best DBA

I've just earned my MBA at a B&M institution. I am the founder and president of a medium sized (400 employees) metal products manufacturing company.

Thinking of my Golden Years to come, when the kids take over our company, I might want to teach part-time. I would appreciate the board's opinion of the best distance DBA. By "best" I mean the one that would be most respected by academics who do the hiring.

Expense is not an issue. Short residencies (eg: several weekends) in addition to the distance training is also ok. I have a company plane, so anywhere west of Oklahoma would be ok.

Thanks in advance for your thoughtful advice.

 

I'd put in my vote for Nova Southeastern. They do have cluster sites around the country where you can take many of your courses. Some are offered only in Ft Lauderdale.

NSU has several things going for it. For one, they are also a large, traditional B&M school, besides offering distance programs. Second, they have been in business for a long time in the DBA market. Third, they have placed a number of grads (myself included) in the academic market.

IMHO Nova Southeastern is really somewhere between a traditional program and a fully DL program.

Regards - Andy

 

If Nova is Too Far East

I would look at some of the AACSB accredited ones out of the UK. They may require you to vist the country once but that would be a plus....

 

If cost is not an issue I woule try this one: http://weatherhead.case.edu/edm/

Alternatively this one: http://www.ebsdba.com/

 

I did a search for you

Henley Management College: http://www.henleymc.ac.uk/henleymc03.nsf/files/DBA.pdf/$FILE/DBA.pdf

Takes about 4 years and appears to require 3 one week visits to the UK. It is AACSB accredited and is very well known in the international business community. As this is a DBA for practitioners you will make many contacts in the international business community if that is a plus for you. Good luck!

 

Hi. You might also consider the Ph.D. distinction rather than the DBA, which seems to be increasingly thought of as a practitioner degree.

As a 3rd Year Ph.D. student at Touro University International (TUI), I would recommend you consider looking into that Ph.D. BA program. However, the program has a limited number of slots available, so you might consider Capella as well -- a friend just entered this program as TUI was full up and they considered Capella to be an excellent although higher-priced alternative.

If you still want the DBA distinction, then Nova and Argosy seem to be getting good press these days. UOP has a substantially newer DBA, which I know less about, but still know people who teach in the program and have good things to say about it.

Next, you might want to consider the plethora of Ph.D. in management programs here in North America, which have been discussed on this board.

Next, I would consider looking at the Edinburgh and Henley programs, if you are interested in international business or don't mind explaining why you earned a doctorate outside North America. Still, there is the DBL from UNISA, the D.Tech. from Durban, the DBA from Edith Cowan, and the other fine Aussie/UK programs.

Finally, if you are very cost conscious and don't think you'll use the DBA outside of consulting, then I would highly recommend the California Pacific University DBA. (I earned this degree in 1996-2003).

In sum, you have many distance doctoral programs in business from which to choose.

Best wishes,

Dave

 

I imagined this to be a problem

I originally imagined this to be a problem. However, after going to a conference with over 150 professors (many, many of them foreign born) from around the USA and another couple of dozen from schools in Europe, Central America, Africa and Australia, they never batted an eye at the fact I was getting a degree from South Africa. Of course, it probably helped that my supervisor was with me so it was apparent we were having face to face communications. I have had much the same reaction when I have face to face or email communications with other academics. A Wharton grad's response was "cool". The academic arena is a very international community expecially since in the last decade so many foreign professors have started teaching in US schools. If I do get a funny look it is usually from someone out of academia, but even then most say "you must be getting it over the Internet", which isn't the case but I don't go into too much detail on research degrees.

I have also found that since the demise of aphartheid, US schools have started making a lot of contacts with schools in SA. I almost always run into someone who has regular contact with a school or an association there. The HOD of the anthro department where my daughter is a student runs annual tips to SA. The guy at University of Alabama (the Wharton grad) who advised me when I was looking for a research topic has a colleague who travels there several times a year advising on economic issues. Some at the conference had taught there or attended school at some time in their past.

As for the degree title, the DTech nomenclature may be weird here. It is ok for me since my research is in technology so it fits but it might be a little odd for other non-technology areas.

