Degree | The Executive DBA Council

About the Executive DBA Degree

What are executive doctoral degrees?

Executive doctoral degrees are terminal, doctoral degrees that are designed for working professionals. The research approach for an executive doctoral program is the “engaged scholarship” model that focuses on topics at the intersection of theory and contemporary business issues.

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Types of executive doctoral degrees could include:

Executive Doctorate in Business Administration (EDBA)
Doctorate in Business Administration (DBA)
Executive Ph.D.
Executive Doctorate in Business (EDB)
Doctor of Management (DM)
Doctor of Professional Studies (DPS)
Professional Doctorate in Business Administration
Doctor of Organizational Change

Benefits of an Executive Doctoral Degree

Participant benefits include opportunities for:

Knowledge update
Career differentiation and advancement
Career change

Benefits to Firms

Addressing business problems
Building skills and developing the organization
Recruiting, retaining and advancing talent

Executive Doctorate Degrees vs. Traditional PhDs

Executive Doctoral Degree

Candidate Profile

Senior executives who:

Hold an MBA or relevant post-baccalaureate degree
Work full-time
Will use the knowledge acquired to address problems and issues in contemporary business

Structure

Multiple residencies per semester

Curriculum

Interdisciplinary with a focus on general management and business issues
Apply quantitative or qualitative research methods to contemporary business problems

Objectives

To develop practitioner researchers

Traditional PhD

Candidate Profile

Students with limited work experience who:

May or may not hold a post-baccalaureate degree
Typically enroll as full-time students
Seek to position themselves for careers in academia

Structure

Full-time student

Curriculum

Specialized studies, generally within a single, specific discipline
Heavy emphasis on research methodology and its application to develop new theories

Objectives

To develop academic researchers