leadership, critical management studies, or independent inquiry, candidates emerge from the program with a sharpened academic identity, a meaningful body of published work, and a thesis that reflects their enduring intellectual legacy.
- Dual Track Design
- Post-Doctoral Level
- Independent Scholarship
- Flexible Online Delivery
- Thought Leadership
- Prestigious Recognition
Who Should Apply?
The Post-Doctoral Program / Doctor of Literature Award is designed for individuals who have moved beyond the boundaries of traditional doctoral research and are now seeking to articulate a broader intellectual contribution. This program is ideal for those who view scholarship as a lifelong journey: individuals committed to advancing critical thinking, shaping academic dialogue, and addressing complex issues of importance in management and society. Whether situated in academia, policy, or professional practice, suitable candidates share a common drive to produce meaningful and lasting insight.
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- Experienced Academics: Holders of a doctoral degree (PhD, DBA, EdD, etc.) currently engaged in teaching, research, or academic leadership roles who seek to deepen their scholarly legacy.
- Independent Researchers: Individuals with an established body of published work who aim to synthesize their contributions into a coherent Doctor of Literature thesis.
- Policy Thinkers & Consultants: Senior professionals in think tanks, consultancies, or NGOs whose work influences management practice or public policy and who wish to formalize their intellectual contributions.
- Subject Mater Experts: Specialists in a discipline who want to further their academic credibility through sustained research output and publication.
- Philosophically Oriented Practitioners: Professionals who seek to explore deeper questions of meaning, ethics, and responsibility in management and society through reflective scholarship.
If you are passionate about advancing critical thinking in management and society—and seek to formalize your intellectual legacy through reflective, original scholarship—this program is for you. It is designed for those ready to move beyond individual research contributions and embrace the scholar’s role: engaging with complex societal issues at the highest level of academic and philosophical inquiry.
Why Choose This Program?
The Post-Doctoral Program / Doctor of Literature Award is uniquely designed for experienced professionals and academics who have already earned a doctoral degree and now seek to elevate their intellectual contribution to the highest academic level. Monarch’s flexible, publication-centered approach enables you to transform your professional and academic experience into a coherent, scholarly legacy—without stepping away from your current commitments.
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- Formalize your body of work into a recognized Doctor of Literature thesis
- Deepen your role as a thought leader in your field or discipline
- Develop a unified intellectual contribution
- Contribute to the Monarch Research Paper Series
- Advance your ability to address complex societal and management issues
- Earn a prestigious post-doctoral credential from Switzerland
- Align your research with critical questions that matter to society
- Join a global community of senior scholars and reflective practitioners.
Whether your goal is to enhance your academic standing, expand your scholarly impact, or engage with deep, meaningful inquiry at the post-doctoral level, this program provides the ideal platform for your next academic chapter.
Key Learning Outcomes
The Post-Doctoral / Doctor of Literature Program is designed for established professionals and academics who wish to consolidate and elevate their intellectual contribution through reflective, high-level scholarship. The program refines the candidate’s ability to contextualize, synthesize, and extend research into a unified narrative that addresses pressing societal and managerial issues. Through a structured yet flexible framework, candidates advance toward becoming senior scholars capable of engaging at the highest level of academic and philosophical inquiry. By the end of the program, graduates will:
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- Contextualize their professional and academic work within the broader scholarly discourse.
- Produce a coherent Doctor of Literature thesis rooted in published and new work.
- Demonstrate advanced skills in academic synthesis and reflective commentary.
- Deepen their engagement with issues of critical importance in management and society.
- Articulate a long-term scholarly vision through their research contribution.
- Enhance their influence as thought leaders in academic, policy, or professional domains.
Completion Requirements
The 2-year post-doctoral Doctor of Literature (D.Litt.) program is designed for experienced professionals and scholars who have already earned a doctoral degree. The structure supports independent, reflective scholarship for those seeking to elevate their intellectual contributions and academic positioning. Candidates are expected to complete advanced research publications and produce a unifying Doctor of Literature manuscript that addresses critical issues in management, leadership, or society. The program is thesis-based and publication-driven, with no coursework beyond targeted research skill refreshers. It may be followed on a standard 2-year or extended 4-year study plan, depending on candidate readiness and manuscript development.
Program Modules
The program is designed around the completion of a series of modules that assist the candidate in developing the necessary academic research skills essential for the successful completion of the program.
Understanding where to obtain appropriate research information and establishing the quality of that information and data is critical to the successful completion the doctoral research. In this module candidates develop the necessary knowledge to be a skilled researcher that may quickly find and evaluate materials from a variety of sources.
This module is a follow up to the Research Skills course. The module focuses on the Monarch Standard Research Method and steps to be followed in completing standardized research at Monarch. The purpose of the module is to prepare students to complete social science research using the Monarch Standard Research Method and to fully comprehend the reasons behind the usage of the model.
