The educational aim of this course is to teach students to undertake research and produce papers for publication in top tier journals in one of the management disciplines: Finance; Marketing; Operations and Technology Management; Business Economics; Organisational Behaviour; Organisational Theory and Information Systems and Strategic Management. The first year of the PhD course is probationary. Students are assessed on the basis of a first year report or comprehensive examination, and a series of coursework modules. In their first year, students are set a number of research modules, research assignments or self-study assignments which will be assessed. These are individually tailored to the student by their supervisor, pathway representative and PhD Director. The number and nature of assessed assignments varies by pathway but typically three is the minimum. Most first year students are required to complete a first year report (of up to 20,000 words) whereas students in the Finance pathway are required to take a Comprehensive examination. At the start of each academic year, a plan for non-assessed training is agreed between the student and their Supervisor. This might entail attending further modules within the University or academic workshops at other institutions. There are expected timelines for progress on research papers and conference presentations in years 2-4 of the PhD which vary by pathway. All PhD students are expected to attend the internal seminars, conferences and reading clubs pertaining to their subject group.