Select your course options:
Where Are You Applying From?
How Would You Like To Study?
When Do You Want To Start Your Studies?
Which Campus Would You Like To Study At?
Which Options Would You Like With Your Course?
About the course
The Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) programme is aimed at senior managers with significant industry or organisational experience who wish to develop a particular area of practice through undertaking a sophisticated and in-depth study to achieve the highest level of attainment in their field. The DBA is a professional doctorate; professional doctorates recognise professional practice knowledge as having academic standing and equivalence.
This is an applied alternative to a PhD and the highest degree one can undertake in the UK. It differs from a PhD in two respects; the focus on practice-based research and the integration of taught components. It differs from an MBA in both the specialist focus on one area of practice and the intensive level of research undertaken. The DBA focuses practice and research and as such, the taught elements of this programme are based on the development of those research skills that are particularly relevant to researching practice.
The programme is designed to accommodate the fact that many of the students, though experts in their field, will have been away from academic study for some time. It aims to support students to successfully complete the degree by equipping them with the philosophical, theoretical, ethical, practical and methodological expertise necessary to undertake independent research at a high level commensurate with that required to achieve a doctorate. Supervision and teaching are delivered by leading experts in their field, providing a dynamic and stimulating environment that enables participants to make an original contribution to professional knowledge, policy and practice.
The primary focus will be on developing a piece of practice-based research of strategic importance, generally carried out within your own organisation. The research will be comparable to that of a PhD but students should produce a contribution to knowledge rooted in practice.
You will commence your studies with the four accredited units which lead to the interim award of Postgraduate Certificate in Research Methods. These units are designed specifically for practitioner managers, and on the development of senior practitioner researcher skills. Therefore, in addition to training in doctoral level research methods there will be a strong emphasis on managing change, collaborative learning, reflexivity and the specific ethical implications of researching your own workplace. The units are:
- Researching contemporary issues in business and management
- Collecting data
- Analysing data
- The practitioner researcher: Carrying out research in your own
These directed studies activities are an integral component of the programme, and therefore all students must successfully complete each unit before progressing on to the DBA assessment. The four units are scheduled to run over the first 15 months of your registration, beginning with the three semesters of your first year and finishing with the first semester of the second year. The first and fourth units will be delivered on campus, in Luton, in the first semester (October-January) of years one and two. Students will need to make arrangements to be in the UK (if from overseas) and to be available for the whole week. Teaching for units one and four will take place over one, intensive week in October of year one and two, with additional tutorials offered to support students with preparing their assessment.
Teaching for units two and three will be delivered on-line, in semesters two and three, via a weekly, 2-hour session. These sessions will be recorded, but virtual attendance is important, as students will be encouraged to learn from each other’s experiences and also to participate in interactive activities. Each unit involves 22 hours delivered in class or on-line, an additional 28 hours of guided, independent, and autonomous study (some of which may be integrated with carrying out your work role).
What will you study?
Analysing Data
This unit aims to:
1. Develop your understanding of the different approaches to analysing research data.
2. Explore the nature of evidence
3. Provide the basis for the development of advanced skills in analysing qualitative and/or quantitative research and their application the research projects and more widely within a business or organisational context.
Collecting Data
This unit aims to:
1. Develop your understanding of the range of research philosophies and methods
2. Provide opportunities for you to explore and apply data collection methods
3. Support the development of a research methodology that is appropriate to your study
4. Establish the ethical implications of various research methods and how to manage them appropriately
Researching Contemporary Issues In Business And Management
This unit aims to
1. Equip you will the skills and knowledge needed to develop your research focus and clarify project aims, objectives and contribution to knowledge and practice.
2. Introduce you to a range of contemporary developments in business and enable you to engage with them using advanced principles, concepts and theoretical frameworks
3. Provide you with opportunities to identify a research topic that is strategically relevant to your organisation
4. Identify and critically evaluate important academic debates within your chosen area.
5. Provide opportunities to network, share your experiences, reflect on practice, and refine your research topic
The Practitioner Researcher : Carrying Out Research In Your Own Organisation
This unit aims to:
1. support your professional development as a practitioner researcher.
2. Provide you with opportunities to share experiences with other students in managing the researcher/practitioner interface and lead discussions on the relevance of research to practice and for tackling significant issues and dilemmas.
3. Enable you to reflect and develop your professional development plan, concentrating particularly on how to evaluate the impact of yours and others’ research within a practice setting.
4. Support preparations for your submission to meet the first and second learning outcomes of the CMI level 8 award: ‘Identify and develop the personal skills to achieve strategic leadership ambitions' and ' to manage personal leadership development to support achievement of strategic leadership ambitions'.
How will you be assessed?
| Programme structure | Taught units | Assessment | Accreditation | Award |
| Semester one | Researching contemporary issues in business and management | 3,000-word report on a topic and its significance, drawing on critical engagement with academic and practitioner literature (both essential) | 15 credits | |
| Semester two | Collecting data | 3,000-word report taking the above topic and discussing at least 2-3 different ways it could be researched | 15 credits | |
| Semester three | Analysing data | 3,000-word report comparing and evaluating different analytical strategies | 15 credits | |
| Year two Semester one | The practitioner researcher: carrying out research in your own organisation | A 3,000 report identifying ethical, practical and professional challenges | 15 credits | On passing all units, the award of PG Cert in Research Methods |
| Year two Months:15-17 (TBC)
| 1) Submission of Progression Point 1: 10,000-word report | 1) Passing the PP1 |
| |
| 2) 1,500 additional report demonstrating the strategic importance and leadership implications of the topic chosen for research; the implications of carrying out practitioner-based research; a plan to meet the training and development needs that follow on from that. | 2) Demonstrates achievement of CMI LOs 1 and 2 | |||
| Year two/three Months: 18-36 (TBC)
|
| 1) Submission of Progression Point 2: a 25,000- word report | 1) Passing PP2 |
|
| 2) 1,500-word additional report reviewing progress on training and development plan | 2) Demonstrates achievement of CMI LO3 | |||
| Years four-five
| 1) Final submission of thesis | 1) Meets Doctoral standards level 8 | DBA CMI Level 8: Personal Development as a Strategic Leader (80001: 10 CMI credit unit) | |
| 2) 1,500-word additional reflective report. Evaluating the impact of the professional development plan | 2) Demonstrates achievement of CMI LO4 |
Careers
We have designed our DBA so that students who complete the programme will have the opportunity to earn three awards. Firstly, the taught component is delivered through four units leading to an interim award of a Postgraduate Certificate in Research Methods. Secondly, students who satisfactorily complete the PG Cert will progress to carrying out their own doctoral level research, which, if satisfactorily assessed, will earn them the Doctor of Business Administration. Thirdly, the DBA has been accredited by the Chartered Management Institute and this means students will be able to prepare and submit a portfolio to CMI to apply for a Level 8 Award in Personal Development as a Strategic Leader.
Entry Requirements
A good honours degree (2:1 or above), or a Master's degree or equivalent in the relevant subject area. International applicants (for whom English is not their first language) are required to have IELTS with an overall score of 6.5 or with no less than 5.5 in any area, or an alternative UKVI recognised English language qualification.
