DBA - Doctor of Business Administration

What you will learn

Our Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) programme is based on a sustained, self-directed applied research project, supported by a collegial team of academic advisors, and reviewed and evaluated via seminars, workshops, and taught modules (encompassing formative and summative assessment), submission of a thesis and an oral defence.

Our DBA will be undertaken on a part-time basis and will typically take 4-5 years to complete.

A 1st or 2:1 honours bachelors degree or equivalent in a relevant discipline from a recognised university in the UK or comparable university overseas. Candidates may also have a masters degree.

By exception, applicants will be considered with additional evidence of substantial relevant professional experience instead of relevant academic qualifications. This will include business or organisational management or leadership, or related organisational consultancy, appropriate to the proposed research. Applicants will typically have a minimum of five years’ experience; however each application will be considered individually.

How to Apply

Doctoral study offers rare time and space for broader, meaningful engagement with the more challenging issues from your experience, both personally and in organisational life. It provides opportunity for extended conversations with the academic team in a friendly and supportive environment that will allow your deeper thinking, often not yet fully formed, to be explored and brought into a research journey.

This is a process that is sometimes deeply personal, and drawn from your real-world experience in practice. Many say that this is a unique time for maturing intellectually, and opening up, and particularly valuable when undertaken with fellow doctoral students who are also engaging with deeper enquiry.

To apply, please click on the Apply Now button, which will take you to our online application form. Please email any questions about your application to Research Student Admissions at: rsa@cumbria.ac.uk. As part of the online application, you will need to submit a 2,000 word pre-interview essay. The essay is an important part of the application process for the DBA and we strongly advise you to ensure that at a minimum it covers the following points:

• Your personal and professional motivations for applying
• Your initial idea(s) for a question or specific professional issue to investigate
• How the programme aligns with your previous qualification(s), and your professional experience (including any relevant wider community engagement work)
• What benefits do you think will be realised by successfully completing the programme
• Why we should offer you a place on the programme
• Your reasons for choosing the University of Cumbria DBA

In support of your application, you will be asked to provide the names and contact details of two references (including email addresses). At least one (and ideally both) should be an academic referee, preferably your undergraduate and/or masters tutors, if applicable.

Visa Information 

As this is a part-time programme it does NOT meet the criteria to support student visa applications.

For candidates whose first language is not English, they should provide evidence that either they possess an overall IELTS score of at least 7.0 with a minimum of 6.5 in each of the 4 elements (or an equivalent English language qualification recognised by the University) or evidence that their Master’s degree was conducted in English. English Language will be assessed throughout the Admissions process via a 2000 word pre-interview essay and interview.