PhD Program

Program Description

DOCTORATE OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION (DBA)

Doctorate of Business Administration (DBA) program is the newest program offered by the Faculty of Business Studies (FBS) of University of Dhaka. As the largest and arguably the best providers of undergraduate (BBA), graduate (MBA and Evening MBA) and post-graduate (M.Phil and PhD) students of the country, the FBS have devised the DBA program in order to produce a qualification which, whilst being equivalent in status and challenge to a PhD, is more appropriate for those pursuing professional rather than academic careers.

The DBA is designed to provide government and business executives with competencies needed to pursue business/public administration careers that require more advanced research skills and qualifications. The program introduces two new globally-adopted hands-on learning methods for training practitioners - Action Learning and Action Research - allowing students to reflect, not only upon the tribulations and practices encountered at the workplace, but also on one’s attitudes and biases that led to the decision-making which impacted the situation. The focus of a DBA program is to apply theoretical knowledge to the advancement of business practice. It is a professional doctoral degree to enhance executive and professional practice. It is designed to strengthen both the capability to develop knowledge and theory, and the application of it.

The ever-evolving local, regional and global business practices demand business and public administration leaders to possess skills enabling them to quickly respond to changes and proactively implement innovative ideas furthering their respective organizations’ objectives as well as personal goals. Leadership in today’s environment requires higher, more sophisticated levels of knowledge and skills. The DBA program at the FBS is designed to serve this need by providing quality doctoral-level education to professional practitioners in sectors like government, business, and management. Besides business and public administration careers, knowledge acquired in the DBA program can also be used for advanced consulting and research careers. For some participants, the DBA program may also be pathways into careers in academia.

The DBA program at FBS provides learners a means of exploring their personal readiness to become senior leaders in management professions in government and business. Learners gain a Master of Business Administration literature and demonstrate their competence by applying this knowledge to current local and international business environments.

OBJECTIVES OF DBA PROGRAM

Like other programs in the FBS at the University of Dhaka, DBA program is also aimed at producing graduates ready for serving their respective organizations and the nation as a whole with professional knowledge and expertise. The program broadly has two purposes: (1) to contribute to both theory and practice in relation to business and management; and (2) to develop professional practice and to contribute to professional knowledge.

Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) program at FBS places great emphasis on highly relevant, workplace-based research by producing truly actionable knowledge, in the context of the student’s organization, rather than focusing on creating narrowly defined and theoretical scholarly research. Its practicality-oriented approach is targeted to be highly beneficial to working professionals as it would allow the immediate integration of actionable knowledge and critical thinking skills into their working environment.

The FBS at University of Dhaka has eight departments opening the door for DBA specialization in one subject area as well conducting multi-disciplinary studies. The faculties of different departments regularly engage in collaborative research which allows the DBA learners to choose their suitable combination of advisors during their research. While interdisciplinary professional Doctoral degrees are not scarce in educational institutions in the West, this is a novelty in Bangladesh. The FBS at University of Dhaka provides the highest quality doctoral level management education with its eight departments, educators, PhDs from reputable institutions in home and abroad (who are well-published across the borders of the country), their continuing research agenda covering both local and global interests, and a number of peer-reviewed academic journals published by the Faculty and different Departments in the FBS.

The DBA offers students an opportunity to engage in a supervised program of applied business research that facilitates dissemination of cutting-edge practitioner-oriented research within an industry or sector, and knowledge transfer between business and academe. The program will enable student participants to take back to their organization increased understanding and knowledge of today’s complex business world. Graduates with a Doctorate in Business Administration from the FBS will be able to:

• Identify, study and solve business problems with the highest value-adding solutions,
• Perform system-based, managerially justified analysis and research the operations issues and technology-enabled opportunities in local as well as the global market context,
• Demonstrate business knowledge, and be recognized as a business subject expert with access to modern academic/business theories, models, concepts and techniques,
• Have a detailed understanding of applicable techniques for research to independently carry out an original research, analysis and writing,
• Produce original research making a unique contribution to theory and practice,
• Formulate and re-design industry rules and standards,
• Bridge the gap between theory and practice by developing closer links between the FBS and senior professionals in fields associated with government, business, economics and related disciplines.

HOW IS DBA DIFFERENT FROM PHD AT FBS?

The FBS has offered PhD programs successfully since long with many of graduates successfully working in the academia and conducting research in home and abroad. The primary difference between a PhD and a DBA lies in the structure, curriculum, intended outcome and graduation requirements. In general, the focus of a PhD program is to develop new theory, whereas the focus of a DBA program is to apply theoretical knowledge to the advancement of business practice. Both PhD and DBA programs require original research culminating in the creation and defense of a thesis or dissertation.

The DBA curriculum has two broad parts: course work and thesis dissertation. The portion of the DBA program that consists of coursework is comparable to that of a standard business PhD. However, the larger part of the program, consisting of independent research and the writing of a thesis, is geared towards more applied research in DBA, with the research making a direct contribution to business practice. The PhD program at FBS aims at the creation of new theory, while DBA aims at applying theory to business problems.

