BUSI 785 DBA Colloquium

This course will focus on students completing a comprehensive exam, preparing a Concept Paper and preparing students for their applied doctoral research project. (Intensive optional).

Mission/Vision/Philosophy

The mission of the DBA program is to provide an opportunity for qualified students to attain academic, professional, and practical competence—within the Christian Worldview—which prepares students for opportunities, and corresponding additional responsibilities, beyond the master’s degree level.  The DBA program emphasizes practical and real-world applications in both the course work and the major applied doctoral research project requirements.

The vision of the DBA program is to produce graduates with intellectual and professional competencies in the following areas:

1. 1. The ability to present and defend arguments based on theories, concepts, and empirical evidence in matters relating to research methodology and research design, as well as those relating to the business disciplinary domain in which the research is located
   2. The ability to demonstrate the capacity for reflective and analytical business thinking;
   3. The ability to draw together relevant concepts and theories from different business disciplines in order to gain a better understanding of the organizational context in which particular problems or opportunities arise;
   4. The ability to analyze problems and issues arising in business and management contexts, utilizing relevant theories, concepts, and empirical findings;
   5. The ability to identify and analyze questions and issues in business; and
   6. The ability to design, implement, and successfully conclude empirical research projects.

Each of the above will be considered in light of biblical principles, and be integrated within the Christian worldview.

The DBA program philosophy supports both the program mission and vision, and is as follows. PhD programs in business focus intensively on preparing candidates for academic careers and to conduct highly specialized academic research, i.e., the development of new theory in business and other related business fields. Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) programs focus on the application of theory rather than on the development of new theory. While also intended to prepare graduates for academic careers, the DBA, by virtue of its focus on application of theory, has more practical application in managerial settings than the PhD.

BUSI 785 serves as the bridge course for the DBA Program, providing the necessary steps and activities needed to transition from the taking of courses to the production of a doctoral-level research project. As such, it is not a capstone course, but a bridge course.

Concept Paper

Students will prepare a 12 – 20 page paper in APA format detailing their proposed dissertation.

Comprehensive Exam

Students will take the comprehensive exam during week three. The exam will consist of three graded parts. Successful completion of the three parts with a passing score on each one is required to continue on to the dissertation process.