A Doctorate in Business Administration (DBA) is a terminal degree that qualify degree holders for top executive positions in business or for university-level teaching positions. Both positions offer median six-figure salaries according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Unlike a PhD in Business, this degree focuses on applying theory to real-world practice and offers degree-holders a range of career options outside of higher education and scholarly research while still preparing them to teach.
Many DBA programs, are specially designed for executives to complete in three or four years while working. Classes typically meet in the evenings or on weekends and sometimes provide online activities in between campus residencies. Many DBA programs are also cohort-based, allowing for networking and collaboration among peers.
Zicklin School of Business Baruch College CUNY Executive Doctorate in Business (EDB)The three-year Executive Doctorate in Business (EDB) program leading to the Doctor of Professional Studies degree is offered in a hybrid format, with distance learning elements that are carefully designed to complement on-campus residencies where students and faculty meet in person. Cohorts are formed from the outset and the courses are designed to meet the academic goals of students in the program.
https://zicklin.baruch.cuny.edu/academi ... l-studies/DePaul University DBADePaul's DBA program is designed for the high-potential executive who has a master's degree in a business or business-related discipline and more than 8 to 10 years of managerial or consultative experience. Doctorate in Business Administration (DBA) combines intellectual rigor, a springboard for career advancement and a professional network. With a DBA degree from DePaul, you’ll take your career to the next level—in the corporate world or higher education.
https://business.depaul.edu/academics/d ... fault.aspxCreighton University Doctorate of Business Administration (DBA)Creighton’s Doctorate of Business Administration (DBA) is a research-based terminal doctorate in business administration designed primarily for students seeking a full-time tenure-track faculty position at an accredited teaching college or university. Those seeking an analytical, research approach to business, as well as those interested in consulting, may also benefit from this degree.The 3-year, cohort-styled DBA is designed for students who prefer to continue working in their existing jobs while completing their degrees. Seven weekend residencies are required in each of the first 2 years, with the rest of the program delivered online. Overall, 2/3 of the content and discussion are offered online, with the other 1/3 face to face.
https://www.creighton.edu/program/docto ... ration-dbaCase Western Reserve University Doctor of Management The Doctor of Management Programs at the Weatherhead School of Management offer a world-class practitioner-oriented doctorate education in management. The Doctor of Management programs prepare executives to create social, intellectual and economic value for their organizations and society at large. Students obtain immediate value in the programs so they can apply research knowledge to their work within their first year while completing significant, high-quality research relevant to their organization.
https://weatherhead.case.edu/degrees/do ... anagement/Pace University Lubin School of Business Doctoral Program in BusinessThe Pace University doctoral program distinguishes itself from a traditional PhD in business. It is uniquely designed for accomplished executives who seek the advanced knowledge, skills, and perspectives of doctoral education without interrupting their careers.All Pace doctoral candidates are experienced and accomplished business managers and professionals. Continue your full-time career and compensation while earning a doctorate in 3–5 years, Travel to campus for doctoral seminars only 10 Fridays each year from September through May. In addition to 10 doctoral seminars and 6 independent study courses, complete 3 electives that expand your knowledge and enhance your skill within a concentration (finance, management, or marketing).At Pace, electives meet one evening a week during a normal 14-week semester.
https://www.pace.edu/lubin/executive-doctorate-programsWashington University in St. Louis’s Olin School of Business DBAWashington University in St. Louis’s Olin School of Business offers a 72-credit DBA degree in finance or marketing. Designed for those working in industry, this degree takes four years to complete full-time or five or six years to finish part-time. Olin’s program consists of 48 credits of coursework (22 credits of required courses and 22 credits of electives) after completion of any needed foundation courses and 24 credits for research. Research credits are divided between preparatory research and work on a doctoral thesis. Doctoral students must pass comprehensive exams within six months of completing all coursework and successfully defend their doctoral thesis.
