Hello to all, I am currently pursuing a Ph.d. with NCU. However, I recently discovered that the DBA (with the same institution) does not require an oral defense and I am still provided the opportunity to specialize in computer science. Would someone please offer pros/cons on making the switch. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
I hope that others will correct me if I'm wrong but my general sense is that the DBA is considered to be more of a professional degree and might be of more use in the business world while the PhD is considered to be more of a research oriented degree (hence the emphasis on the dissertation defense) and might be more useful in the academic world. I'm sure there are many exceptions. So, it might just come down to your having a clear sense of how you'd like to use the degree. I have two further thoughts. The first is that I'd be a bit surprised to discover that the lack of an oral dissertation defense was the only difference between these two doctoral programs. Second, I wouldn't let the defense scare you away from the PhD program. If you can finish the coursework and the dissertation then surely you can get through the defense. In any case, good luck. Jack
Much has been discussed on the topic of DBA vs PhD already. However, I am going through the decision process myself. My company has agreed to pay 100% tuition for a doctorate program and now I need to pick the school and program. NCU is my top pick now. I see the DBA option there and think that the better way to go, for me, is the PhD. I am in the computer field and too often when people in that arena hear "DBA" they think database administrator. I tested the waters out at work and people thought I was going to take some Oracle certification. To me, the oral defense doesn't seem like it would take that much effort when the payoff would be PhD. You will work hard on a dissertation with either the PhD or the DBA route. Touro and Union are on my short list, too, but I am still leaning toward NCU. Since you are an NCU student, do you happen to know if they have ACE accreditation? Is there such a thing? Just curious. I noticed that Columbia Southern was ACE but did not see NCU on the list. I'll send a message to NCU and ask.
From the NCU website: D.B.A. Objectives: The ongoing growth of the information economy and the increasing complexities of the workplace underlie the need for advanced graduate training in business administration. The Doctor of Business Administration (D.B.A.) emphasizes the application and communication of research as the basis for sound business decisions. The D.B.A. serves as preparation for advanced positions of leadership and requires a dissertation. The D.B.A. dissertation is original research intended to establish a learner's research competence through the application of research to a practical business problem. It may involve a case study methodology, documentary analysis, a qualitative research design, or a "mixed methods" research design. Although a D.B.A. dissertation is required to address a practical problem of an organization, it is not required to produce an original contribution to the body of knowledge in Business Administration. An oral defense of the D.B.A. dissertation is not required. http://www.ncu.edu/university_information/dpro_det.asp?degree_program_id=17 I already requested a transfer from the Ph.D. program to the DBA. I am uninterested in teaching and more interested in the learned application to my work responisbilities. In this case the DBA is better suited. I believe if one was interested in teaching then the Ph.D. would be a better option . I did not see NCU in the ACE directory. http://www.acenet.edu/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Membership&Template=/TaggedPage/TaggedPageDisplay.cfm&TPLID=64&ContentID=8358
You could probably teach alright with a DBA, too. Andy B. has written some good info on the forum about his Nova DBA program and Nova's DBA program in general.
Depending on the school involved - DBAs and PhD are pretty interchangeable. Some schools differentiate these two degrees, others don't. Regards - Andy
The PhD is supposed to be the more academic research degree that generally leading to professorships, while the DBA is supposed to be the more practical applied degree that generally leads to senior management positions. That said, there are plenty of DBAs in academia and plenty of corporate PhDs. That said, even the the PhD degree is in Business Administration with Applied Computer Science concentration. So, even the PhD in BA/ACS could have an applied dissertation. Not only does one get to escape the orals with the DBA, it has been suggested elsewhere on this board that DBA students might be able to escape Statistics. (Gee, if for that reason alone, maybe I'll try the DBA [rather than the PhD] in E-Commerce! Hee. Hee.)
There are only a few differences I can perceive. First, a few schools allow DBA candidates to take NCU's approach of working a practical problem (applied research) instead of a straight research problem. But I wonder if many Ph.D. programs will also allow this. Second, there is the issue of lay people who recognize the term "Ph.D.," but not "DBA." Finally, if one took a DBA with an applied research dissertation, might some academic hiring committees question your ability to supervise research? Maybe. These are tiny issues compared to all of the big ones (cost, learning method, quality of program, residencies, etc.) you have to face. All other things being equal, I would prefer the Ph.D. designation to avoid the rare confusion, but I would have so many other deciding factors before that that it wouldn't be an issue affecting my decision.
