Durham University DBA

Discussion in 'Business and MBA degrees' started by ravenclawed, May 18, 2016.

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  1. ravenclawed

    ravenclawed New Member

    Hello All,

    Is there anyone on the site who has been accepted or rejected by this program? I am planning/ready to apply and would like to know how the application process went and what the outcomes might be.

    Durham is my firm first choice (there are others who are a close second third and fourth...including 2 US programs), but I have yet to encounter anyone who has applied and either been accepted or rejected.

    Thanks
    Ravenclawed
     
  2. JP007

    JP007 Member

    I'm just finishing my first year doing a part time PhD at Durham. I initially thought about the DBA program, but decided (along w/ my adviser) that a PhD would be more appropriate.

    I absolutely love Durham and can't recommend it enough. I'm rarely on campus as I spend my time between S. Europe and the US.

    Feel free to PM me, happy to answer any and all Qs.

    Cheers,
     
  3. ravenclawed

    ravenclawed New Member

    @JP007 thank you thank you thank you! You have a DM!
     
  4. AV8R

    AV8R Active Member

    JP007,

    How often are you required to visit the Durham campus for the part-time PhD program?
     
  5. JP007

    JP007 Member

    Visiting DU campus really depends on your supervisor. I've been there 1x during my 1st year and my plan is to go back towards the end of my 2nd year for a presentation I have to give. I have a fellow part time PhD friend who is required to go back 1x a month, another who has to go back 1x a qtr. I guess I was lucky as my academic interests perfectly aligned w/ my supervisor and he's on the road a lot - so skype calls are easier for him.

    I absolutely love love love Durham! Happy to answer any other questions about the program.
     
  6. kheng86

    kheng86 New Member

    Hi,
    I got accepted to the Durham DBA for the October intake this year. Application is quite straight forward. You just need to fill up the typical application details and upload your qualification certs and a research proposal. Then your 2 referees will need to fill up the referee reports to be sent to durham. I think I got my acceptance within a few weeks. All the best to you!
     
  7. FTFaculty

    FTFaculty Well-Known Member

    Durham's elite in the UK, probably Ivy League equivalent, just can't get past the price tag, cannot justify $60K USD for a doctorate. If I ever do decide to pursue a more traditional doctorate more palatable in academia (currently JD/MBA, no academic doctorate in my vita, which is not the best for career advancement in the ivory towers), I'd likely go EBS H-W, if they'd admit me. If money weren't an object, it'd be Durham (if they'd admit me).
     
  8. Bruce

    Bruce Moderator

    I would think that $60K for an Ivy League-level doctorate is a fantastic bargain.
     
  9. AV8R

    AV8R Active Member

    That's actually a pretty good deal when you compare it to what other schools are charging for their DBA degrees. University of Florida charges $104k. Creighton University charges $120k.
     
  10. AV8R

    AV8R Active Member

    Does Durham require GMAT scores?
     
  11. RFValve

    RFValve Well-Known Member

    How much you want to pay? Walden, Capella and NCU PhDs cost more than 60K.
    University of Toronto's MBA is more than 100K
    I think even schools like Azteca cost as much.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: May 21, 2016
  12. JP007

    JP007 Member

    A few things...

    Yes, Durham has an middle tier Ivy League reputation in the UK / EU, and as a Uni its recognized throughout the EU as tops (the b-school has a less stellar reputation but what can you do). While the cost may seem high, if you're a EU citizen, you will pay about a qtr of the price and there is funding available to those who qualify depending on their research. I had the GMAT left over from my prev masters degree, which I submitted anyway, not sure if it was needed or not.

    For my search I looked at the top Unis in the US, UK, Spain, France, Swiss and searched which schools had part time distance PhD programs.

    I ended up getting into Cass (UK), but didn't like the supervisor nor the 4 weeks of on campus requirement. U of Manchester (UK) DBA's program loved my app but I would have had to change my topic completely as they didn't have a supervisor for my research needs and IE's (Spain) DBA misplaced my application last yr and pushed it to this year (nice job guys).

    My preference was also PhD over DBA, not an online only Uni and a Uni that's top 10 in its respective country. I've lived before in LDN so I knew of Durham.

