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:

1. Researching contemporary issues in business and management
2. Collecting data
3. Analysing data
4. 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).