DBA - University of Northumbria

Discussion in 'Business and MBA degrees' started by lowtrader, Aug 8, 2013.

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  1. lowtrader

    lowtrader New Member

    Does anyone have any experience with University of Northumbria's DBA?

    Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) - Northumbria University, Newcastle UK

    I'd like to get a feel of the University since the DBA is 3 years part-time.
     
  2. RFValve

    RFValve Well-Known Member

    This a middle tear British school according to the rankings below, the program seems to be a good deal but bear in mind that the school is not AACSB accredited.

    Top UK University League Tables and Rankings 2014 - Complete University Guide
    However, the course doesn't state is a distance learning program so make sure that you don't need to go to the Uk.

    As a personal experience, I enrolled in a British research program to find out later that I was required to attend 6 weekends in London. Don't assume that because is research, you don't have to go to the school.
     
  3. Rich Douglas

    Rich Douglas Well-Known Member

    Note that Northumbria is a post-1992 British uni. That distinction matters in UK higher education. Not so much for students in the U.S. taking degrees from these schools.
     
  4. Phdtobe

    Phdtobe Well-Known Member

    What do you think will happen if students only pursue business PhDs at few aacsb accredited universities? What do you think will happen if employers only hired *only graduates from the few aacsb *accredited *universities? This aacsb marketing *by a few reeks of propaganda. aacsb is never the main deciding criterion - ask the many happy and successful graduate from non aacsb universities.
     
  5. lowtrader

    lowtrader New Member

    Tis DBA does involve attending campus sometimes. But it won't be a problem for me, a mere 3.5 hours flight. (will have to dispose of my 26 days of annual vacation leave :)

    What do you mean by a post 1992 uni? I am not a fanatic of accreditation, I would like to do my research and publish it, and be recognised. AACSB accreditation won't get me any discount on tuition fees :)

    I'm more interested in the perception of the uni, and the quality of supervisors available (and by quality I do not mean gurus who think they ae Gd's gift to mankind, but the type that sit down and talk - & be down to Earth).
     
  6. Rich Douglas

    Rich Douglas Well-Known Member

  7. lowtrader

    lowtrader New Member

  8. RFValve

    RFValve Well-Known Member

    In the UK, the accreditation agency for business programs is AMBA (equivalent to AACSB). This school is not accredited by AMBA. This doesn't mean that is a bad school but other schools tend to use the AMBA accreditation as a benchmark of quality.

    Accreditation carries value if you want to work for top consulting firms or want to work in academia. If you are doing it for self improvement, then any government approved UK University should meet your requirements as all meet minimum quality standards.

    From the UK DBAs, I believe one of the best is the one from Henley College (now Henley Business school). Many top consultants and academic are graduates from this school.
     
  9. Ted Heiks

    Ted Heiks Moderator and Distinguished Senior Member

    And here I thought that the benchmark of quality in the UK was triple crown accreditation by AACSB/AMBA/EQUIS.
     
  10. Phdtobe

    Phdtobe Well-Known Member

    It is all about marketing. In the 80s Heriot & Watts was ranked in world top 100 MBAs. There was lots of pressure for it to seek programmatic accreditation. It did not, because it was a marketing gimmick that would have increase tuitions for its students.
    "There are a number of agencies that offer accreditation for programmes, disciplines, schools and institutions for which there is no legal, regulatory or professional requirement. Such forms of accreditation are entirely voluntary and may be of greater or lesser significance according to national or cultural perceptions. The presence of unregulated providers in the global education market creates a threat and leads to market pressure for visible evidence that a provider is credible. For universities in the UK sector, such forms of accreditation are a means of enhancing image, particularly in subject areas that have a strong international reach such as business education. Such approvals are not necessary to demonstrate quality, as they may be in other markets.

