Doctor of Business Administration

What is this course about?

CSU's Doctor of Business Administration is a research higher degree that provides an opportunity for experienced business and public sector personnel to refine and extend their business knowledge and skill at an advanced level.

This course is research focused and is designed to extend professional business, management or administrative knowledge. In this way the course is designed for candidates who have a strong practical business or management background and are interested in developing deeper analytical, research and problem solving skills.

The course builds on candidates' existing strengths by formally providing them with practical and business or management-relevant research skills. Ultimately, candidates are required to design a research topic and methodology, conduct research and to write a formal research thesis of around 60,000 words. Candidates are encouraged to design a topic that is practical and problem solving in orientation, and that will have appeal in a wider professional sense.

As a research-based professional doctorate, the CSU Doctor of Business Administration provides strongly industry focused and practically relevant education. It produces better informed, skilled and reflective professional practitioners and, in doing so, equips professionals for diverse and changing work contexts by offering the development of skills and knowledge that will have enduring benefits.

The Doctor of Business Administration is designed to develop an advanced level of research capability which equips candidates with a knowledge base to make a significant contribution to business professional practice through the conduct of original research.

On completion of the course candidates will have:

• extended their knowledge of the disciplines underpinning business/management
• demonstrated a knowledge of research principles and methodologies relevant to professional business or management
• developed their ability to successfully identify, investigate and resolve problems in business
• successfully conducted research into a current problem in business and presented the findings of the research in a dissertation
• developed managerial effectiveness in one of the areas of business research
• understood the need for organisations to generate competitive advantage through a full appreciation of the complex nature of diverse issues affecting business and government decision makers globally and nationally
• been prepared for appointments at the most senior level in government and business
• made a contribution to the knowledge of professional practice and its advancement through the integration of theory and practice in their written thesis.

As with all our courses, the Doctor of Business Administration is designed and delivered with study flexibility in mind. You can choose between full-time and part-time study options to fit in with work and lifestyle commitments. You could choose to study just one subject in an academic session or, with approval, fast-track degree completion by undertaking four subjects per session.

For the thesis component of the Doctor of Business Administration, there is an expectation that candidates will work for the entire calendar year (excluding a four-week holiday period) towards producing their thesis. The thesis will be assessed by internationally recognised external academic and industry examiners.

Workplace learning

The nature of the course requires candidates to be currently working in a business or public sector organisation or have access to one, so that appropriate data can be employed to facilitate the production of a thesis which makes a significant and original contribution to professional practice.

Flexible offering

This course is available by distance education only and is offered across a two-session academic year, with sessions commencing in February and July each year. In exceptional circumstances the course may be offered to full-time students.

International Higher Degree by Research students can commence study on campus no sooner than six weeks before the session start date and no later than the census date.