Several issues here. I currently have an AACSB Masters in Entrepreneurship (Not an MBA with concentration). I would like to pursue a Doctorate degree however, I'm wondering if it would be better to get a MBA and then a specialized business PhD (like Leadership or Marketing) or should I just get a DBA. The reason for the DBA is that I didn't get the range of business courses that I would have received with an MBA. My goal is to teach at a small ACBSP or lower college. What do you think would be my best option?
Sounds like a DBA would be a good fit with your background, if you'd like to take courses similar to those in an MBA to broaden your previous training.
Most DBA's I've looked at don't contain all the business disciplines that are covered in an MBA. I had considered that route but decided on the MBA since I have no need of a Doctorate (or the dissertation that comes with it). With that said, if your ultimate goal is to get a Doctorate then I would not spend the time on another Masters and have to start over on the Doctorate. I'd go right into the DBA and kill two birds with one stone.
PhDs are preferred over DBAs for Academic positions. PhDs are more focused and more research oriented. If you are going to teach leadership or Marketing, there is no point of taking course business courses in accounting, IT, etc if you are just going to teach Marketing or leadership. However, I would rather do a DBA from an AACSB accredited school than a PhD that is not accredited by this body. Low residency doctorates are already are hard sell so the accreditation to me is a must if your are going to go DL route. DBAs can be considered assets for small schools as you can teach any business course but a low tier DBA would always be beaten by a PhD even from a low tier school. Basically, this will be my order of preference for a doctorate. 1. PhD AACSB Accredited 2. DBA AACSB Accredited 3. PhD Non AACSB Accredited from a B&M School 4. DBA Non AACSB Accredited from a B&M School 5. PhD Non AACSB Accredited from a Virtual School 6. DBA Non AACSB Accredited from a Virtual School Many people in this forum opt for option 6 as this is shortest and more flexible option available. Walden and Capella's DBAs are 3 year part time programs that when compared with to the 5 year full time residential programs seem attractive but also less desirable when it comes to hiring full time faculty. No free lunch!
Would UK PhD/DBA programs be included in the above ordering? I am beginning my research on possible doctorate options and am curious about how they are perceived within academia in the US. While I enjoy my current job, I would like to have the option to adjunct in the near future and possibly teach full time after retiring.
There are quite of few AACSB accredited UK doctorates. The beauty of these doctorates is that are research only, you published 3 papers and you are set for a PhD. No need to take courses with BS discussions, essays, etc, just get to the point and do research in the subject you like. You need to love research to do these programs, the American DL programs seem to be more professional oriented, they seem to concentrate more on course work and less emphasis on research. The British PhD is mainly for people interested in Academia.
University of Warwick offers one PhD by publication. There are quite few of these programs that are publication only, please do a search in the forum and you will find quite a lot on this topic.
One problem with PhDs by publication is that you don't get a major but just a PhD with a dissertation title in the transcript. They also suffer from the same stigma as any DL PhD as you are not attending campus but just putting your papers together and defend them in a viva voice examination. Any non traditional PhD that doesn't require your butt to be sitting on campus during 5 years is normally frowned upon in academia. PhDs by publication were meant for full time faculty at the school granting the PhD for promotion purposes but they seem to have become a cash cow for some british schools.