https://olin.wustl.edu/EN-US/academic-p ... fault.aspxThe University of Florida Warrington DBA The University of Florida offers a 60-hour, non-resident DBA program for experienced managers with master’s degrees. This professional degree emphasizes the application of theory to business practice. This three-year program is divided into nine terms. DBA candidates travel to campus for classes once or twice per term. The program consists of 42 hours of coursework completed over the first six terms and 18 hours for a dissertation completed during the last three terms. UF delivers most course content during campus residencies with minimal online components. During research symposium weekends in the third year, faculty members and doctoral candidates present their current research.The Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) program is offered as a track under the Ph.D. degree. The DBA program aims to integrate the theory and practice of business with the context of current issues that the business world faces.
https://warrington.ufl.edu/doctor-of-bu ... istration/University of Maryland University College Doctor of ManagementDesigned for executive-level working professionals, the Doctor of Business Administration at University of Maryland University College emphasizes management theory and strategic thinking, organizational leadership and change, research and innovation, and sustainability in the global business environment. Through applied research and analysis of real-world management issues, you'll gain sophisticated knowledge for the executive level of management. Curriculum is designed with input from employers, industry experts, and scholars. You'll learn theories combined with real-world applications and practical skills you can apply on the job right away.This program is designed to help prepare you for management and leadership roles in for-profit, nonprofit, governmental, and nongovernmental organizations; internal and external consulting; and higher education administration and teaching.
https://www.umuc.edu/academic-programs/ ... ration.cfmDrexel University's LeBow College of Business Executive Doctorate in Business Administration Doctoral students in Drexel University’s DBA program join a cohort of 12-18 students who collaborate during on-campus residencies and online modules. Drexel’s quarter system enables doctoral candidates to finish this degree in as little as two and a half years (10 quarters). The program format consists of two integrated 10-week courses per term that alternate between on-campus and online delivery every few weeks, with two campus residencies per term. Drexel’s DBA culminates in a doctoral dissertation process that includes guiding courses on the research process and proposal, doctoral research including data collection and analysis, and defense of the doctoral thesis.The Executive Doctorate in Business Administration (DBA) degree program is a part-time executive doctoral program designed to equip executives and senior managers with methods to address complex industry and organizational challenges. The program integrates and leverages Drexel’s 120+ year history of experiential learning to provide a broad theoretical perspective of current business issues as well as a strong foundation in applied research and analysis to enrich critical knowledge, skills and abilities.
https://www.lebow.drexel.edu/academics/ ... cutive-dbaThe University of Dallas DBA The University of Dallas offers a three-year DBA program. This 61-credit degree includes 19 hours of content courses, 18 hours of research methods courses, 6 hours of doctoral colloquia, and 18 hours for completion of a doctoral dissertation. Offered in a blended format, courses combine monthly weekend residencies with online learning. Throughout the program, doctoral candidates collaborate with peers as part of a cohort of business executives. Ideal applicants possess at least 12 years of managerial experience (seven at the senior level) and an MBA. This DBA program is accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB).
https://www.udallas.edu/cob/academics/dba/Temple University Fox Executive Doctorate in Business AdministrationTemple University offers a three-year, part-time executive DBA designed for senior leadership professionals. Preferred applicants hold an MBA and 12 years of managerial experience, seven at the senior level. DBA candidates join a cohort of peers they work with during the first two years of program coursework. Temple delivers courses through six on-campus weekend residencies per year in Philadelphia that include classroom instruction, seminars, and networking. Students remain engaged between residencies through online class sessions. During the third year, DBA candidates work with a mentor to develop and complete a dissertation that draws on research completed on four previous research projects.
https://www.fox.temple.edu/executive-doc ... istration/Georgia State University Robinson College of Business Executive Doctorate in BusinessThe Executive Doctorate in Business Program is a three-year innovative doctoral degree program designed with senior-level decision makers in mind. Executives graduating from this program will be able to apply research methodology and business theory to practical problems, and develop new perspectives on leadership, global change, and decision making. They and their careers will be transformed in this rigorous and intellectually stimulating process, they will grow as a professional through engaged scholarship, and lead through evidence-based management.
