Level. The PALS is a postgraduate (post-master's and doctoral-level) programme in advanced leadership studies. Organised by INSIL, the programme is offered in distance education mode plus residence modules. The PALS curriculum accounts for 120 ECTS (48 US course credits). The PALS + PhD is of min. 180 ECTS (72 US credits). 

Audience. The two-stages PALS + PhD programme is aimed at professionally active and experienced individuals, from around the world, and who wish to undertake advanced studies in leadership and change. The average work experience or career of our PALS students exceeds fifteen years (range is ten to twenty-four years). 

PhD path. Upon successful completion of the PALS programme the graduate is awarded the institute's postgraduate diploma in advanced leadership studies. Subsequently, the doctoral and candidacy stage, crowned by the degree in leadership and mastery of change, comprises the research, PhD thesis, and oral defense (viva). The PALS + Ph.D. programme can be attended in a single track or dual track mode. In the dual track the doctoral phase is started immediately after the PALS diploma curriculum has been completed. 

Individual study. In the online-based distance learning mode, most of the PALS course units are offered in an asynchronous or self-paced mode, which is not cohort-based. Course participants start and complete the courses individually, harmonised with their professional agendas and personal lives, flexible course completion timings, yet within an overall curriculum completion timeframe. Throughout the entire programme each participant benefits from personalised study guidance and e-coaching by a leadership expert faculty member, and experienced in distance learning.

Source. The entire and unabridged PALS curriculum, and the unique Four Pillars' Ph.D. structure, originate from the conceptual knowledge base of The THIERRY Graduate School of Leadership. The entire programme, the first one of its type in Europe (launched in 2004), has a record of proven success. Under the association framework between the institutions, THIERRY and INSIL share human and educational resources for the distance learning course delivery and for the study guidance and coaching. 

Language. English is the language of instruction, and in all of the course materials in the PALS programme. The personalised study guidance and coaching is also in English. For bilingual students with French mother-tongue the coaching can be offered in both languages.

Residence. Of the fifteen course units in the PALS curriculum, there is one residence module. It integrates intensive face-to-face interaction between students and faculty, plus the courses and workshops that cannot be experienced to their fullest extent in distance learning nor virtual classroom environments. The residence course unit comprises 60 face-to-face hours, taking place during the one-week intensive summer residence programme, and/or during special residencies in France or Belgium, or regional ones held in other locations around the world (the latter contingent on the number of attendees in/from a given geographical region, and in a given year).   

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