 

Re: I imagined this to be a problem

Some day we will all look back on these issues, such as non-US doctoral programs and 100% distance learning doctoral programs, and laugh.

After I finished my on-campus MBA program (Santa Clara University -- AACSB), I swore I would never tether myself to another building, as I travel extensively for work and with my family. Initially, I did the California Pacific University DBA, because I couldn't stay in one place, pay attention to semesters or give up any of the two or three weeks of vacation per year that American companies typically give you. I considered doing the Argosy DBA and UNISA DBL after the Cal-Pacific DBA, and was accepted into both programs at one point. Instead, I chose the TUI Ph.D. BA because of the Ph.D. distinction and the substantially distance format. Let me just say that while there is no requirement to go to the campus for cohort meetings, there is the very real necessity of meeting your adviser/chairman either at the physical location or at academic conferences. I have met with my chairman on four ocassions: twice on campus and twice at academic conferences. Of course, we exchange email at least two or three times per week. So, while there is no need to go to the TUI campus, it is very real possibility that students will meet each other and their advisers at academic conferences, which is highly encouraged, by the way. For example, I was asked to participate in the doctoral consortium at the recent Society for Marketing Advances conference.

All that said, the U.S. academic community is a bit enigmatic in that it wants finest researchers and teachers but ignores all the instructional technology research stream by encouraging via snobbery that Ph.D. students be trained the old fashioned way. Peculiar to say the least... Moreover, to get hired full-time in the business schools at most non-top tier schools you want as few questions about your background as possible, and onlne or foreign schools raise flags, although they shouldn't necessarily do so.

Dave

 

EBS DBA

I am enrolled in the EBA DBA. I can tell you, I think the curriculum is very fresh.

I did the Capella PhD--and I took a few Nova DBA classes--and I find most post-DBA courses seemed to be re-hashes, with the exception of what I've found at EBS.

 

Dumb question... but what type of restrictions are there for the DBA or PhD programs? For example, I'm completing a B&M regionally accredited MBA program. Do these programs only accept AACSB?

 

In response to newMBA’s question on the best DBA program to enroll in, I put my vote for Argosy University. I completed Argosy’s DBA in Management program in 2003, attending classes at the Orange County campus, when I lived in LA. I thoroughly enjoyed the course work, as well as the dissertation effort—very challenging, yet invigorating. The professors are great and extremely supportive. Since graduating from Argosy, I was able to get a full-time teaching position in an AACSB accredited MBA program.

 

I'm in a similar position

I'm 43 and have extensive managerial experience also, although not to your extent. I'm currently considering a terminal degree program for similar reasons and have been considering Northcentral University, Capella, Walden, Touro, Nova and U of Phoenix. I short listed NCU and Nova and applied. Consider matching your degree purpose to the degree program.

To teach in any school part time, you don't need any more that what you have, in my opinion. From an applied perspective, you'll forget more than most Ph.D.'s in academic know. I spend 1.5 years among them in a traditional residential program at a Carnegie I research university, so I have a feel for their "practical" knowledge. Having someone with your experience as an adjunct would be a feather in a business school's cap, regardless of whether you have a terminal degree or not. In my opinion, you do not "need" a terminal degree to attain your stated goal.

Thus if personal goal attainment is the largest weight in your decision matrix, you have considerations that may make a program better for you, that would not necessarily be the same for a younger or less experienced learner. For example, Nova is superior if you need to rely on the degree to get you in the door, because this program carries the most weight among academics. Because Nova is regarded as a more "bricks and motor" platform with an established job placement penetration in the academic industry over 30 years, this degree caries the most utility for the academically minded job seeker, especially those with less professional experience. Alternatively, these distance programs are more generally a product of the last decade.

Personally, I see Nova and "all others". That is from an academic employer's perspective; I'm not convinced that they would differentiate among any distance programs and rather view them as somewhat homogenous. Thus, I applied to Nova and Northcentral (NCU). The largest cost to me is the opportunity cost of my time while not working, making NCU the most practical due to its zero residency requirement. Cost as typically discussed in this forum is "tuition", but tuition is trivial when you compare time away from work. This is magnified for folks operating in a capacity such as yours. Alternatively, you may value getting out of the office to recharge your batteries and refresh your thinking. Only you can know this.

