When you join the Professional Doctorate in Business Administration (DBA) at University of Portsmouth, you'll experience an intensive taught phase before conducting applied, work-based research that deals with topics that are directly relevant to your organisation.
So as you learn, you'll develop your professional knowledge and skills to help solve concrete organisational problems in your current workplace – benefiting both your employers and your own career.
DBA students can:
The DBA is aimed at senior professionals with postgraduate qualifications who wish to take their management and professional development to new levels, add to their professional body of knowledge and further develop their own management careers.
The research focus of the DBA addresses real business issues, with the results providing professional outcomes that are of direct relevance to your organisation. Research is both theoretical and practical. The DBA thesis is comparable to a PhD in terms of effort, rigour, and contribution to knowledge, supervision and assessment.
The part-time programme involves between three and four years study which includes taught units, research methodology and action research. It's assessed by assignments primarily during year one (taught year), culminating in the assessment of a doctoral level, research-based report in your final year.
Supervision and support is also a major component of the course. An allocated supervisor will guide and support you throughout your research programme and you will benefit from the ideas and learning experiences of your peers in what we call a ‘learning set’ (a small group of 3 or 4 peers who are at the same stage of DBA research as you).
Assessment is by coursework assignments at the end of the first year and students progress to the individual research phase after having passed the year one assessment. During the first taught year, students are allocated a mentor to help them develop their research topic in more depth and to prepare them for the research phase where they will be guided by a team of two academic supervisors over the following years.
Starting in
Always verify the dates on the programme website. programme website.
4-7 years
Courses include:
You need the following IELTS score:
Minimum required score:
The IELTS – or the International English Language Test System – tests your English-language abilities (writing, listening, speaking, and reading) on a scale of 1.00–9.00. The minimum IELTS score requirement refers to which Overall Band Score you received, which is your combined average score. Read more about IELTS.
Get a free IELTS practice testAt least 3 year(s) of work experience are required.
The living costs include the total expenses per month, covering accommodation, public transportation, utilities (electricity, internet), books and groceries.
Check the programme website for information about funding options.
Studyportals Tip: Students can search online for independent or external scholarships that can help fund their studies. Check the scholarships to see whether you are eligible to apply. Many scholarships are either merit-based or needs-based.
