Course summary

• Consider management and professional problems from many perspectives.
• Undertake an advanced research project in a topic of your choice.
• Become a recognised contributor to management thinking and advanced professional practice.
• Collaborate with an international DBA community.

The DBA enables managers and senior professionals to fulfil their potential by pursuing their academic, personal and career development goals. You’ll gain international perspectives and experience – studying and sharing ideas alongside other DBA researchers from our partners, Munich Business School and the Zagreb School of Economics and Management.

Sheffield Business School accreditation

Sheffield Business School is accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), placing us in the top 6% of business schools globally.

All our courses are designed around a set of key principles based on engaging you with the world, collaborating with others, challenging you to think in new ways, and providing you with a supportive environment in which you can thrive.

You'll benefit from different teaching approaches during the course, with the help of an individual supervisor appointed upon enrolment who will support you throughout your studies.

You learn through

lectures
seminars
supervision meetings
a comprehensive induction programme
one-to-one support from experienced personal tutors and administrators
study workshops
conferences and training events with other doctoral researchers
informal collaboration within the network of DBA researchers
independent study, based on online access to our e-learning environment

Providing the foundation of the DBA are three introductory modules. These develop your personal research skills and deepen your understanding of your chosen business or management research topic. These modules are taught and assessed in the first phase of your studies.

You’ll then explore the topic you’ve chosen in an advanced and rigorous research project. To achieve your DBA award, you’ll need to make an independent and original contribution to knowledge and practice.

Applied learning

The emphasis on your contribution to management practice at doctoral level means you’ll have a distinctive role in Sheffield Hallam University’s vision – to be ‘the world's leading applied university, achieving outstanding outcomes for our students and society, showing the world what a university genuinely focused on transforming lives can achieve’.

You’ll apply your learning by networking with other DBA researchers who are senior managers from diverse backgrounds – as well as academic staff, who are often involved in applied research themselves. You’ll be sharing ideas and experiences within a stimulating and supportive environment.

After the confirmation of doctorate stage at the end of the second year of study, you’ll be supported by a supervisory team of two or three staff who are experienced in research and doctoral degree procedures – giving you the opportunity to undertake your primary research and draft your thesis.