ENTRY REQUIREMENT

Educational

• A master degree, preferably in a business discipline (MBA/MBS/M.Com) from an institution with national/international repute (minimum equivalent CGPA in both undergraduate and master’s 3.0 in a 4.0 point scale). Students with master degrees in other disciplines can also enroll in the program if they are considered to have exceptional work experiences.

Professional

• Minimum 10 years of work experience at a government or business organization or a non-government organization of repute, of which at least 3 years’ experience in senior management or administrative/consulting position. This condition may be relaxed for interested students with extra-ordinary academic qualifications and/or on fast track in professional growth.

Other considerations

• The above-mentioned requirements may be relaxed for any applicant who has appeared in the GMAT in last five years and has a score of at least 600 (or a GRE score of at least 307).

APPLICATION PROCEDURE

Subject to meeting the entry requirements, enrollment in the program is decided by the DBA Administration Committee. The Committee makes enrollment decision based on the following set of documents:

1. Statement of purpose: This essay would shed lights on the following information about the prospective student:

a. Why does s/he feel the need for a DBA?

b. Which attributes/qualifications justify his/her enrollment in the DBA program?

c. What are the potential areas of research interest?

d. Career plans after obtaining DBA?

2. Letters of recommendation: The interested student would be responsible for providing three letters of recommendation supporting his/her application, qualifications, and potential analytical ability. One of the letters, preferably, should be from the head of the organization where the applicant is currently employed. One of the letters should be from the academic institution/department from where the student got his/her last degree.

SELECTION PROCESS

Enrollment in the DBA program at FBS is based on several criteria; both subjective and objective. Student’s academic qualifications, work experience, terms of reference at current position held, level of management, responsibility at work, professional achievements (if any) as well as strength of recommendation letters would determine selection in the DBA program. A(n) written and/or oral assessment by the DBA Administration Committee at FBS will be conducted for the applicants. Students will be informed about the status of their application in due course of time.

COURSE PLAN AND TIME FRAME

The DBA program is designed for an average time span of four years, i.e., eight semesters. The students will finish the course work before starting their dissertation work.

The students will complete a mandatory 30 hours of course work before they start working on their dissertation. However, if the DBA advisor deems it necessary, the student will take additional courses to ensure adequate knowledge and training for future dissertation work. This additional course work grades will not be reflected on the CGPA of the student. A student must maintain a CGPA of 3.0 during the course work to start the dissertation work. A regular student is expected to finish the course work in two years, i.e., four semesters. In exceptional cases, a student can take up to a maximum of four (4) years to finish the course work.

The dissertation work involves 42 credit hours and the student has the flexibility in choosing the time frame during this part. The course plan presented in the following section delineates the students’ responsibilities and associated credit hours at different stages of dissertation work.

While it is desired that a student would graduate within four years of enrollment, a student may given a maximum of seven years i.e., fourteen-semesters, to complete the DBA degree failing which special permission is to be sought from the Academic Council of the University.

DBA ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE

The DBA committee consists of the Dean of the FBSs (as ex-officio member) and eight representatives from each of the departments of the Faculty. This Committee will act, as the master committee for all matters concerning the DBA program at FBS. This Committee will also be responsible to handle all kinds of issues and grievances of students in the DBA program.

PROGRESS MONITORING COMMITTEE (PMC)

The Progress Monitoring Committee (PMC) consists of the Chairperson of the concerned department (student’s subject major), the principal advisor, the joint-advisor (if any), and a subject expert external member. The subject expert external member joins the PMC after the student successfully finishes course work and before s/he starts working on dissertation. The progress committee monitors the progress of a student during the DBA program. It suggests the courses to be taken by the student during the course work part of the program and also maintains a close look during the dissertation work to ensure that the candidate’s research is on track. Each student has a unique PMC which meets at least once every year. The PMC reports the progress of a student to the DBA Administration Committee.

DISSERTATION COMMITTEE

A student must maintain a CGPA of 3.0 during the course work to start the dissertation work. Once a student finishes the course work successfully, s/he becomes a DBA Candidate. During the course work in the first semester, the student is required to choose an advisor from the faculty pool of his/her major subject. The advisor, along with the student, will decide on the need to have a joint-advisor for inter-disciplinary research.

Each student has a unique dissertation committee which consists of (no fewer than) three examiners: the advisor, (the joint-advisor, if any) and two external subject-area specialists. Both the subject-area specialists must be from outside this university, local or overseas.

DEGREE REQUIREMENT

A candidate will be granted a DBA if s/he fulfills the following conditions:

• Getting approval from the advisor to defend the thesis to the Dissertation Committee
• Thesis acceptance by external members recommended by the committee
• Two publications (or acceptances for publishing) from the thesis in recognized business journals approved by the DBA Administration Committee