Business Administration (DBA), Doctorate

Our Doctor of Business Administration (DBA), with equivalent academic standing as a PhD, has a strong and committed focus on managerial and professional practice and seeks to link the rigorous study of work-based problems and issues to personal and professional development.

Our DBA demands commitment, energy and hard work. In return you will be provided with a stimulating and life-enhancing development experience with the award of an increasingly valued qualification.

This course will provide you with:

• a differentiated approach to continuous personal and professional development
• the opportunity to really engage with managerial and professional practices
• a stimulating learning environment, challenging traditional management understanding
• a supportive research community.

The DBA encourages you to challenge currently assumed knowledge and understanding of management. We support individuals' commitment to finding new, innovative and personal responses to organisational and managerial challenges.

We provide a supportive learning environment which includes face to face seminars as well as access to electronic portal technologies, encouraging networking between peers, academics, and guest speakers.

Watch our video to find out more about the DBA

Studying in Dubai

In addition to the UK based programme, Nottingham Business School also delivers the DBA in collaboration with an educational services partner in Dubai. Studying under this route will allow you to undertake the bulk of your DBA programme including scheduled workshops locally in both the UK and the United Arab Emirates.

For further information on start dates, course fees and the application form for the Dubai programme please contact Stafford Associates.

Joint supervision with the University of Chinese Academy of Science

In addition to the UK and Dubai based programmes, Nottingham Business School also works with the University of Chinese Academy of Science (UCAS) on joint supervision of the DBA. Studying under this arrangement will allow you access to experts with local contextual knowledge and subject knowledge. You are also able to attend other DBA research support activities in China.
Find out more.

For further information on start dates, course fees, the application form for the China programme and relevant activities please contact CAS Trent via email.

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Course content

The taught element of the DBA focuses on supporting research design and application through examining current methodological questions and debates. This element is provided by the School's leading Professors and Researchers. By way of support for your research, you will be assigned two supervisors who provide specialist subject knowledge and expertise in designing and conducting management research.

Study and support

The course delivery has been designed to meet the needs of participants in demanding jobs. A series of five modules delivered in short study blocks, three of which last for two days and two for four days, represent the taught element over the first two years of the course. Both four-day modules are delivered as a pair of two-day study blocks.

Modules

• Introduction to the DBA and Project Proposal
• Critical Literature Review and Conceptual Development
• Research Methodology and Non-Survey Based Research
• Survey-Based and Statistical Research
• Thesis and Critical Reflection

The final documents will be assessed through a viva voce examination.

Contact with your two supervisors is negotiated for mutual convenience to ensure that you are fully supported in your studies.

Assessment
You will submit six pieces of work (documents) for assessment during the three or four years of the course. The six documents all focus on a common Management theme or issue. The documents are as follows:

• definition and mapping of research issues and a research plan
• critical literature review and conceptual frameworks
• report on a piece of survey based research
• report on a piece of field research (ethnographic/interpretative)
• a thesis
• a reflective journal.

Which building will the course be taught in?

DBA participants on the UK programme are taught in Nottingham Conference Centre at Nottingham Trent University’s prestigious Newton Building in the city centre. With easy access, the versatile boardroom-style spaces for DBA workshops has comfortable executive-level seating and new presentation technologies. Wireless access is freely available throughout the conference centre. There are beverage hubs where cups of bean-cup coffee or breakfast tea are provided throughout the day, together with supplies of fresh fruit. Lunch is provided, together with pastries and cakes at breaks.

How many places are available?

Our programmes usually recruit around 15 to 20 members each cohort and places are usually available.

Testimonial

"I have thoroughly enjoyed thinking about methodologies and the different angles to re-investigate current issues. This helps to pull me out of the current fire-fighting approach that we tried every day, re-look at the issues that we are facing, and approach them more holistically, with a broader view and deeper thought."
Anna L. Q. Zheng
China DBA programme

DBA tailored to corporate organisations

Our DBA is a prime example of how we enable individuals to achieve respected qualifications while undertaking research that's focused on, and beneficial to, their organisations and sectors. The course has been established since 1998 but in 2007 we launched the first cohort purely recruited from China. Students are taught in Nottingham whilst carrying out research in their organisations in China, which include major brands like Nike, Intel and Motorola.

For more information contact +44 (0)115 848 8139 or email us.

At Nottingham Trent University, we provide first-class learning facilities for our students. The transformed Newton building is the home of Nottingham Business School and marks the next phase in the School’s development. In Newton, students have an abundance of teaching space, a range of lecture theatres of different sizes, and masses of space for social learning. With wireless connection throughout, students will be able to work on their laptops in any part of the building.