Doctor of Management

A Dual-Degree Program in Reflective and Professional Management Practice

The Doctor of Management (DMgt) at Monarch Switzerland is a prestigious professional doctorate designed for senior managers, executives, and organizational leaders who have accumulated a wealth of managerial experience and wish to give lasting form to that knowledge. The program provides a formal outlet for accomplished professionals seeking to crystallize the lessons of experience and give enduring expression to the wisdom gained through years of leadership and transformation.

At Monarch, we recognize that many of the most valuable lessons in management are learned in the field—not in the classroom. Yet, few universities offer a pathway for these insights to be formally captured, articulated, and shared within the scholarly community. The DMgt uniquely bridges that gap, enabling senior leaders to convert lived professional experience into recognized academic contribution through structured reflection and narrative inquiry.

Central to the DMgt is the use of Managerial Storytelling as a methodological framework. Candidates reflect on key moments of their professional journey—strategic choices, ethical challenges, organizational turning points—and reinterpret them through the lens of critical reflection and evidence-based practice. The outcome is a doctoral manuscript that not only documents leadership wisdom, but also provides actionable insight for the next generation of managers and executives.

Rooted in Monarch’s commitment to reflective scholarship and responsible leadership, the DMgt reaffirms the essential role of seasoned professionals in advancing the understanding of management practice. It invites those who have led, built, and inspired to now contribute back—ensuring that their knowledge, judgment, and insight become part of the enduring conversation within global management education

Program Structure

The Doctor of Management (DMgt) follows a milestone-based framework designed to guide candidates through a reflective and applied process of scholarly inquiry. The structure emphasizes depth of reflection, intellectual integration, and the articulation of lived professional experience as a valid and valuable source of management knowledge.

Each phase of the program supports candidates in transforming managerial experience into structured insight. Guided by Monarch faculty, candidates engage in a sequence of reflective analyses and applied research activities that progress from narrative framing and methodological grounding to manuscript preparation and formal presentation.

The program’s methodological foundation, Managerial Storytelling, enables candidates to translate their professional journeys into academically rigorous narratives. This approach recognizes that leadership wisdom, when critically examined, can yield powerful frameworks for responsible decision-making, ethical practice, and organizational transformation. Through this process, candidates refine their capacity to interpret experience, draw meaningful connections between theory and practice, and communicate their findings as contributions to the management community.

By completion, each candidate produces a doctoral manuscript that synthesizes years of managerial insight into a coherent and instructive narrative. This final work stands not only as a personal reflection of leadership but also as a transferable contribution—one that bridges professional experience with scholarly understanding and advances the discourse on modern management practice.

Preparatory Phase – Understanding Managerial Storytelling

Candidates begin with an introduction to Managerial Storytelling as a legitimate and rigorous methodological approach within management scholarship. This phase explores how lived managerial experience, narrative inquiry, and critical reflection can yield transferable insights and theoretical contributions. Candidates identify key episodes, leadership inflection points, and organizational challenges that will form the foundation of their reflective manuscript.

Proposal Phase –  Framing The Reflective Journey

During this stage, candidates develop a formal proposal outlining the scope, structure, and intended outcomes of their reflective manuscript. The proposal articulates the managerial questions to be explored, the theoretical anchors connecting practice to scholarship, and the anticipated lessons or models emerging from their leadership journey. Approval by the Administration marks the transition to the manuscript development phase.

Manuscript Phase – Developing The Reflective Journey

Candidates compose their manuscript, integrating real-world managerial experience with established management paradigms and scholarly frameworks. Through guided supervision, they critically examine their professional journey, identify patterns of decision-making, and articulate how these experiences contribute to a broader understanding of leadership, ethics, and organizational effectiveness.

Integration & Synthesis Phase – Deriving Managerial Models and Lessons

This phase focuses on the synthesis of the reflective work into actionable insights. Candidates translate their experience-based findings into conceptual models, guiding principles, or best-practice frameworks that contribute to contemporary management understanding and serve as references for future leaders.

The Scholarly Symposium – Reflection and Dialogue

The program culminates in a formal Presentation delivered before a panel of peers, faculty, and invited colleagues. This is a scholarly dialogue in which the candidate reflects on the evolution of their professional journey and the lessons distilled through their manuscript. The presentation serves to inspire and inform others, illustrating how leadership experience, when examined through critical reflection, can yield enduring insights for the practice and teaching of management.