https://robinson.gsu.edu/executive-doct ... -business/University of Missouri-St. Louis Doctor of Business Administration
Missouri’s first and only AACSB-accredited DBA program offering research concentrations in all areas of business administration.The UMSL Doctor of Business Administration program gives senior managers the knowledge and applied research tools to solve high-level business problems in their companies or industries. The DBA program helps candidates gain expertise in applied research by improving their methodological and analytical skills, through practical application of academic theory.The UMSL Doctor of Business Administration program is a three-year, cohort-based program that offers a flexible format, with limited monthly visits to campus. Over the course of the program, participants make only three weekend trips to campus per term. UMSL DBA students move through the program in a cohort and meet face-to-face one weekend a month, then engage and collaborate with faculty and students in the online learning platform for discussions. The first two years cover an array of cutting-edge business and management topics and the third year is spent focusing on the candidate’s dissertation research.
https://dba.umsl.edu/Virginia Tech Executive Ph.D. in Business: Concentration in Executive Business ResearchThis concentration in Executive Business Research is designed specifically to serve experienced executives seeking the advanced knowledge and skills needed to conduct high quality research on critical issues facing the business community. Tailored for high-ability working professionals, this three-year part-time program pushes students to dive deeply into disciplinary knowledge and research methodology in business, develop the ability to publish in leading-edge research journals, and cultivate insightful, evidence-based, and enduring explanations for their diverse business experiences.
https://pamplin.vt.edu/academics/phd-pr ... e-phd.htmlAnderson University Falls School of Business DBAThe Anderson University DBA program is specifically designed to make it possible for individuals currently teaching at the college level, or aspiring to teach, to earn a quality doctorate in business. Anderson University offers a four-year, part-time DBA that seeks to produce Christian business scholars. Applicants should hold a master’s degree with a minimum of 30 hours of graduate work in business that candidates transfer in before starting the program’s 60 hours of doctoral work, for a total of 90 hours. Anderson’s program consists of 27 hours of core courses (divided between courses in research, education, and conceptual foundations), 18 hours of major coursework, and 15 hours for a dissertation. Doctoral students complete most of the coursework during the first three years through on-campus residencies in May, August, and January.
https://www.anderson.edu/academics/doct ... istration/Sacred Heart University Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) in FinanceSacred Heart University offers a DBA in finance for applicants holding a master’s degree in business or a related area that students can complete in three years. The school’s cohort-based, 48-hour program consists of two years of business foundations and finance coursework culminating in a comprehensive exam, followed by a third year of dissertation research. Designed for working executives, Sacred Heart’s DBA program encourages professional collaboration through 15 weekend residences in Fairfield, Connecticut, that include classroom instruction, hands-on learning laboratories, interactive seminars, and executive-style meetings. This DBA program is accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB).
https://www.sacredheart.edu/academics/j ... infinance/The University of Wisconsin – Whitewater DBAThe University of Wisconsin – Whitewater offers online and on-campus bachelor’s and master’s degrees in business and an on-campus doctorate. Preferred applicants to the school’s 60-credit DBA program possess an MBA and at least six years of management experience. Doctoral candidates join a cohort that attends classes one weekend a month (13 times per year) for two years of coursework. Students use an online platform in between campus sessions to stay connected to peers and professors, engage in learning activities, and turn in assignments. The third and final year of the program consists of original dissertation research on a finance topic.
https://www.uww.edu/cobe/doctorateSt. Mary’s University of Minnesota DBA Twin Cities campusSt. Mary’s University of Minnesota offers a DBA program at its Twin Cities campus. Applicants must hold a master’s degree and those who meet graduate-level prerequisites in statistics, managerial economics, and finance can complete the 54-credit program in three years. The program consists of 27 credits of coursework in business and research skills, 12 credits of specialization coursework in management and strategy or business economics and finance, and 15 credits of summative activities. These summative activities include passing a comprehensive exam and proposal, completion, and defense of a doctoral thesis. Cohorts of doctoral candidates at St. Mary’s begin each fall.
https://www.smumn.edu/academics/graduat ... ration-dbaSt. Mary’s College of California Doctor of Business AdministrationAn Executive Doctorate in Business Administration degree will expand your existing knowledge both from theoretical and analytical perspectives. The coursework is designed to equip senior executives and managers with advanced knowledge to solve “real world” business problems using theory and evidence-based data.
