Bentley University's Executive Ph.D in Business Administration

Bentley University offers an Executive Ph.D. in Business Administration requires one weekend per semester on campus. The program is 3 years with a price tag $153,000.00. It is cheaper than buying a brand new Bentley car.
URL: https://www.bentley.edu/academics/phd-programs/executive-phd#info

 

Yes, it is. But if you can buy the car, do you really need the degree?

 

While $153,000 is a lot of money, Bentley is AACSB Accredited in Business and Accounting so I’d say the price tag is steeper, but still in line, with other similar programs. For instance, Oklahoma State University has a PhD for Executives for $129,000.

 

There's a link on the page to "My Bentley." I clicked, hoping for a Continental or a Flying Spur. Nope - Course Listing, Academic Calendar etc. Oh well...

 

I've been getting ads from this school on my Facebook page. It is not worth spending $153K for the typical middle-class doctoral student unless you can get one of their fellowships to lower the cost.

 

This degree makes no sense. Even the term "Executive PhD" is an oxymoron.

They say it is for "working professionals." Then why a scholarly degree? Why not a professional doctorate that is designed to advance practice, not theory? They don't say. They don't give any indication about the purpose for the degree.

Meh.

 

I've never met, or even clicked onto a profile on LinkedIn, of someone earning one of these executive PhDs. Cumberlands offers them, but the distinction between the Executive PhD and the regular one is that the Executive program is more expensive, includes mandatory residencies and optional night school vs online courses, qualifies for F1 status (and OPT).

 

It is all about making fancy degree title for senior executive professionals. Where the school charge six-figure tuition.

• Virginia Tech's Executive Ph.D in Business Administration at $120,000.00
• University of Denver's Executive Ph.D. in Business Administration at $135,000.00
• Bentley University's Executive Ph.D. in Business Administration at $153,000.00
• Florida Atlantic University's Executive Ph.D. in Business Administration at $80,000.00
• "Oklahoma State University's PhD for Executives at $129,000"
• ESCP Business School's Global Executive Ph.D. in Business Administration at $84,000.00

 

I would not say it does not make sense. The program is geared towards executive/senior management employees who want to pursue a PhD. Whereas the PhD is typically (not always) geared towards younger individuals with little industry experience.

I view this similar to the MBA and Executive MBA.

 

I disagree because of what the PhD is and is not.

The PhD is a scholarly degree. That means the researcher makes an original, significant contribution to scholarship. (Not practice.) Usually, this is done through theory testing or theory creation. (I did the latter at Leicester.)

Any degree labeled "executive" is, by definition, aimed at practitioners. Looking at the web page for this degree, that much can be ascertained directly.

But "PhD" and "executive" are mutually exclusive concepts. A mid-career professional in practice would not normally be publishing to advance scholarship but, rather, to advance practice.

I agree that it is little more than a marketing ploy. And I would bet even a casual perusal of the dissertations being produced would reveal contributions to practice, not scholarship.

I didn't create these distinctions, but they exist. To be blurred over in the name of marketing, I guess.

 

Yes. It is likely that most--or all--participants are employer-sponsored.

It boils down to ROI. An individual will not see the ROI an organization would with the same investment. The individual will likely see a bump in salary and career, while the employer could see millions of dollars (hypothetically) from that executive's performance.

It's why I have zero self-paying clients, yet I work with several dozen every month. They're all funded by their employers. And it's why I charge not what the client can afford, but what the business will invest to gain the value.