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[octoprof]

I have several ideas, which I am also considering for myself but they are all DBAs not PhDs.  The lack of part-time PhD's from reputable schools with a brick 'n mortar presence is telling. 

(Oh, and I could clearly be wrong, but I was not really aware that there was a big difference between a PhD and a DBA.)

Clean is correct. adjunctanon is slightly off.

Many doctoral programs in business are DBA rather than PHD. The difference is in the name of the degree and nothing else.  It was a trend in the 70s or 80s to "distinguish" the business doctorate from other doctorates and some schools went back to the PhD, but others still have the DBA.  For all practical purposes, there is no distinction between PHD and DBA.

The only real distinctions are between reputable schools and those that are not. And among the many reputable schools, of course, there are rankings and such.  DBA/PHD is not an issue in business.

[gourmand601]

I have several ideas, which I am also considering for myself but they are all DBAs not PhDs.  The lack of part-time PhD's from reputable schools with a brick 'n mortar presence is telling. 

(Oh, and I could clearly be wrong, but I was not really aware that there was a big difference between a PhD and a DBA.)

Clean is correct. adjunctanon is slightly off.

Many doctoral programs in business are DBA rather than PHD. The difference is in the name of the degree and nothing else.  It was a trend in the 70s or 80s to "distinguish" the business doctorate from other doctorates and some schools went back to the PhD, but others still have the DBA.  For all practical purposes, there is no distinction between PHD and DBA.

The only real distinctions are between reputable schools and those that are not. And among the many reputable schools, of course, there are rankings and such.  DBA/PHD is not an issue in business.

You have a point. DBA's are more for pracitioners and the Ph.D. are for those who want to teach in the academy and perform research. DBA's must complete a dissertation just like the Ph.D., but the Ph.D. dissertation must be original and add to an existing body of knowledge, and of course, there is the big defense. I know of several institutions who no longer require their DBA candidates to defend their dissertation. Is this good?  Time will tell.

[clean]

I know of several institutions who no longer require their DBA candidates to defend their dissertation.

Can you name them?

thanks,

c

[octoprof]

I have several ideas, which I am also considering for myself but they are all DBAs not PhDs.  The lack of part-time PhD's from reputable schools with a brick 'n mortar presence is telling. 

(Oh, and I could clearly be wrong, but I was not really aware that there was a big difference between a PhD and a DBA.)

Clean is correct. adjunctanon is slightly off.

Many doctoral programs in business are DBA rather than PHD. The difference is in the name of the degree and nothing else.  It was a trend in the 70s or 80s to "distinguish" the business doctorate from other doctorates and some schools went back to the PhD, but others still have the DBA.  For all practical purposes, there is no distinction between PHD and DBA.

The only real distinctions are between reputable schools and those that are not. And among the many reputable schools, of course, there are rankings and such.  DBA/PHD is not an issue in business.

You have a point. DBA's are more for pracitioners and the Ph.D. are for those who want to teach in the academy and perform research.

Cites? Sources? Where does this info come from?

For many years, for example, the U of Tennessee conferred DBAs rather than PhDs in business. I assure you those were not going to practitioners...

[gourmand601]

I have several ideas, which I am also considering for myself but they are all DBAs not PhDs.  The lack of part-time PhD's from reputable schools with a brick 'n mortar presence is telling. 

(Oh, and I could clearly be wrong, but I was not really aware that there was a big difference between a PhD and a DBA.)

Clean is correct. adjunctanon is slightly off.

Many doctoral programs in business are DBA rather than PHD. The difference is in the name of the degree and nothing else.  It was a trend in the 70s or 80s to "distinguish" the business doctorate from other doctorates and some schools went back to the PhD, but others still have the DBA.  For all practical purposes, there is no distinction between PHD and DBA.

The only real distinctions are between reputable schools and those that are not. And among the many reputable schools, of course, there are rankings and such.  DBA/PHD is not an issue in business.

You have a point. DBA's are more for pracitioners and the Ph.D. are for those who want to teach in the academy and perform research.

Cites? Sources? Where does this info come from?

For many years, for example, the U of Tennessee conferred DBAs rather than PhDs in business. I assure you those were not going to practitioners...

Here is a pretty decent one:   http://www.rit.edu/~dajbbu/miscellaneous/phd_description.htm

I do not make a habit of quoting Wiki but this article seems pretty valid.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctor_of_Business_Administration

[octoprof]

"The degree of Doctor of Business Administration (D.B.A.) is a research doctorate..." 

