Is there a Doctor in the Boardroom?
Up until a few years ago the highest qualification available in Business Administration was the Master of Business Administration (MBA), a highly-valued qualification offered by many major universities. On completion, some students would progress to a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), but this was seen as a research qualification, rather than something of direct use to practicing managers.
This situation has changed in recent years because of the introduction of a new type of qualification, the Professional or Vocational Doctorate. Professional doctorates are generally awarded in areas where most candidates for the degree are involved in the practice of a profession, rather than carrying out academic research. Professional Doctorates are available in a number of areas, including Engineering (EngD), Education (EdD), Social Sciences (DSocSci) and Clinical Psychology (DClinPsych), as well as the one we’re concerned with here, the Doctor of Business Administration (DBA).
Professional doctorates can be recognised by the fact that the name of the degree specifies the subject area in which it is awarded, rather than the more generic Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), which can be awarded in any subject area. PhD programmes are normally research based, with no taught content, but DBA programs often include a year of advanced-level study prior to the research phase. The taught component often focuses on current hot topics, such as entrepreneurship.
The DBA also incorporates a research element, but this is usually applied research, rather than the scholarly research found in PhD programmes. Professional doctorates generally require the candidate to produce piece of original research of a similar length to a PhD thesis, usually around 70,000 words. However, this may take the form of a portfolio of technical reports on different research projects, rather than a single, long thesis.
Many candidates undertake a DBA on a part-time basis, fitting it around their work commitments. In this case, the research element may be something of direct relevance to their employer and the course may even be sponsored by an employer. A thesis may be jointly supervised by faculty members and company employees.
At present relatively few institutions offer DBA programmes, but the numbers are increasing rapidly and include such well known names as Harvard University and Heriot-Watt University. It remains to be seen whether DBA programmes will come to rival the MBA in popularity, but don’t be surprised when you start hearing prominent businessmen being referred to as “Doctor”.