The request to establish a Professional Doctor of Business Administration (D.B.A.)

Date: December 2, 2014
To: Belk College of Business
From: Office of Academic Affairs
Approved On: October 24, 2014
Approved by: Graduate Council
Implementation Date: Fall 2015

Note: Deletions are strikethroughs. Insertions are underlined.

Summary

September 29, 2015, the University of North Carolina Board of Governors approved a request to establish a new Doctor of Business Administration (D.B.A.) at UNC Charlotte. The program will enroll its first class in Fall 2017.

Catalog Copy

Doctor of Business Administration

The Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) is a professional degree taught in an executive format designed to prepare graduates for leadership positions in organizations and teaching careers in academia. The program focuses on research methodology with practice-focus content and projects that address issues confronting contemporary business leaders. All students will gain an advanced level of knowledge in the following major fields: management, marketing, operations management and information systems. In addition, students are expected to demonstrate mastery of the existing body of knowledge in their major field and to develop new knowledge through original independent research. With the educational background provided by the program, graduates are qualified to lead organizations as senior executives and change agents, acquire faculty positions in academic institutions, and launch successful careers in management consulting.

Additional Admission Requirements

All applicants seeking admission to the DBA program must fulfill the University’s general requirements for graduate admission at the Ph.D. level. Additional requirements for admission into the program are listed below:

  1. An earned MBA or master’s degree in a related field from a regionally accredited college or university with a minimum GPA of at least 3.0 on a 4.0 scale.
  2. Five or more years of professional working experience.
  3. For non-native speakers of English, a minimum score of 220 on the computer-based TOEFL, a score of 557 on the paper-based TOEFL, a score of 83on the internet-based TOEFL, or a band score of 6.5 on the IELTS.
  4. Three positive letters of recommendation.
  5. Two essays: one addressing the candidate’s goals and motivations for pursuing the DBA and the second outlining the candidate’s general areas of research interest.
  6. Other credentials as required by the Graduate school or the executive DBA program committee.

Students are admitted to the program by the Dean of the Graduate School based on the recommendation of the Belk College of Business DBA Program Director, in consultation with the Belk College of Business DBA Program Committee. Recommendations are based on the assessments of the Program Director and Program Committee of the candidate’s ability to complete the program, as supported by the application materials. If there are more candidates than can be accommodated, candidates are recommended in order of their perceived ability, promise of success, and suitability to the program.

Degree Requirements

The degree of Doctor of Business Administration is awarded for completion of scholarly research that advances knowledge in the fields of business theory or practice. Evidence of this is demonstrated by a successful dissertation defense. Additionally, recipients of this degree must demonstrate mastery of the body of knowledge within the field and potential for success in future leadership positions and academia.

The DBA is a three-year (six-semester), lockstep program consisting of 18, three credit hour courses. The program requires 54 post-master’s credit hours. The curriculum has three major components:

Research Methodology (21credits)

  • BDBA 8100 Introduction to Experimental Design and Measurement (3)
  • BDBA 8130 Introduction to Business Theory (3)
  • BDBA 8140 Advanced Business Theory (3)
  • BDBA 8150 Business Statistics and Data Analysis (3)
  • BDBA 8200 Research Methods I (3)
  • BDBA 8230 Research Methods II (3)
  • BDBA 8350 Dissertation Proposal Development (3)

Seminars in Applied Research (15 credits)

  • BDBA 8110 Organizational Theory and Systems (3)
  • BDBA 8120 Professional Issues I (3)
  • BDBA 8210 Current Topics Research Seminar (3)
  • BDBA 8220 Professional Issues II (3)
  • BDBA 8240 Focused Research Seminar (3)

Dissertation (18 credits)

  • BDBA 8999 Doctoral Dissertation Research (18)

Grades

A student is expected to earn an A or B in all courses included in the program and must maintain a minimum cumulative 3.0 GPA (on a 4.0 scale) to graduate. The dissertation is graded on a Pass/Unsatisfactory basis and, therefore, will not be included in the cumulative average. An accumulation of three marginal C grades in any graduate coursework will result in suspension of the student’s enrollment. If a student earns a grade of U in any course, their enrollment will be suspended and the student cannot take further coursework without being readmitted to the program. Readmission to the program requires approval of the Dean of the Graduate School upon the recommendation of the Program Director.