The structured progression of the Doctor of Management ensures that each candidate develops the capacity for deep reflection, critical interpretation, and the scholarly articulation of managerial wisdom. By the conclusion of the program, candidates demonstrate mastery in transforming lived managerial and executive experience into conceptual insight, bridging the boundaries between leadership practice and management scholarship. Each graduate emerges as a reflective scholar—capable of mentoring, inspiring, and contributing enduring perspectives to the global dialogue on responsible and effective management practice.

Key Program Features

• Prestigious professional doctorate designed for senior managers, executives, and organizational leaders seeking to formalize and share accumulated managerial wisdom.
• Converts lived professional experience into structured scholarly contribution through reflection, interpretation, and evidence-based narrative inquiry.
• Rooted in Managerial Storytelling as the program’s central methodological framework—transforming key leadership experiences into academically rigorous narratives.
• Milestone-based design guiding candidates from narrative framing and theoretical grounding to manuscript development and final presentation.
• Encourages the reinterpretation of leadership turning points—strategic decisions, ethical dilemmas, and cultural shifts—through critical reflection and applied analysis.
• Emphasizes ethical reflection, responsible leadership, and the role of experience-based knowledge in advancing global management education.
• Culminates in a doctoral manuscript that synthesizes years of managerial experience into a coherent scholarly narrative—bridging personal insight with the broader field of management understanding.

Program Features

The Doctor of Management (DMgt) at Monarch Switzerland provides a distinguished pathway for senior managers, executives, and organizational leaders to formalize and share the wisdom gained from years of professional experience. Delivered through a milestone-based, reflective framework, the program enables candidates to transform lived managerial experience into meaningful scholarly insight—bridging personal leadership reflection with the broader field of management understanding.

Each phase of the program reinforces structured reflection, critical interpretation, and narrative synthesis, ensuring that professional experience is examined through an evidence-based and ethical lens. Through guided mentoring and scholarly dialogue, candidates craft a doctoral manuscript that contributes enduring insight to management practice and leadership education.

Reflective Scholarship The DMgt emphasizes structured reflection as the foundation for managerial insight, allowing candidates to interpret their professional experience through the lens of management theory and leadership ethics.
Managerial Storytelling Methodology Central to the program is the use of Managerial Storytelling—a research approach that transforms personal leadership experience into structured academic reflection, offering valuable lessons for future managers and scholars.
Professional Legacy Focus Designed for accomplished leaders seeking to consolidate and transmit their career lessons, the program enables candidates to create a formal, enduring contribution to the practice and philosophy of management.
Flexible Executive Delivery Delivered in a distance-based format with individualized mentoring, the DMgt accommodates the professional demands of senior executives, ensuring reflective depth without interrupting leadership responsibilities.
Ethical and Humanistic Perspective The program embodies Monarch’s philosophy of responsible leadership and human-centered management—affirming that managerial wisdom serves not only organizational performance but also social well-being.
Integrated Recognition Successful completion of the program also confers the Master of Professional Studies (MPS), acknowledging mastery of reflective methodology, professional analysis, and the synthesis of leadership experience achieved within the doctoral journey.

The structured progression of the Doctor of Management ensures that each candidate transforms a lifetime of professional experience into a lasting scholarly contribution. Upon successful completion of the program, candidates also receive the Master of Professional Studies (MPS) in recognition of the advanced reflective and analytical competencies demonstrated throughout their doctoral work.

Master-in-Passing

The Doctor of Management (DMgt) at Monarch Switzerland incorporates a reflective and professionally oriented framework that recognizes advanced achievement in leadership insight and professional synthesis through the Master of Professional Studies (MPS). The MPS serves as an integral milestone within the doctoral journey, affirming Monarch’s commitment to accessibility, lifelong learning, and the preservation of executive wisdom within management education.

Master-in-Passing (Default Award)

Candidates who successfully complete all doctoral requirements are automatically granted the MPS in Management in passing upon conferral of the DMgt. This recognizes mastery of reflective methodology, professional analysis, and the synthesis of leadership experience achieved throughout the doctoral program, underscoring the integrated nature of Monarch’s dual-degree structure.

Master-in-Exit (Terminal Award)

Candidates who elect to conclude their studies prior to completing the full doctoral program may qualify for the MPS as a terminal award by submitting a master-level manuscript demonstrating the structured reflection and managerial insight gained through the program. The MPS affirms the candidate’s ability to integrate professional experience into a cohesive reflective manuscript that conveys leadership insight, practical wisdom, and enduring value for contemporary management practice.

Through both the Master-in-Passing and Master-in-Exit pathways, Monarch Switzerland ensures that each candidate’s professional and intellectual journey culminates in a meaningful academic qualification. This dual structure reflects Monarch’s commitment to valuing executive reflection, applied wisdom, and the advancement of responsible leadership within global management practice.

Management Doctoral Philosophy

The Doctor of Management (DMgt) at Monarch Switzerland is founded on the belief that leadership wisdom—earned through years of professional experience—holds intrinsic scholarly value. The program affirms that the interpretation of lived managerial experience is not merely reflective, but a legitimate form of knowledge creation within the management sciences.

Central to this philosophy is Managerial Storytelling, a methodological approach through which candidates critically re-examine defining episodes of their leadership journey. By situating professional experience within a scholarly context, candidates uncover insights that illuminate the relationship between ethical action, strategic decision-making, and organizational transformation.

Monarch’s approach to management scholarship transcends technical analysis, embracing reflection as a disciplined act of learning. The DMgt invites senior professionals to convert the lessons of experience into structured, enduring contributions that enrich both management theory and the evolving practice of responsible leadership.

Admission & Entry Requirements

Admission to the Doctor of Management (DMgmt) at Monarch Switzerland is based on a holistic evaluation of each applicant’s professional portfolio, leadership record, and demonstrated capacity for advanced reflective inquiry. The program welcomes senior managers, executives, entrepreneurs, and organizational leaders who wish to formalize and extend their accumulated professional insight through structured scholarly reflection.

Applicants are typically expected to hold a bachelor’s degree or equivalent qualification in management or a related discipline. However, candidates with extensive senior-level managerial experience, a proven record of organizational leadership, or significant contributions to their field may also be considered for direct admission based on the strength of their career portfolio.

At the discretion of the Dean, candidates without formal academic qualifications may be admitted if their professional achievements and demonstrated capacity for synthesis reflect the maturity and insight expected at the doctoral level.

Each application is reviewed individually by the Academic Board to ensure alignment between the candidate’s background and the reflective objectives of the DMgmt program. Evaluation emphasizes leadership maturity, intellectual curiosity, and the ability to integrate lifelong experience into coherent managerial understanding.

Tuition

All doctoral programs at Monarch Switzerland follow a milestone-based structure designed to accommodate the reflective and integrative nature of advanced professional inquiry. Tuition is assessed on a quarterly basis for the duration of the candidate’s active registration in the program.

The quarterly tuition fee is €3,250, payable at the beginning of each academic quarter. Candidates may alternatively request a monthly payment schedule to facilitate financial planning and continuity of study. This approach ensures ongoing access to supervisory mentorship, academic resources, and institutional services throughout the reflective process.

Candidates who require additional time beyond the standard 24-month duration may continue their registration on an annual extension basis at 50% of the regular tuition rate. This continuation rate applies for all subsequent 12-month periods, allowing candidates to complete their manuscript and final presentation at their own pace while maintaining full academic standing.

Detailed information regarding tuition fees, administrative charges, and payment procedures is provided within the Application and Information Package, available upon request.

Who Should Apply

The Doctor of Management (DMgt) is designed for accomplished professionals who wish to consolidate, interpret, and formalize the insights gained through years of leadership and organizational experience. It provides a scholarly framework for senior managers and executives to reflect on their professional journey and contribute lasting value to the field of management.

• CEOs, senior executives, and directors seeking to transform leadership experience into structured scholarly contribution.
• Entrepreneurs and founders wishing to document strategic lessons and organizational development insights from their ventures.
• Advisors, consultants, and coaches aiming to capture decades of applied practice in a recognized doctoral format.
• Public-sector and NGO leaders reflecting on policy, governance, and institutional transformation through lived experience.
• Seasoned professionals seeking to leave a legacy of insight—bridging practice, ethics, and the evolution of management thought.
Monarch Business School Switzerland crest – PhD in Business Research program