    Happy to answer any questions about Durham!
     
  13. FTFaculty

    FTFaculty Well-Known Member

    Everything that each of you say is 100% true, cannot deny it, but...just out of my pricepoint league.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: May 23, 2016
  14. Rich Douglas

    Rich Douglas Well-Known Member

    Ivy League? Penn is 18, Brown 51, Harvard 1, Yale 15, Cornell 18, Dartmouth 158, Columbia 15, Princeton 7.

    Durham: Somewhere between 60 and 95, depending on the source. (These things vary from source-to-source and year-to-year, but you can get a basic idea.)

    Highly ranked, but not "Ivy League" high, where the median above is 16.5.
     
  15. SteveFoerster

    SteveFoerster Resident Gadfly Staff Member

    Good point. It also highlights the folly of using a sports league, which is what the Ivy League actually is, as shorthand for "the best schools academically". For sentimental reasons I love Brown and Dartmouth, but I don't think anyone knowledgeable would list them if asked for the best eight universities in the U.S.
     
  16. JP007

    JP007 Member

    Obviously the person who posted DU isn't not considered 'Ivy League' hasn't lived in London or the EU. DU is absolutely a top 6 Uni in the UK, yes there is a fair amt of variance between the national & int'l rankings. However, the Uni's national ranking and the Uni's pedigree spills over into the EU broadly. You can see the UK rankings here:

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rankings_of_universities_in_the_United_Kingdom

    To someone in the UK or the EU, Durham is considered a middle tier Ivy league school.

    Obviously the int'l rankings are fairly different, but as a EU applicant I'm more concerned w/ the UK and EU reputation...If you can show me a top 20 global Uni that let's me do a distance PhD, I'm all ears....The problem is, they don't exist.
     
  17. Rich Douglas

    Rich Douglas Well-Known Member

    That 'someone' is readily identifiable (me).

    Durham's ranking is on par with the University of Rochester, not Cornell. It's no big deal, but it's true. It might be 6th in the UK, but it's more like 80th in the world. The Ivy League schools--with the exception of Dartmouth--are ranked demonstrably higher.

    Your access (or lack thereof) to a distance PhD doesn't change that. Nor does the impressions of those inside the UK or the EU.

    Calling Durham "Ivy League" is like describing the Fresno Grizzlies as the 'Yankees of AAA baseball."

    I'm not putting down an outstanding and well-regarding university. Just tamping down the hyperbole a bit.
     
  18. FTFaculty

    FTFaculty Well-Known Member

    World university rankings are generally three parts legitimate measure, two parts US bias, one part hand waving, and one part horse manure. There are some bizarre anomalies in the various world rankings rankings I've seen to say the least. Just a sampling that I've noted from schools I know something about: Penn State ahead of Warwick, UC San Diego ahead of Georgia Tech and just about everyone else in the world, including Georgetown, Emory, etc., and UC Davis does not belong in a virtual tie with the U of Tokyo--not by a country mile. One has to wonder if the methodology is driven by as much conscious thought as a Pollock painting.

    IMHO, a top 6 UK ranking puts Durham in the range of US Ivy League.
     
  19. JP007

    JP007 Member

    FTFaculty - I completely agree.
    Rich Douglas - We have to agree to disagree.

    Penn State ahead of Warwick, Georgia Tech ahead of Georgetown...blindly picking the int'l rankings as how these Unis are regarded shows a lack of understanding in how employers, industry professionals and other academics regard these Universities with no merit for the national rankings.

    By this matter, exactly like Dartmouth, Durham would be equal to a US Ivy League school. ..Dartmouth (like Durham in the UK) is regarded as a top US school because of the impressions of those inside the US as well as it's national ranking (#12 US National University) .......So, Dartmouth is a top school that's only ranked highly in the US, not in the int'l rankings, BUT somehow Durham doesn't fall into the same bucket?
     
    Last edited by a moderator: May 23, 2016
  20. Rich Douglas

    Rich Douglas Well-Known Member

    Nothing to agree or disagree about. This isn't an opinion. The rankings are facts. What you make of them is your business.
     

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