    To date, EBS has not sought to pursue additional accreditation from the main agencies that provide value-added accreditation for business programmes: EQUIS (the European Quality Improvement System); AACSB; and AMBA (UK Association of MBAs)."
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Aug 13, 2013
  11. RFValve

    RFValve Well-Known Member

    AMBA is the British accreditation agency for MBAs. Other benchmark indicators are accreditation by accounting and financial bodies such as CIMA, ACCA, AIA, etc or technical bodies such as the British Computer Society. Very few schools have the triple accreditation (AACSB, EQUIS and AMBA), this would be ideal but I don't think necessary to be able to probe the quality of the school.

    There is no specific accreditation body that determines the quality of the school but I would be concerned if the school has no professional accreditation at all.

    Again, it depends what is the use of the DBA. If the OP just wants a DBA for personal growth and be able to have the credibility required to publish, then any school might do it. If the OP wants to teach or use it to gain the attention of the big 4 for consulting positions, I would go with a recognized business school.
     
  12. RFValve

    RFValve Well-Known Member

    Well, EBS is well known in accounting and accredited by ACCA. This accreditation alone is sufficient to guarantee enough enrollment. The ACCA qualification is very well known world wide.

    HW is also very well known in the UK for engineering and technology so my guess is that EBS might have enough recognition in the UK so the AMBA accreditation is not needed.
    AACSB accreditation is mainly pursued by UK universities with a large number of international students as this is the accreditation body that is more well known world wide.

    AACSB accreditation would only matter if you are planning to bring the degree to the US and use it for academic positions. Most academic jobs require this accreditation. If your plan is to remain in the UK or not to pursue an academic career, this might not matter as much.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Aug 13, 2013
  13. Ted Heiks

    Ted Heiks Moderator and Distinguished Senior Member

    ... and ACCA is?
     
  14. distancedoc2007

    distancedoc2007 New Member

    I freely admit my ignorance about accreditation, but it seems to me that at the doctoral level, what you choose to research, the fact that you finished at all, and how well your thesis stands on its own as a good and useful piece of research are the most important things. To some extent, you may get some boost from the reputation of your supervisor(s) too. In the end, it just becomes something you accomplished, like climbing the local mountain. It's not vocational training. What you do afterwards matters more.
     
  15. major56

    major56 Active Member

  16. Phdtobe

    Phdtobe Well-Known Member

    ACCA is equivalent to a master degree in many countries. That is pretty impressive. With over 120 using IFRS ACCA may be the way to go if you work for a mnc.
     
  17. RFValve

    RFValve Well-Known Member

    You are right, many Universities accept ACCA for admission into a DBA or PhD.
    ACCA also works with oxford brookes University, you get a Bachelors degree from them if you complete 9 exams. The last 6 exams are considered at the Masters level, few Universities are willing to grant you a MSc if you have ACCA and complete a dissertation.

    If you think about it, you can go from no degree to a DBA in less than 5 years. An ACCA qualification can be completed in 3 years and a DBA fom some of the British schools in 2 years.
     
  18. lowtrader

    lowtrader New Member

    My exact line of thought. IF I choose a non-accredited University over an accredited on the work will still be the same. Would it add less value to the world versus an accredited DBA programme?

    Moreover since Universities are following the Bologna process the standard will meet the necessary requirements.

    Note: Accreditation is all about marketing (in my opinion). Just as organisations that implement standards such as ISO 9001 .... money money money :(
     
  19. RFValve

    RFValve Well-Known Member

    At least in Academia, it pays off to have an AACSB accredited doctorate. An starting salary for a professor in marketing is 115 K
    http://www.aacsb.edu/publications/datareports/salarysurvey/2012-13.pdf

    Doctorates that are not AACSB accredited are hard to sell in the American academic market, if you find something it will be probably in 50 to 60K range to start.

    Basically, you double your salary if the doctorate is AACSB accredited. Again, we are assuming that you are going to teach with it. If you are already making more than 100K and just need the doctorate to improve your self, then accreditation won't matter.
     
  20. Phdtobe

    Phdtobe Well-Known Member

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