All candidates in the Post-Doctoral / Doctor of Literature (D.Litt.) program are required to submit a formal research proposal outlining the thematic direction and structure of their intended thesis and publications. While this proposal differs in scope and depth from that of a PhD candidate, it serves a vital function: to ensure that the candidate’s scholarly focus is well-defined, intellectually sound, and aligned with the program’s reflective and critical ethos. The proposal should articulate the central question or inquiry thread, relevant literature and theoretical framing, the intended contribution to thought leadership, and how the proposed work integrates with the candidate’s publication plan. The proposal is reviewed by faculty and forms the basis for mentoring, milestone planning, and overall scholarly alignment throughout the duration of the program.
A core requirement of the D.Litt. program is the successful completion of a comprehensive Doctor of Literature manuscript, typically ranging from 200 to 250 pages. This thesis represents the culmination of the candidate’s scholarly journey and must demonstrate a high level of intellectual integration, critical insight, and reflective synthesis. Unlike traditional doctoral dissertations focused on empirical fieldwork, the D.Litt. manuscript engages with meta-level questions of theory, ethics, leadership, or society—framed through the lens of the candidate’s accumulated experience and research maturity. The manuscript must be original, cohesive, and philosophically grounded, serving as a formal expression of the candidate’s academic identity and their contribution to the evolution of thought within their chosen domain.
In parallel with the D.Litt. manuscript, all candidates must fulfill the Post-Doctoral Research Award requirement by completing a series of three academic publications. This includes two articles published within the Monarch Research Paper Series (MRPS) and one external, peer-reviewed article accepted by an academic journal or edited volume. These publications demonstrate the candidate’s ability to contribute meaningfully to global academic discourse and validate their status as an active scholar. The publication requirement ensures that the candidate’s research not only reflects internal scholarly synthesis but also achieves external academic recognition through peer review. Monarch faculty provide editorial guidance throughout the process, but candidates are expected to take initiative in shaping and submitting their work as part of their post-doctoral responsibilities.
Dual Degree Recognition
The Post-Doctoral / Doctor of Literature (D.Litt.) program at Monarch is structured as a dual academic pathway, awarding two distinct yet interrelated academic recognitions. Upon successful completion of the required peer-reviewed publications, candidates earn the Post-Doctoral Research Diploma, acknowledging their active contribution to the global scholarly community. In parallel, completion of the reflective and integrative Doctor of Literature thesis qualifies the candidate for the formal conferment of the Doctor of Literature (D.Litt.) degree. These two components—publication and manuscript—are both essential and must be completed in full. Together, they affirm the candidate’s scholarly maturity, independent research capacity, and thought leadership across both public and institutional dimensions of academic engagement.
Manuscript Expectations
At Monarch, the Doctor of Literature (D.Litt.) is not simply an extension of previous research, but a mark of intellectual maturity and scholarly purpose. It represents the evolution of a candidate from a skilled researcher into a true scholar—one capable of engaging with meta-level questions that shape management, society, and human understanding.
The D.Litt. thesis is designed to reflect this transition. While candidates may incorporate elements of their past academic or professional work, the emphasis is placed on developing a comprehensive, reflective, and forward-looking manuscript that situates their thinking within broader philosophical, ethical, or societal contexts. The goal is not to replicate research, but to demonstrate scholarly insight, critical synthesis, and a capacity for thought leadership at the highest level.
The final manuscript typically ranges from 200 to 250 pages (approximately 60,000 to 75,000 words), excluding references and appendices. It must articulate a coherent scholarly argument, draw on a diverse intellectual foundation, and reveal the candidate’s ability to engage with the deep questions underlying their field—questions of meaning, impact, equity, ethics, and the evolving human condition.
Manuscripts may include previously published materials, but only as supporting evidence. The core requirement is a new, original work that demonstrates a shift in perspective from problem-solving to meaning-making. Candidates are encouraged to explore the implications of knowledge, rather than its immediate applications.
Through personalized supervision and guided reflection, the D.Litt. thesis becomes a capstone of personal and scholarly integration. Graduates of the program are not just researchers—they are philosophically grounded scholars prepared to influence thought, mentor future leaders, and contribute to the deeper conversations that shape our world.
In today’s interconnected world, global business is increasingly expected to operate with equity, accountability, and cultural sensitivity. However, definitions of ethical behavior often diverge across regions, industries, and cultural systems—creating moral ambiguity and operational complexity for leaders navigating international contexts.
The CSR & Global Business Ethics pathway invites candidates to critically examine these tensions through post-doctoral scholarship. This area emphasizes the development of cross-cultural, theoretically grounded, and practically applicable models that help organizations act responsibly while honoring local norms and global expectations. Candidates are encouraged to explore the philosophical underpinnings, institutional pressures, and socio-political dynamics that shape ethical decision-making on the global stage.
