Monarch Business School · Applied doctoral study

Doctor of Applied
Neuroscience in Management

You understand the challenges of management.
Now deepen your expertise—and earn your doctorate.

Build on your professional experience to strengthen your authority, credibility and distinctive expertise. Explore how neuroscience and behavioural science can inform leadership, decision-making and organisational change—with individual faculty guidance and fully online study alongside your career.

Management-focusedNon-clinical applied research
24 or 48 months minimumStandard or extended registration
Remote & flexibleStudy alongside professional life
Faculty guidanceResearch milestones and review

Program Facts

The Doctor of Applied Neuroscience in Management (DANM) at Monarch Switzerland is a fully online, part-time doctoral programme offered through Monarch Business School, with a minimum standard registration period of 24 months. Designed for experienced managers, HR professionals, consultants and executive coaches, it enables doctoral study alongside a career without the need to relocate.

Institution
Monarch Switzerland
Department
Monarch Business School
Award
Doctor of Applied Neuroscience in Management (DANM)
Study Mode
Fully Online
Standard Pathway
Minimum 24 months
Extended Pathway
Minimum 48 months
Study Format
Part-Time
Designed For
Experienced Managers, HR Professionals, Consultants and Executive Coaches
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.

These are minimum registration periods, not guaranteed completion times. Completion depends on research progress and fulfilment of all academic requirements.

Scientific insight. Managerial relevance.

Strengthen your expertise. Make your experience count.

Your experience has given you a practical understanding of people, performance and change. The Doctor of Applied Neuroscience in Management (DANM) gives you the opportunity to deepen that understanding, develop a distinctive area of expertise and pursue the personal achievement of a doctorate.

Explore how neuroscience, cognitive psychology and behavioural science can inform the challenges you encounter as a manager, consultant, HR professional or executive coach. Focus your doctoral project on a question that matters to you—from decisions under pressure and team motivation to leadership development and organisational change.

With faculty guidance, learn to evaluate research critically and develop insights you can explain, share and apply responsibly. Your contribution remains grounded in management practice, with careful attention to what the evidence supports and where its limits lie.

A clear non-clinical remit

The Doctor of Applied Neuroscience in Management is a non-clinical, management-focused doctoral degree. It does not provide medical, therapeutic or diagnostic training, or authorise clinical practice.

Strengthen your professional voice

Build the confidence to assess evidence, explain your perspective and contribute to professional discussions. Ground your advice in credible research and distinguish well-supported findings from popular claims and neuromyths.

Develop your specialist expertise

Develop a distinctive focus in decisions, motivation, resilience or organisational change. Deepen your understanding of people at work while recognising that complex management challenges cannot be explained by the brain alone.

Create a contribution you can put into practice

Turn your investigation into a research-informed framework or practical recommendations relevant to your organisation, consulting work or leadership practice, with clear attention to context and ethical responsibilities.

Your doctoral journey

From a management question to an applied contribution.

Build your doctoral project step by step, with individual faculty guidance and clear research milestones. Develop the research and writing skills to investigate a question that matters to your work and present a contribution you can be proud of.

01 · Prepare

Develop research design and academic writing through Research Skills I and II. Engage critically with relevant foundations in cognitive psychology, behavioural science and applied neuroscience in management.

02 · Frame

Develop your formal research proposal within the programme, working with faculty to refine your management question and research approach. Academic approval marks entry into the research stage.

03 · Investigate

Gather and interpret evidence within organisational, consulting or professional settings through an appropriate research design, with attention to research ethics and the limits of inference.

04 · Synthesise

Develop an integrated doctoral manuscript connecting your findings with management scholarship, contextual interpretation and practical recommendations.

05 · Present

Present your completed research, findings and professional implications before the Review Committee.

Who this programme is for

For professionals working with people, decisions and change.

For professionals ready to turn years of experience into deeper expertise, a stronger professional voice and the achievement of a doctorate. Bring your curiosity and a challenge from your work; faculty will help you shape a focused inquiry.

Managers and executives

Explore decision-making under uncertainty, organisational learning, motivation and the human dimensions of strategy and change.

HR and organisational development professionals

Investigate culture, collaboration, trust and development, with careful attention to fairness, privacy and psychological safety.

