Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) (Bradford)

Program Overview

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Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) (Bradford)

Overview

The University of Bradford Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) is the pinnacle of management education. Designed for experienced senior managers and professionals looking for the next challenge in their career, the DBA provides an unprecedented fast-track to the status of global expert in a particular field.

The programme is as academically rigorous as a PhD, but is specifically designed for executives, professionals and senior managers who seek to combine the best of academic knowledge with the best of practitioner knowledge, in order to push forward the boundaries of understanding contemporary and rapidly transforming business and management challenges.

The DBA provides advanced research methods training through a suite of four specifically designed taught modules delivered by leading scholars to equip students to undertake independent empirical research on contemporary business/management challenges and to develop new knowledge and understandings.

You will make a significant contribution to the advancement of knowledge in your area of expertise while studying part-time and remaining at work, allowing you to practically apply your knowledge directly back to the workplace. You will open up a new realm of personal development and career opportunities including teaching at international business schools, high-level consultancy and board-level roles.

Students will be supervised by leading research-active academics who regularly publish in international journals and present at prestigious conferences.

DBA students will have opportunities to present their research at the Annual Doctoral Conference at the Faculty of Management, Law and Social Sciences. They will also have the opportunity to give guest lectures on their research and/or managerial expertise as part of the International Guest Lecture Series. DBA students can also publish their research in academic and practitioner journals.

We also have 3 Peer Review Workshops per year when DBA students present their research to colleagues and academics, and mock vivas in order to fully prepare DBA students for the viva examination.

Your fellow DBA students will be an elite group of about 25 international managers who you will meet, network and share ideas with at several taught sessions in years one and two, and during your research phase via regular peer review workshops in different locations.

Professional Accreditation

We are proud to be in an elite group of business schools to hold the triple accreditations of Equis, AMBA and AACSB, often referred to as the "Triple Crown".

Entry Requirements

We welcome all applications for the DBA programme, particularly from applicants whose interests complement the expertise of our Research Centres (Accounting, Finance and Economics; People, Organization and Entrepreneurship; Logistics, Supply Chain and Technology; International Business, Marketing and Branding).

For the DBA, you should have:

• a Bachelor's degree and a Master's degree from an accredited institution
• a minimum of five years’ relevant managerial work experience
• a research proposal
• two references (one academic, if possible)
• a high level of fluency in English

The Research Proposal

This is an important part of your application. Your research proposal will be used to assess the quality and originality of your research ideas, your critical thinking skills, grasp of relevant literature and the feasibility of the proposed research. It will also be used to identify suitable supervisors, so it is certainly worth devoting time and effort to it.

The research proposal should be between 1500 words and 2500 words. While we do not insist on a definite format, we do recommend you to follow the structure outlined below.

• Title: the title should be a succinct summary of your proposed research
• Introduction: this section should provide a brief description of the subject area in which the research is to be located in, state your central research questions clearly and explain the reasons for proposed research convincingly.
• Literature Review: this section requires a short review of existing studies (particularly those published in research and practitioner periodicals). You need to explain how your research is being driven by the gaps in the existing literature and comment on how your research could be informed by the existing literature both theoretically and practically. A piece of good literature review should demonstrate how the proposed research is linked with previous studies, establish where its specific contributions could lie and show how the intended specific contributions could be materialised through drawing ideas and strengths from the existing research.
• Research Methodology: there are a variety of research methods, therefore it is essential that this section provides a clear description of your choice of research methodology (i.e. quantitative or qualitative research) and explain why the chosen one is most suited to your research. This section should also include details of methods of data collection and data analysis and comment on the feasibility of data collection.
• Contribution: it is important that DBA research influences and impacts upon both academic theories and concepts, and also business and organisational practices.
• Reference: any studies cited in the proposal should be listed at the end of the document using the Harvard style of referencing.

Your Learning Journey

All module information is for 2025 entry, and is subject to change.

First Year

• Core:
  • Research Design and Philosophy
  • Qualitative and Quantitative Research Methods
  • Literature Reviewing for Doctoral Studies
  • Translating Research into Practice

Second Year

• Core:
  • Progression to DBA Research Proposal and Defence

Final Year

• Core:
  • DBA Thesis

Teaching, Learning and Assessment

Teaching combines academic rigour with practicality and relevance to professionals, executives and managers.

The programme integrates applied and theoretical knowledge and, in particular, facilitates the development of new knowledge which is at the forefront of the discipline and organisational/management practice.

Each module builds on the learning achieved in previous modules, so learning is cumulative, and all modules relate to each other.

You will develop an understanding of the issues of translating research into practice - a fundamental aspect of a DBA. You will be expected to reflect on the key issues you are tackling and explore how such findings, if replicated in a bigger study, could be translated into practice.

In the first year of the DBA, the Director of Studies will be the Personal Academic Tutor for each new cohort of students. Once you pass the first three taught stage modules, you will have acquired advanced scholarship and research skills required to create a research proposal. You will work with the DBA Director of Studies on developing your research proposal, and 2 suitable supervisors will be allocated to you, who will become your Personal Academic Tutors.

In the Progression to DBA Research Stage module you will present and defend a detailed 7000-word research proposal, preparing you for the main research stage and ultimately writing a thesis. During the main research phase, you will attend Peer Review Workshops that enhance understanding, provide motivation and support, enable networking, prepare you for presenting your work to non-specialists, give opportunities for the cross-fertilisation of ideas, and will expose you to research from outside your specialist area.

Fees, Finance and Scholarships

Tuition Fee

• Year 1: £14,709
• Year 2: £14,709
• Year 3: £8,847
• Year 4: £8,847

An annual continuation fee of £5,658 is applicable for each year after year four.

The DBA tuition fee covers the cost of lectures, tutorials, assessments, examinations and supervision. It does not cover travel, accommodation, books, printing or thesis binding.

Additional Course Costs

While there are no compulsory additional costs associated with this course, there may be general additional costs that you may incur as a student. A list of the sort of costs you might expect can be found on our fees and finance section.

Funding Your Studies

It can be hard to know what financial help is available to you as a student.

Further information about the variety of options that can help fund your studies and maximise the money available to you is available on our funding your studies section.

Postgraduate Master's Loan

If you live in England you may be able to apply for a special Government-funded Master's Loan to help pay your tuition fees and living costs. You don't have to pay the loan back until you're earning a certain amount of money.

Scholarships

Every year we award numerous non-repayable scholarships to UK, EU and international students on the basis of academic excellence, personal circumstances or economic hardship. For full details, visit our scholarships section.

Career Prospects

The Doctor of Business Administration is specifically designed for MBA (or equivalent) graduates who are looking for the next challenge in their careers.

Given that the DBA programme was first launched in 2001 at the School of Management, our DBA students will be joining our international alumni network of prominent business executives. Current and recent DBA students work for leading multinational companies such as Shell International, Siemens, Coca Cola, Volvo, Bayer, ING Group and Phillips International.

Career Opportunities

The University is committed to helping students develop and enhance employability and this is an integral part of many programmes. Specialist support is available throughout the course from Career and Employability Services including help to find part-time work while studying, placements, vacation work and graduate vacancies. Students are encouraged to access this support at an early stage and to use the extensive resources on the Careers website.