Research in this area contributes to advancing reflective practice in leadership and business, particularly in how firms navigate emerging regulatory frameworks, stakeholder expectations, and sustainability imperatives.
Themes may include:
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Comparative Business Ethics: How ethical standards are defined and practiced across cultures and regions
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Global Governance & Accountability: Examining transnational frameworks, institutions, and the role of soft law in shaping responsible business conduct
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Cross-Cultural Ethical Decision-Making: How leaders manage ethical dilemmas within culturally diverse or contested environments
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CSR Strategy & Implementation: Designing and assessing models for embedding CSR into core business operations in varied global contexts
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This focus area is ideally suited for candidates who wish to influence both academic thinking and real-world practices related to ethical leadership, corporate responsibility, and global citizenship.
Leadership is more than decision-making—it is a reflective, values-driven process that shapes the evolution of organizations and society. This area of study emphasizes the transition from technical expertise to philosophical understanding, where candidates explore leadership as both a practice and a mindset.
The focus is on developing models of transformative leadership, grounded in systems thinking, cultural awareness, and personal mastery. Candidates are encouraged to investigate the deeper meaning behind leadership behaviors and explore leadership’s role in social change.
Themes may include:
- Leading for sustainability and transformation
- Leadership and organizational culture
- Reflective practice and personal mastery
- Ethical leadership and purpose-driven management.
Critical Management Studies (CMS) challenges conventional assumptions in business and organizational life. It provides a space for scholars to interrogate the power structures, ideologies, and systemic inequities that underpin management theory and practice.
This area supports philosophically grounded, socially conscious scholarship aimed at uncovering blind spots in mainstream management discourse. Candidates are invited to pursue research that is emancipatory, subversive, and critically engaged with the human consequences of business systems.
Themes may include:
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- Postmodern critiques of managerialism
- Power, identity, and discourse in organizations
- Gender, race, and class in management studies
- Alternative models of organizing and value creation.
This pathway is reserved for candidates whose intellectual pursuits fall outside the above mentioned disciplines yet remain deeply aligned with the program’s core mission: to explore questions of meaning, responsibility, complexity, and transformation in organizational and societal life.
This area supports research that is interdisciplinary, emerging, or philosophically original, drawing on insights from fields such as education, social innovation, technology ethics, organizational psychology, or cultural studies—as long as the inquiry is reflective, critically engaged, and grounded in scholarly rigor.
Themes may include:
- Human-centered approaches to innovation or systems design
- The intersection of technology, ethics, and society
- Learning, adaptation, and transformation within institutions
- Cultural narratives and symbolic meaning in organizational life
- Post-growth economics, sustainability transitions, or alternative futures.
This specialization ensures that Monarch remains open to bold thinkers, emerging domains, and original voices seeking to contribute to the future of management thought and scholarship.
Admission to the Post-Doctoral / Doctor of Literature (D.Litt.) program is reserved for candidates who have already earned a recognized doctoral-level degree (e.g., PhD, DBA, EdD) from an accredited institution. Applicants must demonstrate a high level of academic readiness through the submission of a prior doctoral dissertation, peer-reviewed publication, or equivalent scholarly output. As this is a post-doctoral program, candidates are expected to possess the research competencies necessary for independent scholarship. Applications are evaluated based on intellectual alignment with the program’s focus, the quality of previous academic work, and the candidate’s capacity to contribute meaningfully to scholarly discourse.
Assessment in the Post-Doctoral / Doctor of Literature (D.Litt.) program is based on the successful completion of two core components: the peer-reviewed publication portfolio and the Doctor of Literature manuscript. Each is evaluated against criteria of scholarly originality, intellectual coherence, and contribution to academic discourse. There are no examinations; instead, assessment reflects the candidate’s ability to engage in independent, high-level scholarship and produce work that meets international academic standards.
The Doctor of Literature manuscript serves as the intellectual centerpiece of the program. It is a reflective, original work—typically 200 to 250 pages—that demonstrates the candidate’s scholarly maturity and capacity to engage with complex, meta-level questions. The manuscript must present a coherent argument, integrate prior knowledge and research, and offer a meaningful contribution to academic thought in the candidate’s chosen field.
Candidates complete the program via the Monarch Digital Campus (MDC). This enables completion of the program 24 x 7 from anywhere. Asynchronous completion means you are not required to be on the platform at any specific time. Complete the program to fit your schedule.
The standard tuition for the Post-Doctoral / Doctor of Literature (D.Litt.) program is €10,000, payable over two years. This includes tuition fees, IT access, and a thesis reading fee. Tuition is billed annually and must be paid in advance. Candidates who require additional time beyond the standard duration may extend their studies up to four years, with continuation fees applied at the same annual rate. All fees are stated in Euros. A detailed tuiiton schedule is provided within the application package.
The program has rolling admission and may be started on the 1st of each month. Deferred start applications are also accepted.
