Join Germany's best doctoral program in management accounting!
Are you looking for a unique place for your doctoral journey? Do you want to strengthen your analytical thinking, improve your problem solving skills and develop your personality? Join us! We are WHU's Institute of Management Accounting and Control (IMC), a leading think tank in the area of management accounting and control.
Your motivation
- You join Germany’s #1 doctoral program in management accounting that has been ranked among the top three in Europe seven times in a row (according to the Brigham Young University Accounting Research Ranking)!
- You join our strong team with a unique culture: passion for our field, teamwork and constant learning, open dialogue and the power of the better argument are key!
- You can do research from day 1 and benefit from the interaction with faculty, international guests, and other doctoral students!
- You benefit from our close ties to leading companies and unrivaled data access!
- You work on exciting and highly relevant research topics such as the digital transformation of finance, sustainability & green controlling or the role of CFOs!
- You benefit from a whole range of complementary doctoral courses and seminars as well as the opportunity to participate in doctoral colloquia and conferences, all on an international level!
- You will receive close guidance and valuable feedback by our senior and junior faculty!
- You benefit from a regular exchange of ideas through presentations and discussions in our research group including internal and external experts!
- You become part of a great academic family with many successful alumni in research and practice!
Good to know: We have a rolling admission with no application deadline. Further, there are no tuition fees for internal doctoral candidates.
Your research
Our research fields of interest cover a broad range, from digital transformation of the finance function to the roles of controllers and the CFO to sustainability, either within a quantitative or qualitative setting. Potential dissertation projects could focus on the following research topics:
- How will digitalization and artificial intelligence change finance and controlling?
- How do business analytics, artificial intelligence, or predictive analytics change our understanding of management and organizing?
- How can you make sure that companies walk their environmental and social talk?
- How can organizations measure and control for “sustainability,” “diversity,” “impact,” “agility” and other unmeasurable ideas? What are the potential side effects?
- How can companies make performance management more flexible and adaptive?
- How do non-traditional organizations and movements organize and control their activities? How do they adopt, modify, or resist management ideas and concepts?
- How can CFOs and controllers make a difference in the corporate transformation process?
Do you have a research question in mind that you are burning for and that falls into our research area? Great, let's talk! If not: No worries, you are not required to apply with a well-elaborated research proposal.
FAQs
Find a list of frequently asked questions below. We grouped the FAQs thematically. If your question is not listed here, I'm happy to answer it via phone or email.
Application
There is no application deadline. We accept doctoral students throughout the year.
Please send an email with the application documents to Dr. Carsten Lucaß or upload your documents here.
Community
At IMC we fully live the WHU spirit!
To only name a few examples: At our monthly Team Day all IMC members come together focusing on exchange and community. The June Team Day ends with a Summer Event and the December Team Day with a Christmas Party. Furthermore, our open door policy invites you to discuss research, ask questions, or informally chat with all colleagues.
You will always find a doctoral colleague that works on a similar topic or uses a similar method. Naturally, also the more experienced doctoral colleagues are very willing to help out and share knowledge. This intensive exchange with doctoral colleagues, but also the feedback from the faculty, is one key element of writing an excellent dissertation.
Of course! You can find the contact data of our doctoral students on the institute webpage and on LinkedIn.
The WHU Campus Vallendar is located in Germany in the picturesque Upper Middle Rhine Valley. With its castles, historic towns, and towering vineyards, the area has been awarded UNESCO world heritage site status. Major cities are dotted along the banks, and Koblenz marks the meeting of the rivers Rhine and Moselle. Perfectly placed in the center of Europe between Cologne and Frankfurt it offers plenty to see and do.
Research
Next to databases, the IMC has unique access to data such as from our WHU Controller Panel or cooperations with leading DAX40 partner companies.
Career perspectives
A doctoral degree from IMC equips you for a successful career: In academia, our alumni work in top business schools such as Copenhagen Business School, ESSEC Business School, Frankfurt School of Finance and Management, HEC Paris, Monash Business School, Michigan State University, Stockholm School of Economics, and Rotterdam School of Management. Others pursued a career in the industry, including at organizations such as McKinsey, Volkswagen, Henkel, AXA, Siemens, Bayer, Porsche, and many others!
Absolutely! We will equip you with the tools necessary to following an academic career. Be it thinking critically, writing scientifically, presenting your work to the research community, or publishing in high-ranking journals. Learn it at IMC and join our alumni following an academic career at renowned institutions like Copenhagen Business School, ESSEC Business School, Frankfurt School of Finance and Management, HEC Paris, Monash Business School, Michigan State University, Stockholm School of Economics, Rotterdam School of Management, and many more!
Contact us
Please also feel free to reach out via phone in case of any questions! We are looking forward to getting to know you!