This November we launched the new EAA ARC PhD International Visit Scheme. The scheme provides opportunities for PhD students who are EAA members to visit a leading European accounting research department. The visits aim to help students to advance their PhD research in ways that may not be possible in their home institution.
Many students have participated in international PhD exchange visits on an ad hoc basis. However, it has not always been easy to find out whether and where opportunities exist and personal connections have often played a major role in these arrangements. (There have been some notable exceptions, such as the INTACCT and HARMONIA networks.)
The ARC aims to facilitate international PhD visits by listing the places available at research-led universities agreeing to host a visit and by providing a system for applying.
The following institutions have a visiting place for EAA PhD students during the 2019-2020 academic year:
By participating in the scheme, students can discuss research ideas and preliminary findings with faculty and participate in PhD level courses. They can also attend research seminars and meet visiting seminar speakers to discuss their research, while developing a network that may lead to new ideas and enduring research relationships.
The ARC advertises visiting places that are available for specific times of year (usually September – December and January – March). It also sets out the formal application process. Immediately after the relevant deadline, the ARC forwards applications to the host institutions, and they decide which students to select, on the basis of alignment of research interests and overall suitability.
If you are considering applying for a visit, you should think about whether a particular institution is a good match for the research you are conducting. Who is working there and what sort of research do they conduct? Will they be able to offer advice and guidance on your work? Will they have PhD students there working on similar topics? For instance, if you are undertaking qualitative or analytical research, are there faculty and PhD students in the department with interests related to yours? What sort of visiting speakers and seminars do they hold? Host departments will be seeking students where they can add the most value. The better the match between your interests and ambitions and those of the host department, the higher will be the likelihood of success in securing a visit.
Details of the scheme and how to apply are available at https://eaa-online.org/arc/eaa-arc-international-phd-visit-scheme.
Closing dates for the 2019-2020 academic year are 28 February for visits in the autumn term 2019 and 31 August for spring term 2020.
