Find out more about our Doctor of Business Administration course.

P-N1A0

DBA

Minimum 4 years, up to 7 years (average 4-5 years) part-time

October 2023

Warwick Business School

University of Warwick/The Shard, London

Do you have a desire to change the way your business functions, and impact the world of business with new ideas and big picture thinking? Make your mark on the world of business research and practice with a Doctorate in Business Administration.

The Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) is designed to provide business leaders, executives and professionals an opportunity to pursue the next step beyond their MBA or equivalent qualification.

It is equivalent in stature to a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree, but distinct in that you will pursue applied research rather than theoretical knowledge. The goal of the DBA is to design organisational interventions which help address real-world challenges in your business, and then to rigorously evaluate, assess and test the effectiveness of those interventions, and to communicate the findings so that both the world of practice and the world of research can benefit from your work. In this way, DBA candidates generate new knowledge – the ultimate criterion for the award of a Doctoral degree.

Benefits

Our DBA is designed to produce scholar-practitioners who can enhance their organisation’s performance through evidence-based practice. The programme addresses three core areas:

• Developing a clear understanding of the nature of the problem(s) or challenges to be addressed
• Understanding the relevant bodies of knowledge across management, innovation and strategy that may inform an intervention
• Designing a research and data strategy to evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention.

In pursuing these goals, the DBA brings together our inspirational faculty, a unique degree programme designed to impart critical skills at the highest level, and organisational leaders and entrepreneurs with the desire and ability to make change in their organisations. Does that sound like you?

Teaching and learning

The DBA is made up of eight 3-day workshops at The Shard, with two 3-day workshops and two 1.5 day workshops at our University of Warwick campus, teaching you design and research methods, academic theory, and reviewing relevant literature on key business research themes. You will be required to attend review panels in order to progress in your studies.

The DBA will culminate in a portfolio of work, showing how you have analysed, researched and designed a solution and implementation plan for your business challenge.

Research for the Doctor of Business Administration is based on specific challenges facing individuals within their organisations, for which they will design and create an intervention, with the guidance of an experienced supervisor from the WBS faculty.

Find your supervisor using the link below and discuss with them the area you'd like to research.

You will be assigned a supervisor with the relevant expertise to support you in shaping your research. Typically, they will be a research active academic who will provide expert advice and guidance on content and research methods.

In addition you will have access to a board of practitioners, individually known as WBS Professors of Practice (experienced executives who are also scholar practitioners) who can provide support and guidance on process and development of the portfolio.

Browse our specialisms.

2:i undergraduate degree (or equivalent) plus a good MBA or other Master’s degree. A minimum of 7 years’ senior management experience.

Please note these are minimum entry requirements and, as there are a limited number of places available on the programme, we will select the candidates with the best academic and professional credentials and whose research interests are aligned with the available expertise in WBS.

• Band B
• IELTS overall score of 7.0 with maximum of two components at 6.0+

Find out more about how to apply for the Doctor of Business Administration (DBA).

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