Executive Doctorate in Business Administration challenges you to become a "scholarly practitioner," to stretch your critical thinking skills and apply theoretical understanding to solve business problems.This rigorous program is a general business program that dives into theory and application in the field.
https://www.stmarys-ca.edu/executive-dbaThe University of South Florida College of Business DBAThe University of South Florida offers a DBA program specially designed for business executives who wish to publish their research. Students meet in a cohort of executives 10 weekends per year while completing coursework for the three-year program. USF supplements on-campus classes with online activities in between sessions. The 72-credit program consists of regular courses (33 hours), publication courses (9 hours), issues courses (10 hours), and a dissertation (20 hours). During the first two years, students typically take four 3-credit classes per semester (two at a time). In the third year, students participate in student-directed issues courses and complete dissertation research.
https://www.usf.edu/business/graduate/dba/University of North Carolina University Charlotte DBAThe UNC Charlotte Doctorate in Business Administration is a launchpad for careers in management, consulting, or a professorship at a business school. With the only DBA in the University of North Carolina University system, UNC Charlotte offers a three-year, cohort-based program designed for experienced executives. Advanced courses focusing on topics including information systems and operations management meet weekends once per month for 10 months each year. Students typically enroll in nine credits each semester. The program requires 54 post-MBA credits, including 21 credits of research methodology courses, 15 credits for seminars in applied research, and 18 hours to complete a dissertation. In this program, students submit a dissertation proposal after completion of the required coursework and proposal defense counts as a qualifying exam.
https://dba.uncc.edu/Florida Tech Doctor of Business AdministrationFlorida Institute of Technology offers a professional DBA degree through its Huntsville, Alabama, and Melbourne, Florida, campuses. Applicants to this cohort program must possess an MBA or related degree with a 3.2 GPA and 10 years of managerial experience. Each three-year cohort of government, defense, and industry professionals meets once a semester to promote collaboration. The 42-credit program consists of advanced business courses in years one and two followed by research methods courses, dissertation research, and special topics seminars in years two and three. FIT requires DBA candidates to pass a comprehensive exam at the end of the second fall term.
https://web2.fit.edu/programs/9062/dba-d ... YUaGNPyui4
Jacksonville University Davis Doctor of Business Administration DBAJacksonville University offers a 63-credit DBA that experienced executives can earn in three years. This cohort program starts each fall and emphasizes leadership, globalization, and business analytics. JU holds weekend DBA classes once a month for the first two years of the program. Classes include weekly exchanges with faculty and peers. Doctoral candidates spend the third year engaged in dissertation research and must pass a comprehensive exam and successfully defend their thesis to graduate. A full-time program option offers doctoral students additional opportunities to do advanced research, teach at the college level, or intern with a corporation.The Davis Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) is a rigorous academic program in which candidates use analytical tools and research methodology to solve current business challenges. The program is ideal for aspiring collegiate professors, business consultants, policy makers, and C-level executives.
https://www.ju.edu/dcob/doctorate/
Florida International University DBAThe Doctorate in Business Administration (DBA) program is designed for working senior-level professionals who aspire a postgraduate degree in business without sacrificing their careers. The DBA will equip you with practical oriented research to fulfill leadership or other strategic responsibilities. In addition to sharpening your critical and analytical skills, the DBA will equip you with the tools to advance your career in leadership and management at the executive levels of business.
The FIU DBA program is a rigorous educational opportunity provided by leading academic researchers within the field of business administration, offered at FIU Downtown on Brickell, an epicenter of international business.
https://business.fiu.edu/graduate/docto ... /index.cfmShippensburg University John L. Grove College of Business DBAShippensburg University will offer a new three-year, 54-hour DBA program designed to accommodate working professionals starting in August 2019. The program provides weekend classes at the school’s Shippensburg, Pennsylvania, campus, a two-hour drive from the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. During the first two years, DBA candidates take classroom-based research and business theory courses. They also participate in a series of special interest seminars during the second year that allow for interaction among business scholars with shared interests. In the third year, doctoral candidates develop and complete an original research-based dissertation under the mentorship of a faculty member.This innovative doctoral program is the only AACSB-accredited DBA at a public university in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, or the District of Columbia.
