Doctor of Business Administration (Research)

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.

Course overview
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
Your research training will include a series of in-person workshops delivered by leading WBS faculty at The Shard and at our University of Warwick campus. Workshops integrate content, theory, design and research methods, through a review of relevant literature. Workshops will be supplemented by readings, and online tools and resources such as short video lectures.

Year 1: four 3-day workshops and supervision, including a programme induction

Year 2: three 3-day workshops and supervision

Year 3: one 3-day workshop and supervision

Year 4: one 3-day workshop and supervision

In addition to workshops, there will be a 2-day DBA Conference each year. This conference usually takes place in January/February each year, immediately following a planned workshop, so 3 days of teaching, plus a 2-day conference). This event will allow you the opportunity to network across DBA cohorts and will provide executive-level perspectives on how to address complex business problems by becoming a scholar-practitioner.

This information is applicable for 2025 entry. Given the interval between the publication of courses and enrolment, some of the information may change. It is important to check our website before you apply.