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Notes

Where exemptions are granted, maximum and minimum duration will be adjusted in the same proportion as exemptions, for example, where the maximum of four exemptions is granted, maximum time will be four years.

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Program focus

The focus of this program is to provide a high-level, business oriented doctoral research program that gives students who are already business professionals, sufficient theoretical and empirical understanding to enable them to identify and resolve business challenges in both the private and public sectors. The candidates contribute to knowledge generation that can improve managerial practise. DBA alumni work as academics, consultants or managers in diverse industries worldwide.

Program aims

The focus of this program is to provide a high-level, vocationally-oriented program that gives students who are already business professionals sufficient theoretical and empirical understanding to enable them to identify and resolve business challenges in both the private and public sectors.

Program objectives

On successful completion of the Doctor of Business Administration program students will be able to:

• apply relevant theoretical knowledge to contemporary business problems

• critique contemporary organisational practice in the light of relevant theory

• explain the principles of, and apply, a range of quantitative and qualitative research methods frequently used in business research

• determine and apply appropriate research methods to business management problems

• critically evaluate business research studies in order to assess their quality and applicability in improving the effective handling of business management problems

• acquire and utilise knowledge of behavioural, policy and strategic issues to improve the effectiveness of their own organisations

• identify, analyse and evaluate internal and external environmental influences on organisations in order to develop strategic plans for the management of change and development

• demonstrate superior oral and written communications skills relevant to business

• link the educational experience directly with their own workplace experience.

Admission requirements

Candidates for entry into the Doctor of Business Administration must meet each of the following entry criteria to the satisfaction of the DBA research program coordinator:

1. a coursework Masters degree or equivalent level from a recognised institution

2. 5 years full-time equivalent work experience, including at least 2 years full-time equivalent work experience in a managerial position, as determined by the DBA research program coordinator

3. submission of a satisfactory preliminary research proposal, as determined by the Higher Degrees Review and Admissions Committee.

Notes:

Admission to the Doctor of Business Administration is dependent upon the Faculty's capacity to supervise the proposed dissertation. Prospective candidates should consult with the DBA research program coordinator before preparing their preliminary dissertation proposals. Research concentrations within the Faculty of Business and Law are updated periodically. The current list is available at the .

Candidates for admission to the Doctor of Business Administration must meet the ¾«¶«´«Ã½app's English language proficiency requirements for postgraduate students. Please refer to Section 2.2.4 of the .

How to apply

Applications for should be made directly to USQ.

DBA Selection Criteria

Please refer to the for further details.

Program fees

Domestic full fee paying place

Domestic full fee paying places are funded entirely through the full fees paid by the student. Full fees vary depending on the courses that are taken. You are able to calculate the fees for a particular course via the .
Permanent Humanitarian Visa holders, Permanent Resident visa holders and New Zealand citizens who reside outside Australia pay full tuition fees.
Domestic full fee paying students may be eligible to defer their fees through a Government loan called .

International full fee paying place

International students pay full fees. Full fees vary depending on the courses that are taken and whether they are studied on-campus, via distance education/online. You are able to calculate the fees for a particular course via the .

Program structure

The Doctor of Business Administration is a 24-unit program comprising 4 coursework courses from the Master of Business Administration specialisation courses, 4 units of research coursework and 16 units of research. Students are required to undertake:

• 4 coursework courses from the MBA specialisation courses. If a supervisor evaluates that the applicant should build more specific prior knowledge in a particular specialist area that is vital to the research topic, then the applicant can be required to complete up to four relevant specialisation courses from the MBA program

• and which must be completed successfully before progressing to the research dissertation

• plus and which must be completed successfully before progressing to the research dissertation

• plus an externally examined 16-unit research dissertation, comprised of eight 2-unit courses.

Note: The dissertation is structured as eight 2-unit courses for accounting and administrative purposes. These courses are similar with respect to intellectual activity and the rate and direction of progress through them need not necessarily be hindered by individual courses synopses. Writing the dissertation is an ongoing process.

Note: Dissertation courses must be enrolled in ‘sequentially’, for example, and , then and , not and , then and .

Students will be provided with the relevant study books that provide guidelines for the preparation and examination of the Doctor of Business Administration Research Dissertation.

Refer to for further details.

Required time limits

Students have a maximum of 8 years to complete this program.

IT requirements

For information technology requirements please refer to the .

Other program requirements

Students must complete successfully all coursework before progressing to the research dissertation.

Should students wish to change their proposed research topic, they must apply for permission to do so to the DBA research program coordinator, stating their reasons and providing a new research proposal.

It is recommended that Australian students visit their supervisors at least once each year while they are completing their dissertation. For overseas students, visits by Faculty staff could be arranged through the ¾«¶«´«Ã½app’s agents/partners, subject to minimum numbers.

Exit points

Students must maintain good standing in this program. Please refer to Section 2 of the .

Students who do not maintain good standing in the Doctor of Business Administration program, or who fail , or who do not meet the requirements for satisfactory progress in their research dissertation will be permitted to exit with a lesser qualification provided that they have met the requirements of the relevant program..

A student who completes successfully , , and may, upon application, exit with the Postgraduate Certificate in Business Research.

Exemptions

Normally no exemptions will be granted in this 24-unit research program. However, an applicant may have specialist knowledge built up in their previous Master’s degree or in a MBA specialisation as well as extensive working experience in their area of interest. This will enable the DBA research program coordinator to give the candidate up to 4 exemptions for the MBA specialisation courses based on their completed postgraduate studies and relevant extensive experience.

Candidates exiting the DBA program with the Postgraduate Certificate in Business Research are not eligible for exemptions in the required courses.

In this section:

• Recommended enrolment pattern - full-time
• Recommended enrolment pattern - part-time

Recommended enrolment pattern - full-time

The flexibility of the DBA program means that there will be a range of enrolment patterns and many students will have a unique enrolment pattern. Students requiring assistance should contact a Program Administrator. A suggested enrolment pattern for a student commencing in semester 1 is set out in the following table:

Recommended enrolment pattern - part-time

The flexibility of the DBA program means that there will be a range of enrolment patterns and many students will have a unique enrolment pattern. Students requiring assistance should contact a Program Administrator. A suggested enrolment pattern for a student commencing in semester 1 is set out in the following table: