Business and Economics

Business and economics researchers are responding to big global challenges. Join a globally connected community of world-class researchers. And help us to drive progress in this time of economic, social and environmental upheaval.

Melbourne Business School (MBS) offers graduate researchers a rigorous and enriching experience. Our coursework and research training program prepares you for research and teaching careers. Possible career pathways include top educational, industry and government institutions.  

You will join a talented, passionate and collaborative research community. This includes peers, academic researchers and supportive supervisors. Our rigorous and demanding graduate research program has small class sizes and student-to-supervisors ratios. This will give you the advanced training you need to develop your full potential.  

You will be fully funded for the duration of your doctoral program. We offer scholarships that cover your tuition and living expenses. And generous research and conference travel funding.  

Throughout your graduate research degree, you will have opportunities to work with researchers from other disciplines and universities. This helps to expand your networks and enhance your career prospects. You'll be part of our engaged alumni community. This community comprises more than 60 000 academics, leaders and business professionals globally.  

Top-ranked institutions have recently hosted graduate researchers from MBS as visiting scholars. Such institutions include:

• Stanford and Columbia, USA
• Nottingham, UK

Exceptional graduate researchers have forged impressive careers in Australia and internationally. Recent career placements include:

• Tilburg School of Management and Economics
• World Health Organization
• University of Manchester
• University of Pittsburgh
• Nuffield College, Oxford University
• Australian National University
• Monash University
• University of Western Australia
• Nottingham University Business School

Explore our research disciplines

Research opportunities exist within each of these disciplines:

• Accounting
• Actuarial studies
• Business administration and analytics
• Decision, risk and financial sciences
• Economics 
• Finance
• Management 
• Marketing

Melbourne Business School research addresses complex challenges of the 21st century. There is a particular focus on three strategic priorities:

• Decision-making and markets – extending knowledge of how markets and key market players work.
• Health and wellbeing – examining the links between positive workplace culture and health and wellbeing.
• Corporate governance and leadership – delivering insights on workplace management. And the policies and practices that influence corporate governance and performance.

Graduate researchers can access a vast network of resources across the faculty and the University. This includes the specialist  Giblin Eunson library, and more than 12 other individual libraries. Each has a world-class collection of books, journals, films, maps and databases.

Collaborate with experts from other disciplines

As a business and economics researcher, you will have the opportunity to work with researchers from other disciplines. Engaging with experts outside your field helps you reflect on the world in different ways. Many of the faculty’s research centres bring together experts from different disciplines and industries. You could also join one of the University’s multidisciplinary research initiatives. Depending on the topic, you might work with experts from areas including:

• health
• psychology
• science
• sociology
• law
• energy
• environment
• education.

Hallmark Research Initiatives

Current Hallmark Research Initiatives addressing the theme of business and economics include:

• Statelessness – filling knowledge gaps to inform public policy.
• Economic and Social Participation – investigating the factors that contribute to individual and community stability and wellbeing.
• Creativity and Wellbeing – exploring the intersection of creativity and wellbeing. It uses an interdisciplinary knowledge base to cultivate a network of researchers who investigate the relationship between the concepts, and the impact of creativity on wellbeing across the lifespan.

Melbourne Interdisciplinary Research Institutes

Current Melbourne Interdisciplinary Research Institutes that address the theme of business and economics include:

• Melbourne Disability Institute – improving the social and economic wellbeing of people with disability.
• Melbourne Social Equity Institute – addressing disadvantage across social life, including work.
• Melbourne Energy Institute - undertaking interdisciplinary research on sustainable energy, and on the challenges of transitioning towards a low carbon energy system.

Next steps

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, our graduate researchers have temporarily transitioned to a ‘virtual campus’. We are still accepting enquiries and applications for graduate research in 2021. The University is planning a gradual, phased and safe return to our physical campus, in line with government guidelines.

• Search for a supervisor in your field of research.
• Find out more about international applications or domestic applications.
• Explore the Faculty of Business and Economics website to learn about research opportunities.
• Read about the latest research findings in business and economics.