teaching with an DBA?

Hello,

Since, allegedly, the DBA is a professional degree, what are the chances to get a teaching position at an university with this degree?
Would universities prefer someone with a Ph.D. in business over someone with an DBA?

Dennis

 

Good question. I personally think it is about the publication record, connections, experience, name of the school rather than the name of the degree. A DBA from Harvard would carry a lot more weight than a PhD from any low tier school.

Some countries don't differentiate their types of doctorate. In french canadian schools, PhDs in BA are "doctorats in administration" therefore no difference exists in their degree designations. DBAs in the UK and Australia are closer to the PhD in the US and Canada since they require an MBA for admission rather than the M.Phil or M.Sc required for the PhD.

In Canada, I see people using the PhD designation for DBAs earned in the US as the DBA is almost non existing in the Canadian education system.

I would say that in Canada or US, the DBA is an acceptable credential for teaching. However, in the UK and Australia, the trend is to have the PhD as the teaching credential.

 

It's not that uncommon to see someone with a DBA from an AACSB-accredited school teaching at a solid business school. Other poster's right--it has more to do with publications and research.

Now, since this is a DL forum, and assuming that you're a U.S. citizen who's thinking about teaching here eventually, I think what you might be getting at is whether a DBA from a DL school (such as Aston, Manchester, Henley, Grenoble, etc) would be accepted in U.S. academia and get you that tenure track position. That's far more uncharted territory. It just so happens that all of the AACSB-accredited DL doctorates are from Euro (mainly UK) schools, and these are virtually all DBAs. So, if you're asking if you'd have a legitimate shot at a tenure track position in the U.S. with the combination of:

a). A DBA rather than a PhD;

b). A European rather than a U.S. doctorate; and

c). The "stigma" of a DL degree...

That's far more speculative. I know of no one who's done it and managed to land a professorship at an AACSB B-school in the U.S. This may be because few have tried or have finished the programs yet (PT DBAs via distance are a long and winding road--4-7 years post MBA), but in a competitive hire situation, I can't imagine it wouldn't be an uphill climb. Perhaps someone would have a better shot if they went the adjunct route first, published like crazy while doing that, then applied for the first available position at that school where they adjunct or got some other profs or administrators who've become familiar with them to write good recs or give them good leads on jobs.

I'm certain it can be done with the DL DBA (so long as it's AACSB, and there are no U.S. schools who fit into that category), but it would take more work, better publications, and perhaps an inside hire (such as adjunct-to-tenure track) to pull it off.

If you do not fit the profile into which I said I thought you might fit above, then nevermind this post. If you want to teach in Europe, I can't imagine the DL DBA would be a huge barrier--they're more accepted over there.

 

That is the bottom of the problem. With the increasing number of PhDs looking for jobs from top Universities, it leaves very little room for the DL PhD or DBA holders. In my faculty, there was an opening for an IS professor but it was given to a guy with two PhDs and one post doc from a top tier school. It was almost impossible to compete with that even with a traditional PhD. However, one stands a better chance if the DBA is in a field with high demand as accounting. I would avoid general management DBAs as even adjunct positions are becomming almost impossible to get in general business areas.

 

You might be seeing my resume pass by sometime next year..