Admissions - PhD in Management

INSEAD's application process is electronic, including the submission of supporting documents. The online application includes the prospect's profile, statement of purpose and statement of integrity.

Applying online

The INSEAD PhD application and supporting documents must be submitted online via apply.insead.edu.

To successfully access the application, please download or upgrade your browsers to the following minimum requirements: Internet Explorer 9 and above, Firefox 8 and above, Chrome 10, Safari 5 and above, and Opera 10 and above.

A complete application includes a duly accomplished online form, electronic copies (e.g. PDFs) of supporting documents, a fee of 50 € per application, and a recorded one-way interview. 

The online application form includes the following:

1. Your Profile: personal information, test results, academic background, professional background, proficiency in the English language, international exposure and activities and interests.
2. Statement of Purpose (SOP) or letter of motivation (1500 words essay), stating current goals, career plans, and reasons for being interested in the PhD Programme. In as much depth as possible, discuss study plans and the intended area of specialisation. If you need further guidance on the SOP, please reach out to [email protected]. 
3. Statement of Integrity - upon submission of the form, you agree with the terms and conditions applicable to the INSEAD online application

NB: Electronic copies are scanned copies (PDF) of original documents with a < = 1 MB file size. Please use a reputable online service to compress your PDF files < = 1 MB.

For further information, download the PhD Applications Instructions.

All supporting documents must be in electronic format (e.g. PDF),  < = 1 MB size per file and uploaded to the online application platform. We do not require hard copies or paper copies of original documents like degree transcripts or certificates sent to the PhD Office via snail mail. Admitted candidates must provide original hard copies to secure admission to the programme.
 

• A non-refundable fee of 50 € per application and paid online by credit card.
  Applications with no payment received are not considered successfully submitted. Hence, we do not include these in our review.
• CV/Resume, preferably 1-2 pages long.
• Official Transcripts of Grades and Diplomas or Degree Certificates 
  For degrees in progress (undergraduate or graduate), please provide the latest official partial transcripts. Once you receive your full transcripts the following year, please send an e-copy (PDF) and an attestation that you've fulfilled the requirements for graduation. 
  Please provide an official English translation of your degree transcripts and certificates if the medium of instruction of your programme is non-English. Unfortunately, we do not accept self-translated documents.
• Official GMAT or GRE score report 
  The GMAT or GRE test is a mandatory requirement, and we cannot waive this under any circumstances. Therefore, please upload your test-taker score report to the application portal and request GMAT or GRE to send the official transmission to INSEAD. Moreover, no minimum test score is required, and the admissions committee does not have a preference for either of the tests. 
  The institution codes to send your scores are: 3244* (GRE/INSEAD's PhD in France) or 7324* (GRE/INSEAD's PhD in Singapore) and DL3-S8-08 (GMAT) *Please send only to either one of the GRE's institution code if you are applying for the PhD to 'either campus'.
• Official TOEFL score report
  The TOEFL is the only language test that we require for PhD admissions. Unfortunately, we do not accept the IELTS. However, we will automatically waive the TOEFL test if any of your degrees’ (either bachelor’s or master’s) medium of instruction is English. Your transcripts from this degree, which state that English is the medium of instruction, will suffice as proof of waiver. To send your TOEFL test score to INSEAD, indicate the institution code 3244.
• Supplementary information survey form link is in the Supporting Documents section of the online application form

• Recorded interviews (OPTIONAL/NOT-MANDATORY)
  Upon submitting your online application, you will receive an email confirmation with a PDF copy of your online form and a link to the open one-way interview portal. The open one-way interview is OPTIONAL; however, it gives you an additional platform to express your interest in the PhD Programme through an interview format. 

  Please note that the PhD Committee may request this during the review phase to provide further information on your online application. We will promptly contact you upon receiving their request. To ensure you receive our emails, kindly add [email protected] to your email safelist. 

Recommendation Letters

We only require three recommendation letters, preferably from faculty or academic sources who can evaluate the applicant's academic ability and research potential. We also accept industry recommendations if faculty references are not available. Candidates must use the online application to send the referee letter request to their recommenders. 

In the recommendation section, applicants must enter referee details like name, official title and email address and click the 'send an email to your recommenders' link. We highly encourage applicants to use the official email addresses of their referees; however, if this is not available, applicants can also use their personal email IDs. 

NB:

• Referees must submit their online recommendation forms by the last day of submission for the PhD online application.
• Refer to your application dashboard to view the submission status and make necessary follow-ups with your referees. However, we will not follow up on your behalf regarding the submission of recommendation letters.
• Any changes to the referees nominated must be made before you submit your online application form. We do not entertain any changes once you submit your application. 
• Suppose the referee requests a change of email. Please change this before you submit your online application. The referee with the new email will only receive the recommendation request. The other two referees, with no changes, will not receive a new request.