https://www.ship.edu/graduate/doctorate_ ... istration/Rollins Graduate School of Business EDBAThe Executive Doctorate in Business Administration (EDBA) is a professional doctoral program for executives who have a master’s degree in business or related advanced degree. Each student works closely with a faculty advisor for the duration of the 3-year program, and the experience culminates with a year-long dissertation that addresses issues and challenges that apply directly to the executive’s business interest. The Crummer Graduate School of Business at Rollins College is the first AACSB-accredited school in Florida to offer an Executive Doctorate in Business Administration (EDBA).
https://www.rollins.edu/business/doctor ... index.htmlSt. Thomas University Executive Doctor of Business Administration in Information SecurityThe Executive Doctorate of Business Administration in Information Security (EDBA-IS) is designed to develop scientist-practitioners who will be skilled in practice-focused research in information security. The research approach for EDBA-IS is the "engaged scholarship" model that focuses on topics at the intersection of theory and contemporary cyber security issues. The focus is on addressing complex security problems in organizations through understanding and application of latest research in information security. The three-year, part-time program is for the working executive with seven to 10 years of managerial or consultative experience in cyber security, IT, compliance, audit or related field. The EDBA-IS graduate students will benefit from knowledge improvement in information security, and potential opportunities for career differentiation and advancement.
https://www.stu.edu/business/programs/e ... ation.htmlThomas Jefferson University Doctor of Management in Strategic LeadershipThe Jefferson Doctor of Management in Strategic Leadership program creates a community of mid- and senior-career professionals in which each participant can learn and develop as an organizational leader, consultant, entrepreneur, scientist, researcher and educator.Designed by doctoral students, faculty, corporate, government, and not-for-profit stakeholders, this distinctive program uses conceptual, experiential and reflective learning to meet the complex educational needs created by the ever-evolving workplace, the rapid expansion of knowledge underlying practice, the increases in technological advances, and the cultural diversity of the global workplace.
https://eastfalls.jefferson.edu/strategicleadership/St. Ambrose University Doctor of Business AdministrationThe DBA program with Evening Courses for the Working Professionals, accredited by the ACBSP, will help you develop analytical skills, writing skills, and familiarity with a broad array of literature in the management field. Some graduates use these skills and insights to advance their careers in diverse fields such as banking, insurance, manufacturing, energy, and IT consulting. DBA program does include a high degree of academic rigor, with more applied focus than would be found in some PhD programs.
https://www.sau.edu/doctor-of-business-administrationOklahoma State University Spears School of Business Ph.D. in Business for ExecutivesPh.D. in Business for Executives program at Oklahoma State University is an AACSB-accredited Ph.D. degree. The program allows executives to earn a PhD. in business while continuing their full-time careers. The 60-credit hour program can be completed in three years.The program is offered in an executive format requiring three days a month for classes, 10 months a year in residencies, plus one to two days travel time to Stillwater, Oklahoma. Classes are also supplemented by online interaction.
https://business.okstate.edu/phdexec/DBA vs PhD Differences: Doctorate of Business Administration target groups: young graduates vs. senior professionalsPhD in Management and DBA programs address different target groups. Although there may be exceptions, the general rule is: People study a PhD program when they aim at a career in social sciences and eventually want to become a fulltime professor at a business school. Their goal is to become an academic and do research. These people often come directly from the university and start the PhD after graduating. Accordingly, they often are still in their 20s and do not have much work experience.
In contrast, people do a DBA when they are already successful in business for many years and look for a new intellectual challenge. These people often have an MBA already and want to further distinguish themselves from others by doing a doctoral degree. At the same time, they are interested in management research and may have a practical research question in mind - a specific problem from their work environment for instance - that they can approach in their dissertation and that provides benefits to their companies at the same time.
Hence, these people usually are older than PhD students, some of them in their 30s, some in their 40s, some even older. They have many years of work experience, good positions, a decent salary, and tons of ambition and motivation.
Motivation: career perspective vs. personal challengeA difference between PhD in Management and DBA program is often the motivation behind the studies. For PhD students the PhD is the path to a career as an academic. Their degree qualifies them as scholars and the overall goal is to start a career as a fulltime professor at a business school.