Let's face it, if cost is not a factor and getting away from the office to undertake seminars, etc. to challenge your mind with other business managers, Nova's likely your best shot. You will find Nova to be engaging and challenging, albeit a more difficult program from a travel, if travel is considered negative in the first place. Nova will place you in seminars, academic conferences, etc. Alternatively, a 100% distance program (no residency) like Northcentrals will get a "hole punched in your card” with no travel. The hole in the card may be the letters behind your name, personal goal attainment or whatever. At an NCU, you will never meet your classmates and never attend academic conferences or seminars, like you would with Nova. Other distance degrees from Capella, Walden, etc. have residency requirements, so they are in between NCU and Nova.

Because you don't need the degree to start with, consider what you want to get out of the program and what you are willing to put into it looking at the "all in" "cost", including opportunity cost of time foregone from the office.

I can't attach an excel spreadsheet in this newsreader, but can email you my "analysis" if you want. Just send me a personal message if you want it.

Good luck.

 

MBA's and teaching

Sad to say this is not always the case. SACS requires around 16 graduate semester hours in the discipline you are teaching in and most MBA degrees are not that focused. There was a thread not too long ago on this board about some school in southern Florida that had to let go over a dozen of its adjuncts after an accreditation review because their MBA's did not meet the 16 hour requirement. Some people in academia will even tell you if you are planning on getting a PhD for a career in academics you should get an MS or MA to increase the focus in your discipline. A person needs to be aware of the requirements of the regional accreditor in their area before making such a decision,

 

I agree

I think it may be 18 hours. Not sure. There may be some requirement, but my emphasis was the broader hiring criteria that focus almost exclusively on experience. B school deans tend to value relationships with leaders of the magnitude revealed by this poster, from what I gathered from them. This poster is not only a highly experience manager, but more importantly, a successful entrepreneur and the employer of hundreds.

B schools also have some wiggle room built into their accreditation standards, such as AASCB, that may suit a situation like this. This is what I was told by several department chairs when I approached them about adjuct teaching jobs for myself. From my personal experience, the academics view the education (hoop jumping points) of someone with this magnitude of demonstrated success as immaterial and will generally bend the rules to get someone like this.

Your point is valid and well taken in any event.

 

Re: I'm in a similar position

 

I think Heriot-Watt University's DBA program is a good one with a fair price. Check it out.

Eli

 

Dave's comments

These are great points. This thread author is clearly way off to the right of the distribution of typical business school students. In top 30 business schools, the deans spend 50%+ of their time calling on folks like this author for financial support for their schools, centers, institutes, speaking engagements, internships for their kids, etc.

My general point is that given this level of experience, this poster will be treated very differently and is a one in one thousand type of learner, when comparted to the norm. It may not necessarily be fair in some folks opinion, but the reality is that I'd imagine b-schools will be offering preferential treatment. From a deans perspective, the business contacts alone that this fellow must have are worth their weight in gold, from a fund raising perspectvie. Although it may not seem seo, my experience has been that the top of the food chain administratively at b-schools is all getting cash in the door.

 

Any insight on whether one's choices in a DBA program might be limited if the applicant's MBA is granted from a 'regionally accredited' school rather an AACSB? Thanks in advance for the input.

 

Any insight on whether one's choices in a DBA program might be limited if the applicant's MBA is granted from a 'regionally accredited' school rather an AACSB? Thanks in advance for the input.

 

Mike_UCD question

Mike,

AACSB schools like to accept their own because graduates from AACSB schools are "in the club". But, I can't recall that having an AACSB accredited degree was a requirement for a student applying to an AACSB school. Acceptance depends on GMAT, grades and work experience, if you are refering to a more traditional program. Clearly, schools look at an applicant's school and make a judgement about quality. A B+ from Harvard is better than an A- from a no name school. That's just reality.

You have to examine where you are refering to with respect to the food chain in academia. If you have a non AACSB you can apply anywhere in the world and be evaluated on the three points of the admissions triangle above referenced.