College of Charleston Low-Res Executive DBA

The College of Charleston offers a low-residency Executive DBA. One weekend on-campus per term in Charleston SC, three terms per year. Three-year cohort program. Dissertation. Ten years’ work experience and a master’s are required for admission; the master’s does not need to be in business.

The College of Charleston is a public university founded in 1770, US News Regional Universities South #9, Best Business Schools #88. It is unrelated to the University of Charleston in WV. The EDBA is from the School of Business, which holds AACSB accreditation, though at this writing the school’s AACSB listing shows accreditation up to the master’s level and with the only delivery option “fully face-to-face.”

“$85,500 covers tuition, materials, parking, meals, and more.”

 

As some readers know, I'm very against the "what's the cheapest PhD?" philosphy. (Degreeforum.net is filled with that stuff.)

But this is pretty expensive for a degree from a school no one's ever heard of. (I mean that figuratively, not literally.) I suspect many (most?) of their students are sponsored by their employers.

 

"All-Inclusive Tuition: $85,500 covers tuition, materials, parking, meals, and more". Too steep might not have any return on investment.

 

You must not have noticed, that includes parking!!

 

College of Charleston...hm. I visited the campus once maybe 10 years ago. Like almost everything about Charleston, it seemed charming and graceful.

Almost everything. The Slave Mart was still pretty appalling. That, and the ubiquitous display of the Stars and Bars flag.

Still, I wouldn't have minded living there for a year or so to complete a masters or something. Terrific seafood.

Now let me think...did the College of Charleston have any connection with the now defunct Charleston Law School?

 

I will say that I do like that they've included residencies. I really appreciate the value of human interaction and mutual support they provide. They provide both depth and width in the doctoral experience, giving space for unanticipated benefits that can arise.

I've done one with a significant number of residencies and interactions. (My Union program had a minimum of 35 days, but I did 50+.) And I've done one in almost total isolation. In my Leicester program (programme!), we had annual, optional campus days. I traveled to the UK 6 times for them, but they still weren't enough. I wish they were a week long each. (The only mandatory appearance on campus was one's viva voce.)

So, I can speak from first-hand experience about the value of residencies and the what's missing by the lack of them.

 

My assumption is that the target audience for these programs are highly paid executives for whom the $85K+ is not a big deal. On the other hand, what is the company getting out of it? Do you become a better executive if you complete a DBA? Or is it about satisfying investors?

 

That might be the "Question That Must Not Be Asked".