DBAs in contrast are driven primarily by the search for a personal challenge. They already have achieved a lot in their business career and some of them have an MBA. The DBA provides them with a new challenge that goes beyond the practical knowledge that they learnt in business or in the MBA. It challenges them as potential researchers.
Access to data: having or not havingCentral for any research is the data. Data is what analyze to find support for or against your hypotheses - whether qualitative data or quantitative data. Every scholar needs to work with data over time (unless he or she only wants to publish theoretical papers) and having access to or having built up a unique database can be an important advantage when it comes to publishing in top journals.
One of the greatest advantages of many DBA students is their access to data in their own businesses. This data often is unique and sometimes can only be used for their dissertation under serious confidentiality clauses. PhD students, in contrast, often need to build up their database from the scratch, for instance by an online survey or by collecting, coding, and processing publicly available data.
PhD and DBA qualification and career Goals: fulltime vs. part-time academicPhD in Management students aim at a career in academia. They apply for positions as fulltime professors after graduating or go for a Postdoc for some years. Their key activity is doing research, publishing in academic journals or books, and teaching. And this is what PhD in Management students become qualified for – at least at top schools.
In contrast, DBA graduates usually stay working professionals in their companies and want to stay in the business world even after their graduation. However, their doctoral degree qualifies them for doing research as well. They may teach as guest professors, invited or adjunct faculty occasionally and publish in practitioner or academic journals. Also, the doctor title may open some doors for them in their company's hierarchy.
Knowledge creation: Differences among doctoral programs in managementAnother difference may be that PhD students primarily aim at developing new theory, particularly if they want to publish in top management journals. The starting point of their research often are existing theories and their knowledge gaps – those phenomena that our existing theory does not explain so far.
The core idea here is: PhD in Management students work on research questions that are considered as important gaps by the academic community.
DBA students, on the other hand, are less required to extend existing theory. Instead, their great contribution is rather the combination of research with concrete business problems. Their starting point, for example, may be a business problem from their companies and the DBA dissertation may generate a theoretical model that explains that specific problem and at the same time abstracts from it so that the model can be applied in other contexts as well. Hence, the DBA dissertation uses often a case-study approach rather than an empirical research approach.
The core idea here is: In the center of a DBA dissertation is a practical problem from the business world that is considered as relevant from both sides, business managers and scholars.
Teaching mode: fulltime vs. part-timeAlthough some business schools offer PhD programs also on a part-time base and although some DBA programs can be studied fulltime, the general rule is: PhD programs are fulltime programs and DBA programs can be studied part-time.
Since DBA students do not want to give up their work during the program, doctorate of business administration (DBA) programs are often organized as so-called blended programs and mix distance or online learning with residential periods. By this, the students can communicate online with professors and their peer group and only have to come together for some weeks per year. In general, DBA programs offer their students a lot of flexibility and once the coursework is over it is up to the advisor how often the DBA student needs to show up physically.
Financing your Doctorate in Business AdministrationPhD in Management students, particularly at top schools, often get financial support during the studies, either by a scholarship or through a position as research assistant. DBA students on the other hand often pay for their education even though some schools may provide scholarships for them as well.
This makes a lot of sense given that PhD students do not work in business and hence depend on a solid financing plan. DBA students, in contrast, keep on earning money and may have some savings by which they can pay the tuition fees. They may also be able to tax-deduct their DBA expenses and most likely increase their salary once they have achieved their doctoral degree by gaining better positions. Some companies even fund DBA students, especially when they use data from their employers and when their research is relevant for their companies.
PhDs on the other hand are sponsored by their universities because the university has an interest in them. More precisely it has an interest in their future publication. If the PhD student finally becomes a fulltime professor at a renowned business school and publishes in top journals, the university's reputation increases. Hence, the investment pays off for the university in that case.
Sources:
https://www.executivedba.org/members/https://www.collegechoice.net/rankings/ ... n-degrees/https://www.dba-compass.com/knowledge/d ... istration/https://www.phdstudies.com/DBA/