DOCTOR OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION - University of Worcester

WHY WORCESTER?Our DBA programme offers you:• Academic rigor: Gain a deeper understanding of your chosen subject area with a challenging combination ofresearch training and supervised research.• A wide variety of research interests: We have a strong mix of academics with a high degree of professionaland personal experience enabling you to get the most out of both the taught and research element of yourprogramme.• Excellent supervision: Benefit from a professional and challenging relationship with your supervisory team, drawnfrom experienced professionals working at the forefront of their disciplines.• Resources: Access to the University of Worcester’s virtual resources and to the state of the art library facilities atThe Hive.• Networking opportunities: Because of the way that the taught element is structured and organised, theprogramme offers the enrichment opportunity of working alongside health and education professionals forming a‘community of practice’.THE BENEFITS TO YOUR ORGANISATION:• Access to vital ‘cutting edge’ thinking.• The ability to significantly enhance your organisation’s innovative capacity.• The opportunity to offer senior business professionals the chance for further career development.COURSE AIMSThe DBA Programme aims to develop business professionals’ ability to integrate rigorous academic/critical analysiswith practical relevance and application to enable them to become more effective evidence-based practitioners andto contribute to the development of their profession through the furtherance of knowledge.COURSE DELIVERYThe taught programme commences with a 1 week-long residential during October half term followed by 4 weekendblocks that are spread across the following 12 months (January 2014, May 2014, July 2014 and October 2015), so asto cause minimum disruption to your workload. The residential will take place at a hotel in Worcestershire and theweekend blocks will take place at either the University’s St John’s Campus or City Centre Campus. Both have goodtransport links and are within easy reach of public transport.The taught programme is shared across our three Professional Doctorate Programmes therefore offering you theopportunity to work alongside professionals in the health and education disciplines.Although the delivery is described as ‘taught’, at DBA level the delivery is about a process of professional criticalengagement between academic staff and participants. The learning process includes lectures, facilitated discussionsand participant presentations, as well as online interaction and workshops focusing on aspects of professional cultureand the research process. These activities are informed not only by knowledge and skills relevant to the modules, butare importantly based around the research questions and issues brought to the programme by those involved.The research stage of your programme usually takes 2-3 years to complete and will culminate in the production of a50,000 word thesis that will be examined by viva voce. It is expected that you will commence the thesis stage of theprogramme following notification that you have passed the taught element of the programme. Your research may besuitable for publication, as journal articles or a book.MODULE SUMMARYThe Researching ProfessionalThe purpose of this module - stretching across the length of the taught component of the professional doctorate - isto consider, in a holistic sense, the nature of ‘knowledge’, its generation and management in various contexts, andthe relationship of this to the participant’s professional culture, identity and role. The multiple factors – at a macro,meso and micro level - shaping knowledge and organisational cultures will be critically explored. The ways in whichknowledge is constructed and used, and the place of forms of evidence and research in informing, shaping andreshaping practices – and professional self-identity within this – will be critically evaluated.

Project Development, Planning and ManagementThis module seeks to equip students with the knowledge, skills and capabilities to plan, initiate, manage and “writeup” their doctoral research project.Research Methods and DesignThe purpose of this module is to enable the student to reflect on the variety of methods available to completedoctoral level research. Students will discuss relevant and appropriate knowledge and skills required, includingliterature searching at doctorate level, critical reading, identifying and defining the research question, methodologicaland analytical processes involved in completing the research process, and research ethics associated with particularmethods. Students will be introduced to a variety of research methods dependent on the interests, circumstances andexpertise of the participant cohort. Students will compare and contrast research paradigms and approaches, considerthe implications for their own research question and develop a design, including the formation of a research question.ENTRY QUALIFICATIONSApplicants are expected to be active experienced professionals who have recently (within the last 6 years) beenawarded a relevant Masters qualification. Applicants must also be able to demonstrate that they have a minimum ofthree years senior management / business experience.A full-time/International version of the DBA is not currently available.HOW TO APPLYAll applicants must complete the application form www.worcester.ac.uk/professionaldoctorate and submit thisto the Graduate Research School by Wednesday 31 st July 2013. We have only a limited number of places on ourProfessional Doctorate Programmes so applicants will be shortlisted and successful candidates will be interviewed inAugust/September 2013.FEESCurrent fees can be found on the University website: www.worcester.ac.ukwww.worcester.ac.uk