Even the evil wikipedia disagrees with you.  It's a research degree.  Of course, it focuses on business. It's conferred by business schools. The same is true of PhDs in business.

I don't have a DBA but many of my contemporaries do because of the movement a few decades ago for some business schools to distinguish their degrees with a unique name.   Your generalizations about the DBA do not fit the reality of these degreess in the past.  They do, however, attempt to legitimize the online schools that have taken on the degree title of DBA and tried to make it into something else.  I think this is partly the reason that many schools who conferred DBAs for years, have switched back to PhDs to keep from being lumped in with the poseurs.

There is no practical difference between a DBA and PhD. The only difference that matters is the quality of the program conferring either one.  Online and part-time programs may be equally besmirch (or enhance) the DBA as well as the PhD.

[gourmand601]

I know of several institutions who no longer require their DBA candidates to defend their dissertation.

Can you name them?

thanks,

c

Let's keep in mind that I am not in agreement with this. One DBA and EdD program that come to mind are at Northcentral University, an online institution. These programs do not carry a required oral defense. But as stated before... is this a good thing? How does the committee know for sure whether or not the candidate did the work? Dissertations can be bought. :-)

http://www.ncu.edu/academics/graduate/business_dba.aspx

[gourmand601]

"The degree of Doctor of Business Administration (D.B.A.) is a research doctorate..." 

Even the evil wikipedia disagrees with you.  It's a research degree.  Of course, it focuses on business. It's conferred by business schools. The same is true of PhDs in business.

I don't have a DBA but many of my contemporaries do because of the movement a few decades ago for some business schools to distinguish their degrees with a unique name.   Your generalizations about the DBA do not fit the reality of these degreess in the past.  They do, however, attempt to legitimize the online schools that have taken on the degree title of DBA and tried to make it into something else.  I think this is partly the reason that many schools who conferred DBAs for years, have switched back to PhDs to keep from being lumped in with the poseurs.

There is no practical difference between a DBA and PhD. The only difference that matters is the quality of the program conferring either one.  Online and part-time programs may be equally besmirch (or enhance) the DBA as well as the PhD.

I understand what you're saying and I have to admit that my perception may be clouded by working under Ph.D carrying academics. There is a perception that one degree is better than the other..... one is more fit for the academic and the other for the practitioner. But this is a growing perception. This is why when you see institutions hiring, they are explicit in asking for Ph.D. applicants.

I do a lot of consulting in higher education. I have also built courses for traditional universities to be operated online. I can say though that there is definitely are differences in the Ph.D. and DBA/ Ph.d. and Ed.D curricula.

[tt_wannabe]

From the Pre-Proposal for DBA degree at U of Florida

http://www.cba.ufl.edu/mywcba/facstaff/Docs/DBA_Proposal.pdf

"The DBA degree is significantly different from a PhD degree in that whereas PhD is a research-oriented degree with a specific focus, designed to train people to assume roles as faculty or researchers in particular academic areas, the DBA degree has a much more
interdisciplinary orientation and stresses the application of existing knowledge to realworld business situations. The DBA degree has more emphasis on the testing and application of existing theory on particular sets of cases and less emphasis on the development of theory. Unlike PhD research, which tends to start from an identified gap in the literature, the starting point of DBA research is likely to be a problem or an issue arising from the professional practice of management. As such, the DBA final project is expected to demonstrate the usefulness of its results to one or more organizations, and is likely to be more interdisciplinary."

Just one school's opinion.

[tt_wannabe]

Adjunctanon: Where did you find the info on UF's DBA Program? Even though I posted the link to that DBA Pre-Proposal .pdf, I wasn't able to find any info from UF on their DBA program. (They do have info on PhD programs on the CBA website.)

Thanks for any help you can provide.

tt

[octoprof]

According to those documents, this is a proposed future program whose purpose is, in part, to generate funds to support the PhD program (see page 5).

[bamabound]

Adjunctanon: Where did you find the info on UF's DBA Program? Even though I posted the link to that DBA Pre-Proposal .pdf, I wasn't able to find any info from UF on their DBA program. (They do have info on PhD programs on the CBA website.)

Thanks for any help you can provide.

tt

tt, the document that you found is the only source that I found, other than a friend who is at the campus and says that the program is likely to be approved.

And yes, octoprof, I was discouraged to learn that the DBA program will be "funding" the PhD program.  Since I want to continue my full-time industry job, I don't have much choice so I will end up paying a lot for the DBA if I end up there.  I guess that they figure that if you have an industry job, you can pay through the nose for a doctorate.