Program Overview

Doctor of Business Administration Program

The Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) program at the Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business, University of Pittsburgh, is a three-year program designed for individuals who want to expand their education while interacting with world-class faculty and other motivated students.

Program Overview

The DBA program is a 45-credit program, broken down into:

• 10.5 credits of Methodology Core seminars
• 22.5 credits of Disciplinary Core Seminars
• 12 credits of Practicum Research Project (PRP)
• One week summer residency after the first and second academic year (students facing travel/visa restrictions can request to participate virtually)

Program Duration and Structure

The program duration is three years, with two one-week summer residencies. Students must enter with a qualifying master's degree of 27 credits or more.

Why Choose the DBA Program?

The Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business is well-positioned to deliver a high-quality Executive DBA program, with a world-class PhD program and faculty members who are thought leaders in their fields. The University of Pittsburgh is classified as an R1 research institution and is a member of the AAU, representing the top 60 universities across the country. The Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business is also accredited by the AACSB, the top accreditation body for business schools globally.

DBA or PhD?

Both degrees represent the highest level of academic achievement, but have differences. Consider the EDBA if:

• You want to earn a professional doctorate
• You want to enroll in a part-time program, allowing you to continue to work while completing your doctoral studies
• You want to engage and synthesize research with the real-world practice of business and your executive management experience Consider the PhD if:
• You want to earn an academic doctorate
• You want to enroll in a full-time program, in which you would leave your employer, go to graduate school full-time, and complete 20 hours of graduate assistantship per week
• You want to emphasize the development of theories and address gaps in knowledge

Academic Leadership

The program engages research-active, tenure-track faculty, most of whom are tenured full professors and several are chaired professors. The faculty members have high-quality and high-quantity research achievements and can help students attain rigor in their own research.

Faculty Expertise and Mentorship

The faculty members are world-renowned and have received national or international awards and other recognitions for their research. Some of the faculty members include:

• Sharon Alvarez, Thomas W. Olofson Chair in Entrepreneurship
• Haimanti Banerjee, Clinical Assistant Professor of Business Administration
• CB Bhattacharya, Professor of Organizations & Entrepreneurship
• John C. Camillus, Donald R. Beall Professor of Strategic Management
• Ahmed Elshahat, Clinical Associate Professor of Business Administration
• Dennis Galletta, Thomas H. O'Brien Professor of Information Systems; Director, Katz Doctoral Programs
• Mark H. Haney, Clinical Associate Professor of Business Administration
• J. Jeffrey Inman, Senior Associate Dean for Research and Faculty and Albert Wesley Frey Chair in Marketing
• Chris F. Kemerer, David M. Roderick Professor of Information Systems and Professor of Business Administration
• David Klinowski, Visiting Assistant Professor in Marketing & Business Economics
• Carrie Leana, George H. Love Professor of Organizations and Management
• Prakash Mirchandani, Professor of Business Administration
• Jennifer Shang, Professor of Business Administration
• Karen Shastri, Clinical Associate Professor of Business Administration
• Pandu Tadikamalla, Professor of Business Administration
• Luis Vargas, Professor of Operations, Decision Science, and Artificial Intelligence

Student Spotlight

Some of the students who have benefited from the program include:

• Kerr Manson, managing partner, Breakout Growth Partners
• Alicia Vuittonet, co-founder, Mantoupia

Research Areas

The program focuses on research and theory, with faculty members who are thought leaders in their fields. The research areas include:

• Methodology Core seminars
• Disciplinary Core Seminars
• Practicum Research Project (PRP)