Dissertation Advisor and Advisory Committee

Every student in the program must have a Dissertation Advisor and an Advisory Committee prior to being admitted to Candidacy. The student should select a dissertation advisor before the end of the second year of the program. The student and the dissertation advisor jointly determine the advisory committee. The Dissertation Advisor serves as Chair of the Advisory Committee and must be a member of the Graduate Faculty of Belk College of Business UNC Charlotte. The Advisory Committee must have at least four members, three of which are chosen by the student. Normally, the Dissertation Chair will be graduate faculty of the Belk College from the Departments of Business Information Systems and Operations Management, Management, or Marketing. Advisory Committee members must be members of the graduate faculty at UNC Charlotte or from other institutions or industry provided they have relevant expertise and background. Committee members should reflect both content and methods expertise needed for the student to complete the research.

Admission to Candidacy

The dissertation topic may be proposed after the student has completed the required coursework. The proposal defense will serve as the qualifying exam. Pursuant to Graduate School rules, a doctoral student advances to candidacy after the student’s Advisory Committee and the Dean of the Graduate School approve the dissertation topic. Further pursuant to Graduate School rules, candidacy must be achieved at least six months before the degree is conferred.

Dissertation

The student must complete and defend a dissertation based on a research program approved by the student’s Dissertation Advisor and Advisory Committee which results in a high-quality, original, and substantial piece of research. The student must orally present and defend the dissertation before the Advisory Committee in a defense that is open to the University community. A copy of the dissertation must be made available to the Graduate Faculty of the Belk College at least three weeks prior to the public defense. While the defense is open to the University Community, the deliberations of the Advisory Committee are held in Executive Session. The dissertation will be graded on a Pass/Unsatisfactory basis by the Advisory Committee and the Dean of the Graduate School.

The dissertation defense is the final examination. It is a Graduate School requirement that a student that fails the final examination twice will be terminated from the program.

Residency Requirement

The DBA is a cohort-based program offered in an executive format. Normally students must enroll for nine credit hours during each semester of the regular academic year (i.e., fall and spring). Students may petition the Program Director for permission to enroll in less than nine semester hours in cases of hardship or other emergencies. It is a Graduate School requirement that a student must enroll in at least 18 total hours of Dissertation Research in order to graduate from the program.

Students that have completed all degree requirements, including the Dissertation Defense, may enroll once in GRAD 9999, Doctoral Degree Graduate Residency Credit, in order to meet Graduate School Residency requirements.

Time Limit for Degree Completion

Students are allowed a maximum of eight calendar years from formal admission to the DBA program to complete the program successfully.

Application for Degree

Each student should make application for his/her degree by completing the online Application for Degree through Banner Self Service no later than the filing date specified in the University Academic Calendar.

The following new courses have been proposed:

BDBA8100 Introduction to Experimental Design and Measurement: Overview of quasi-experimental design, qualitative techniques, basic statistics, and methodological skills necessary to carry out applied research in the fields of management, marketing, operations management and information systems.

BDBA8110 Organizational Theories and Systems: Review of a broad range of organizational theory and topics in the fields of management, marketing, operations management and information systems.

BDBA8120 Professional Issues I: Introduction to the principles of scholarly research for both academic and industry settings, including ethics and research integrity, navigating scholarly literature, focusing on research and teaching excellence.

BDBA8130 Introduction to Business Theory: Review of fundamental theories and research in the fields of strategic management, marketing, operations management and information systems.

BDBA8140 Advanced Business Theory: Review of micro- and meso-theories and research developed in the fields of management, marketing, operations management and information systems.

BDBA8150 Business Statistics and Data Analysis: Development of basic skills to conduct quantitative and qualitative research in the chosen area of study within the fields of management, marketing, operations management and information systems.

BDBA8200 Research Methods I: Development and application of advanced research skills. Both advanced quantitative and qualitative research methods are discussed.

BDBA8210 Current Topics Research Seminar: Review of current topics in the fields of management, marketing, operations management and information systems and development of research skills in the respective focus areas.

BDBA8220 Professional Issues II: Consideration of advanced topics in the conduct and application of scholarly research within both academic and industry settings.

BDBA8230 Research Methods II: Development and application of advanced research skills necessary for successfully defending a dissertation proposal, building on Research Methods I. Both advanced quantitative and qualitative research methods are discussed.

BDBA8240 Focused Research Seminar: Review of current topics identified by the students in the program to support the development of dissertation idea. Topics are covered in the fields of management, marketing, operations management and information systems.

BDBA8350 Dissertation Proposal Development: In-depth discussion of papers and development of research models and approaches in preparation of dissertation work. Collaboration with the intended dissertation chair is desired.

BDBA8999 Doctoral Dissertation Research: Each student will initiate and conduct an individual investigation culminating in the preparation and presentation of a doctoral dissertation.