Doctorate of Business Administration

Program Overview

The UBI Doctorate in Business Administration (DBA) is a research-focused program designed for executives seeking career advancement in management or consulting. It combines scholarly rigor with practical application, blending coursework on research methodology with independent research and thesis writing. The program features world-class faculty, a structured research journey, and opportunities for industrial visits and exchanges.

Program Outline

Degree Overview:

• Overview: The UBI Doctorate in Business Administration (DBA) is a high-quality and practice-focused research program designed for executives who aim to advance their careers in management or consulting.
It seeks to blend scholarly accomplishment with a practical application of theory to develop leadership and other competencies.

Outline:

Stage One: Coursework on Research Methodology (12 months)

• Learning takes the form of classroom teaching, discussions, and independent reading.
• Students complete 12 compulsory modules, each worth 10 credits, and submit individual coursework reports for each module.

Stage Two: Independent Research and Thesis Writing (13 months)

• Students participate in a series of doctoral workshops organized by UBI DBA faculty members, further exploring research considerations introduced in Stage One.
• They complete 8 compulsory doctoral research workshops, submit a thesis proposal, obtain ethical clearance for research, and pass a proposal defense.

Stage Three: Thesis Proposal Presentation and Final Defense (12 to 20 months)

• Students conduct further independent research and begin drafting the dissertation.
• They consult with their DBA dissertation advisor, complete and submit the dissertation, and pass the dissertation defense, justifying the research assumptions, data, and outcomes.

Core Modules:

• Corporate Innovation and Strategic Management Research
• Macroeconomic Policy Analysis
• Financial Market Research: Financial Decisions under Changing Environment
• Epistemology for Management Research
• Doctoral Research Design
• Methodology for Applied Business Research I: Research Model and Theory
• Methodology for Applied Business Research II: Quantitative and Qualitative Research
• Doctoral Research Fundamentals and Literature Review

Elective Modules:

• Business Model Design and Innovation
• On Innovation: the Perspectives of Analogy of Eastern & Western Civilization

Teaching:

• World-Class Faculty and Thesis Supervisors: A combination of academics and researchers from China and Europe provide global perspectives and support students in examining and critiquing research practices.
• Structured Research Journey: A 3-stage framework ensures students acquire necessary skills, knowledge, and competencies for their thesis.
• Dynamic Thinking and Peer Group Interaction: Small group interactions and activities stimulate mutual critique and challenge existing business theories and literature.