DBA

Objectives
The VU Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) program is best described as a research-based management program aimed at enhancing managerial capacity to make a significant, original contribution to business practices. The program is highly flexible: DBA participants can tailor their studies around their career needs and lifestyle. The DBA program provides a practical yet academically rigorous learning experience for a diverse population of traditional and non-traditional participants. The objectives of the program are three-fold:

• to prepare participants for a career in management or consulting at the senior executive level;
• to provide participants with the knowledge and skills necessary in order to conduct meaningful and original empirical research;
• to develop within each participant the fundamental expertise and skills required in order to become a college or school faculty member in an area of Business Administration.

The doctoral program is designed for both part-time and full-time DBA participants. Those who apply themselves should be able to complete the required coursework within three years. DBA participants must complete the program within five years after beginning their doctoral coursework. However, in extenuating circumstances, DBA participants may apply for an extension of up to one year to complete the program. After six years in the program, DBA participants must reapply if they have not completed all the requirements for graduation.

DBA & PhD
A DBA degree differs from a Philosophical Doctor (PhD) through its focus on practice, policy, or strategy, within the context of the individual's workplace. Both doctorates involve the development of substantial original work. However, a professional doctorate such as the DBA requires a different type of research development from that of the PhD. For a PhD, research often needs to make a significant contribution to theoretical literature, whereas the research involved in the DBA is generally applicable to more specific business issues and is carried out in the context of professional practice.

DBA Program Structure
Each DBA Program course is divided into two groups. With rare exceptions, DBA participants are required to follow the course sequence as shown below.

• The "Framework" provides DBA participants with a solid doctoral foundation.
• The "Domain" allows a DBA participant the opportunity to develop further a specific area of interest.
• The DBA finishes with a dissertation.

Participants for the DBA degree must complete a minimum of 52 credits, with a minimum GPA of 3.0. It is required that all participants attend the earliest scheduled seminar in the advanced study of business administration.

Every DBA candidate must prepare and present a dissertation. The requirement for a DBA dissertation is 40,000 words. DBA dissertations may be undertaken within any of the functional areas of an organization, e.g. information systems, marketing, accounting, and organization behavior but is not restricted to those areas e.g. there are emerging areas for research, which offer exciting possibilities, including small business management and family businesses. 

Framework (six subjects from the following list)

DEAM 601

Advanced Manag. Economics  

DESE 602

Strat. and Entrepreneurship      

DEMC 603

Money, Credit, Capital Markets

DEMS 604

Managing Self                         

DEMG 605

Management of Government     

DEAO 606

Advanced Operations Mgmt.    

DESI 607

Strategic Issues in Marketing    

DEGM 608

Global Management             

DEIE 609

Applied IT and E-business 

DEPC 610

Professional Consulting               

DEBI 611

Issues in Business and Politics  

DECC 612

Cross Cultural Management      

DEST 613

Strategies of Technology   

DEQM 614

Quant. Meth. Decision Making  

DEOT 615

Others                                 

Domain

DBRE 701

Research Foundations and Research Methodology                       

DBDW 702

Doctoral Workshop:

Research Focus                        

Dissertation

DBDI 703

Dissertation                           

[Course Descriptions]

[Electives]