Course Details

The DBA is designed for working professionals who are business leaders. If you’re looking to strengthen your skills for leading groups in high-performing organisations, and connect relevant research with practice, this part-taught doctoral programme can support your career and professional development.

The DBA differs from the traditional PhD in that it is in two parts. Stage one, the taught element, offers you the opportunity to complete ‘blocks’ of blended learning – combining online rich media-based interaction and collaborative work, seminars, online taught elements and tutorials with interactive collaborative coursework. You’ll be guided to explore topics such as business practices, the impact of emerging policy and leadership and transformation and mastering the ‘self’.

Stage two involves a programme of directed and independent study leading to the development and submission of your research proposal, followed by the production and defence of your own critical commentary. Our welcoming team of experienced, professionally and academically qualified staff will help you to understand how you can align your research topic of interest to other current research in applicable fields, and apply it to your own professional practice and context.

Highlights

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• The DBA is a high-level, nationally-recognised qualification that has strong higher education kudos and compares to a PhD.
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• Professionals with a DBA possess greater knowledge and a higher understanding of today's diverse business leadership landscape gained through a research-driven programme.
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• We'll work with you to help mould your DBA so that it complements your employment and interests within the research framework.
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• You'll be strongly encouraged to bring your own business-related issues to the table as the basis of your research. The research (thesis) phase requires you to design, implement and disseminate an original research study.
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• This partly taught doctorate offers a more efficient format than the independent research project involved in a traditional PhD. The first four modules will be delivered on Saturdays to avoid interfering with employment and other obligations.

Key Features

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• Our DBA emphasises development, oral and written communication, and understanding contemporary educational assessment and research.
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• You'll examine a specific area of interest in detail via a thesis and be encouraged to develop your research, analytical, conceptual and critical thinking skills to a very high level.
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• Using collaborative learning methods, you’ll be encouraged to work with other course members and your tutors as co-developers of knowledge, drawing from work-based experience to share best practice. You’ll also have the opportunity to develop a strong working relationship with your fellow students and tutors before you embark on your research phase.
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• The course is designed to fit around your current employment commitments and responsibilities. We offer flexible, blended learning that is accommodating for working professionals.
• For your thesis, you'll work with a named supervisor, your Director of Studies, who will guide and advise you through the course up to the submission of your thesis and the oral examination.