Doctor of Applied Neuroscience - Monarch Business School Switzerland

Doctor of Applied Neuroscience in Leadership

The Doctor of Applied Neuroscience in Leadership is a uniquely structured program designed for experienced professionals who are passionate about the mind, behavior, and unlocking peak human potential. This program supports your evolution as a thought leader by providing the academic foundation, research tools, and professional guidance necessary to turn deep experience into scholarly contribution.

We understand that your career has already been defined by excellence—whether as a leadership coach, change agent, or transformational facilitator. Now, this program empowers you to elevate that expertise by integrating your practical insights with applied research and cognitive science. You will explore how neuroscience informs behavior, motivation, resilience, and decision-making—and you will craft a doctoral-level research manuscript that merges your professional journey with academic rigor.

This is more than a degree—it’s a transformational process designed to deepen your understanding of leadership from the inside out. You will develop the skills to critically evaluate scientific literature, apply evidence-based models, and design research that reflects the complexity of real-world human development.

Participants in the Doctor of Applied Neuroscience in Leadership are not only practitioners; they are pioneers—bringing brain-based leadership insights into organizations, coaching practices, public institutions, and consulting platforms. You will emerge as a scholar-practitioner capable of influencing how leadership is practiced, taught, and experienced across industries.

Welcome to a program that recognizes the power of the mind in shaping human potential. Welcome to a doctoral journey that honors your past, sharpens your present, and positions you as a catalyst for future change. Join us—and take your expertise to a higher state of impact.

Completion Requirements

The 1 to 3-year accelerated, thesis-only Doctor of Applied Neuroscience in Leadership program is designed for experienced professionals and certified coaches with a background in neuroscience-informed practice, leadership development, or transformational coaching. Ideal candidates typically hold a Master’s degree or equivalent in a related field and possess a strong foundation in applied coaching or leadership. Participants will begin with a Research Skills module, followed by the development of a Research Intent Plan, and then progress through the research and analysis phase of the program. The culmination of the doctoral journey is the submission of a final doctoral manuscript, accompanied by an oral presentation to the evaluation committee. Candidates may also opt to follow the program under the extended 5-year “Standard” study plan, depending on their professional commitments and research pace.

Program Modules

The program is designed around the completion of a series of modules that assist the candidate in developing the necessary applied research skills essential for the successful completion of the program.

Research Skills

The program begins with the explanation and understanding as to where one obtains appropriate research information. Skills are developed around the ability to find, assess, and determine the quality of information to be used in the completion of the 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.

Action-Oriented Research Plan

This module assist the candidate in completing the Action-oriented research plan that defines the managerial problem, supporting knowledge base, data sources, research method, deliverables and outcomes.

Manuscript Development

This module focuses on the completion of the Doctor of Leadership manuscript. The manuscript document illustrates the leadership problem at hand, provides a quantification of the cost of the problem to both a specific company as well as industry as a whole, examines the existing knowledge base, illustrates the data collection and analysis method employed, synthesizes the results to ultimately arrive at actionable leadership recommendations and best-practices. For better understanding and implementation the research may highlight new practical frameworks or models.

Manuscript Presentation

The manuscript is presented to the Evaluation Committee. The Committee members take on the role of an Executive Board evaluating the merits of the recommendations and action plans put forward by the candidate with respect to the stated leadership issue in their capacity as an expert leader, executive coach or managerial consultant.

The Manuscript Expectations & Professional Oreientation

At Monarch, we understand that candidates entering the Doctor of Applied Neuroscience in Leadership program are accomplished professionals—coaches, consultants, and organizational leaders—who bring a wealth of practical experience to the table. For this reason, the doctoral manuscript is intentionally designed to reflect a professional practice orientation, rather than a purely academic or theoretical model.

The manuscript is completed within a thesis-only format, with no coursework requirements beyond the Research Skills modules and research plan intent document. Most manuscripts fall within a target length of 40,000 to 50,000 words, or approximately 135 to 165 double-spaced pages, excluding references and appendices. This allows candidates to demonstrate critical thinking, apply neuroscience-informed leadership models to real-world problems, and deliver structured, actionable solutions—all within a manageable scope suited to working professionals.

A unique and valuable feature of the program is that candidates may, where appropriate, integrate previously developed professional materials—such as coaching frameworks, training models, assessment tools, or organizational strategies—into their doctoral work. These prior outputs can serve as a foundation or case study within the manuscript, provided they are accompanied by new applied research, critical analysis, and scholarly synthesis. This approach allows you to build upon what you’ve already accomplished, giving academic structure to your lived professional insight, while ensuring alignment with doctoral-level expectations.

The manuscript is a structured, professionally guided research project, shaped around your experience, supported by faculty mentorship, and grounded in practical relevance. The result is a manuscript that both validates and elevates your professional practice—enabling you to contribute original, research-informed thinking to the evolving field of neuroscience-based leadership. It is a fully achievable goal for committed professionals and a powerful step in advancing your authority, credibility, and impact.

Master-in-Passing

Candidates completing the Doctor of Applied Neuroscience in Leadership program will also be awarded the Master of Leadership as a Master-in-Passing award. The degree is automatically awarded upon successful completion of the Doctor of Applied Neuroscience in Leadership program and no additional work is required. A Master-in-Passing degree is also known as a Master degree earned en-route and is considered equal to a terminal Master degree.

“The Doctor of Applied Neuroscience in Leadership enables experienced professionals to bridge the gap between real-world practice and academic research. It empowers candidates to translate deep insights from coaching and behavioral science into transformative, brain-based leadership strategies, frameworks and models that make a measurable difference—without the need for laboratory experimentation or abstract theory. This program recognizes the value of practical experience and supports professionals in turning their lived expertise into a research-informed contribution.”