Andy, What sort of school differentiates between the two? Is it lower tier schools not caring about the difference and the upper echelon making the distinction? Other factors involved here that such a distinction might be made? To me, the NCU program hasn't made me believe there is much of a difference between the two at all. If I look at the Aussie schools I can see some clearer distinctions, though. Looking at that DETC pilot, I saw that they were requiring schools to have oral defenses for the DBA/EdD/etc. Read that yesterday as I was looking up ACE information. I thought that was an interesting point to be brought up here. Also, interestingly enough I did not find Touro or NCU in the ACE listing. I did find Harvard, Purdue, Indiana, Utah, BYU, Illinois, and the other major and minor schools(including Columbia Southern and Cal Coast) with ACE membership. Does that tell us anything about Touro and NCU? I don't know enough about it, actually. http://ace.activematter.com/resources/memberdirectory/members.cfm
Interestingly NCU accepts ACE credit. "NCU accepts military experience and training for credit in transfer toward our bachelor’s degrees. Graduate level military credits from senior staff schools awarding ACE recommended credits or regionally accredited military schools are accepted." http://www.ncu.edu/military/ Being that NCU is RA, does the fact that they are not listed in the ACE listing really have any bearing? What is the significance of an RA university being a member of ACE?
Since business is not my discipline, I thought that I would check the faculty list for my university's school of business. Here is their degree info (no pun intended): 22 with Ph.D. 5 with D.B.A. 3 with J.D. (all teaching business law)
Just as a data point, and for what its worth--this is from the Harvard Business School Website: (I like the statement "a student should not select a program based on the type, but rather on research focus and methods.") What's the difference between the DBA and PhD? The decision to pursue a particular doctoral degree at Harvard should be based on an individual's research interests and the approach one wishes to apply to that research. By reviewing each program's curriculum and faculty research interests, students can get a good sense of their potential fit. Harvard Business School offers two types of doctoral degrees: Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) and Doctor of Philosophy (PhD). However, a student should not select a program based on the type, but rather on research focus and methods. DBA: Power in Practice Combining academic rigor and managerial relevance, the DBA program provides students with the flexibility to apply a broad range of disciplines and research methods to their chosen area of study. In addition, students benefit from the wide range of faculty expertise in management fields, such as accounting and marketing, and multiple opportunities to actively pursue field-based research. PhD: Disciplinary and Management Expertise The PhD programs are offered jointly by the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (GSAS) and Harvard Business School. They combine the disciplinary expertise of a GSAS department (e.g. Economics, Psychology) with the management expertise of HBS. As a result, students build a strong foundation in a particular discipline and then apply those methods and approaches to their research on relevant managerial problems
This DBA vs PhD is a bit of a gray area. From the UK or Australian perspective, the DBA is basically the natural transition for MBA holders and the PhD is normally restricted to M.Phil graduates. The MBA was considered a terminal degree but recently the DBA has emerged as a way to differentiate business professionals. DBAs in the UK and Australia are considered practicioner's degrees with the intention to train business professionals and not faculty members while the PhD was for those looking for academic careers. In the US, it is a different story as MBAs are allowed into PhD programs so the DBA becomes a bit hard to differentiate as some schools only offer DBAs as part of their doctoral programs in business. DBAs programs in the UK and Australia contain course work and a dissertation while PhDs are research based only. On the contrary, american PhDs require course work and a dissertation so in fact the UK and Australian DBA is closer to the american PhD. However, in the real world, you have DBAs working as faculty and PhDs working in business. Faculty positions are not based on the name of the degree but based on connections, acomplishments or just market needs. As for NCU, it is obvious that they want to target practicioners rather than faculty prospects as the latter market is a lot bigger. Nevertheless, regardless of the type of degree (PhD or DBA), the choise must be made based on professional goals and interests. The DBA seems to be the best of the two worlds as you will remain in the professional world with the open door to academia, however, the problem is that traditional schools are more familiar with PhDs rather than DBAs. At least in Canada, DBAs are almost non existing so few know what is a DBA but is enough to mention that you have a Doctor of Business Administration as french schools call them "Doctorat en administration" that are essentially the same in translation.
Lots of great info! I thank you all for your help. I believe I'm going to make the switch. After all, teaching is not my #1 in terms of aspirations.