Consultants and executive coaches

Develop a distinctive area of expertise and strengthen the evidence behind your advisory or coaching work, while remaining within the boundaries of non-clinical professional practice.

Responsible inquiry

Explore the human questions behind better management.

What helps leaders make sound decisions under pressure? How do teams build trust, sustain motivation or adapt to change? Your project could explore cognitive bias, stress and recovery, leadership development, organisational learning or the responsible use of behavioural insights. Work with faculty to shape a question that fits your experience and ambitions.

Evidence before claims

Evaluate the methods and limitations of the research you draw upon. Findings from one setting do not automatically establish what will work in another.

People before techniques

Consider consent, privacy, fairness and the ethical implications of influencing behaviour in organisations.

Management as the context

The aim is an applied contribution to management practice, not a medical diagnosis, clinical intervention or claim to laboratory expertise.

Recognition and progression

Doctoral achievement.
Connected recognition.

Master of Arts in Business Research

Candidates who successfully complete all requirements for the Doctor of Applied Neuroscience in Management receive the Master of Arts in Business Research in passing upon conferral of the doctorate.

If your circumstances change

The corresponding Master-in-Exit may be considered where a candidate does not complete the doctorate but meets the applicable master’s-level requirements. It is subject to formal academic review and approval, and is not automatic.

Explore the Master-in-Passing framework →

Research and professional practice

Human insight. Real organisational contexts.

Meet members of Monarch’s community connecting behavioural insight with professional practice: a DANM participant and a PhD / DBA graduate whose research focuses on organisational neuroscience.

Sally Duxfield

Sally Duxfield

New Zealand

Doctor of Applied Neuroscience in Management · Participant

An executive performance coach with over four decades of experience, Sally explores how leaders learn and adapt under pressure. Her research interests connect stress, recovery and experiential learning with better decision-making and sustained leadership performance.

Dr. Marlene González

Dr. Marlene González

United States / Venezuela

PhD in Business Research / DBA (Organizational Neuroscience)

A Monarch dual-doctorate graduate with over three decades of leadership experience, Marlene examines how identity, emotional regulation and organisational context shape leadership transitions. Her research connects organisational neuroscience with inclusive, evidence-informed management practice.

Admissions and support

Your experience. Your next professional chapter.

Tell us about your experience, your ambitions and the questions you would like to explore. You do not need a completed research proposal to begin the conversation: your formal proposal develops within the programme with faculty guidance.

Academic and professional preparation

Applicants normally hold a master’s degree from an accredited institution. Experienced professionals with a bachelor’s degree and substantial leadership responsibility may also be considered. In exceptional circumstances, significant professional achievement or recognised professional certifications may be assessed at the Dean’s discretion.

Admission is subject to individual academic review of readiness, intended inquiry and available supervisory expertise.

Study alongside your work

Remote, asynchronous study with individual faculty guidance allows you to remain in your professional setting. No relocation or mandatory residency is required. Optional doctoral workshops in Switzerland support research development and community engagement.

Admissions are rolling, with programme starts on the first day of each month, subject to admission.

Discuss your eligibility →

Planning your study

Professional flexibility.
Clear tuition.

Choose the standard 24-month or extended 48-month pathway to suit your professional commitments. These are minimum registration periods, not guaranteed completion times. Tuition remains payable throughout active registration.

Review the current Tuition Policy and programme tuition table for periodic payments, payment arrangements and any separate fees.

Your experience. Your next contribution.

Your experience has brought you this far.
Make your next achievement a doctorate.

Picture your next chapter: deeper specialist expertise, a stronger professional voice and the pride of earning your doctorate. Speak with Admissions about your ambitions and take the first step towards your Doctor of Applied Neuroscience in Management.

Latest Announcement

Monarch Switzerland Proudly Announces the Doctoral Graduates of 2025

Meet the accomplished professionals who successfully completed their doctoral studies in 2025, bringing deep leadership experience and rigorous scholarship to Monarch Switzerland.

View the Announcement

Latest Announcement

Monarch Switzerland Proudly Announces the Doctoral Graduates of 2025

Meet the accomplished professionals who successfully completed their doctoral studies in 2025, bringing deep leadership experience and rigorous scholarship to Monarch Switzerland.

View the Announcement