Doctor of Business Administration
For curriculum and course descriptions, please download the DBA program overview.
Click Here for Full Course Catalog
Required Courses
DRE 8750 | Doctoral Orientation: Writing at the Doctoral Level (3 Credits)
The course introduces students to the requirements, expectations, and mechanics of graduate-level academic writing. Students will develop the scholar-practitioner doctoral competencies of critical thinking and analysis via academic reading and writing at the doctoral level. Students will examine connections and distinctions among academic writing genres, master APA style guidelines, and understand the applied research project process.
BUS 8650 | Strategic Organizational Development (3 Credits)
The course examines organizational effectivenes from the other perspective of senior leadership. The course blends organizational theory with concepts in the behavioral sciences that apply to organizational development. Students will examine leverage points that equip leaders to create high-performing organizations adaptable to volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous (VUCA) environments.
DRE 8651 | Quantitative Research Methodology I (3 Credits)
The course provides an overview and understanding of quantitative research methods and appropriate parametric and non-parametric analytic techniques. Students will learn statistical research methods/techniques commonly used in the discipline and will be able to identify appropriate research design, to assess validity of collection and analysis of data, and to describe the role of statistics in addressing critical issues.
BUS 8652 | Informed Decision Making (3 Credits)
The course focuses on decision-making from the perspective of senior leadership. The course highlights strategic business decision-making processes when leaders or organizations face volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity (VUCA). Complex and data-driven decisions are considered with emphasis on the power and utility of business analytics. Students will learn to construct and interpret decision trees, k-nearest neighbor predictions, Bayesian networks, and cluster analyses, as well as to explore the foundations of data mining.
DRE 8653 | Qualitative Research Methodology I (3 Credits)
The course introduces classical qualitative research traditions, as well as the design and process of qualitative research projects. Students will gain discipline-specific hands-on experience discovering, observing, and analyzing organizational phenomena. They will discern and assess researchable problems, and they will select and implement appropriate qualitative research strategies.
BUS 8660 | Financial Value Generation Strategy (3 Credits)
The course examines financial strategy from the perspective of senior leadership, focusing on how organizations create and add value by positioning themselves competitively within the industry. The course introduces students to the tools of game theory, such as Nash equilibrium; refinements and screening/signaling models used in modeling corporate finance research; and the application of financial strategies via directed case work.
BUS 8665 | Strategic Human Capital Management (3 Credits)
This course explores the role of communication and social media in the sports and athletics industry. The goal of this course is to provide students with a conceptual, strategic, and technical understanding of the operation of sports communications at all levels of sport. Students will learn how sports entities use sports media for branding, promotion and disseminating information. An emphasis will be placed on applying best practices in a variety of sports media platform and developing the skills necessary to create integrated, ethical, and professional social media campaigns.
BUS 8670 | Knowledge Based Competitive Strategy (3 Credits)
The course examines competitive advantage from the perspective of senior business leadership by exploring the growing role of data in business. Students will learn how knowledge assets provide organizations with competitive advantage and how organizational capabilities have potential to produce long-term superior performance. Students will also learn the tenets of agile strategy, including the framing of appreciative questions, asset identification, leveraging assets to achieve strategic outcomes, and selecting appropriate projects to attain strategic objectives.
DRE 8751 | Quantitative Research Methodology II (3 Credits)
Continuation of DRE 8651 Quantitative Research Methodology I. Designed to expand the student's understanding of analytic techniques for development, measurement, and analysis of quantitative data. Students will develop a solid theoretical background in introductory level econometrics, the ability to implement the techniques and to critique empirical studies in economics and to apply these to doctoral research. Prerequisite: DRE 8651 Quantitative Research Methodology I.
DRE 8753 | Qualitative Research Methodology II (3 Credits)
The course expands the students’ understanding of techniques for development, measurement, and analysis of qualitative data. Specifically, through hands-on application of analysis techniques and theoretical selection, sensitivity, and saturation, students will critique and implement grounded theory and related methods and techniques via simulated business problems, scenarios, and case studies. Continuation of DRE 8653 Qualitative Research Methods I. Prerequisite: DRE 8653 Qualitative Research Methods I.
BUS 8760 | Survey of Business Strategy (3 Credits)
The course surveys theories and frameworks that inform successful business strategy, including microeconomic theory, game theory, organizational theory, Clausewitz, Sun Tzu, Guerrilla strategies, Spheres of Influence, oligoply theory, mutually assured destruction and brinkmanship, maneuver warfare and others. The course emphasizes the concept of deliberate practice within a resource-based view of organizations.
BUS 8680 | Technology Driven Organizational Challenges (3 Credits)
The course examines technology's impact on organizations from a strategic business leadership perspective and explores the means by which organizations can optimize the human experience with technology. Students will learn the opportunities and distinct challenges posed by the confluence of the digital community and the intertwining of technological change and business models. Additional emphasis is placed on understanding the main theories relative to innovation and technology strategy and synthesizing research in this area.
BUS 8690 | Strategy Implementation Methodologies (3 Credits)
The course examines strategy impementation methodologies from a senior leadership perspective. Through case-study analyses and surveys, students will critically analyze the theoretical and empirical issues of strategic management implementation. This course will equip students to derive and apply tactical solutions to strategic issues in order to scale business operations.
BUS 8902 | Special Topics: 21st Century Strategy (3 Credits)
The course provides an opportunity for students, through the lens of a senior business leader or strategist, to undertake an extensive review of current topics, theories, practices or interests tailored specifically to the 21st Century age of creativity, innovation, and increasing competition in the field of business management. Through presentations, readings, case studies, discussions and assignments students will come to recognize and avoid antiquated ideas about business strategy, while adopting and adapting fresher and better ideas.
ARP 9001 | Applied Research Project: Research Execution I (3 Credits)
The course focuses on both the theoretical and practical aspects of the doctoral applied research project proposal and assists students through the writing processes, including the problem statement and conceptual/theoretical framework as it related to generation of the research problem. Students will design a personal best practices framework for completing their study and also complete chapter 1 of their applied research project.
ARP 9002 | Applied Research Project: Research Execution II (3 Credits)
The course introduces seminal readings in contemporary management and strategy and enhances students' abilities to recognize and understand emerging and dominant paradigms in management literature. The course focuses candidates on the development of the literature review chapter that will be included in the applied research project. Students will complete chapter 2 of the applied research project.
ARP 9003 | Applied Research Project: Research Execution III (3 Credits)
The course expands upon DRE 8751 Quantitative Research Methodology II and DRE 8753 Qualitative Research Methodology II. Students will complete chapters 3 & 4 of the applied research project.
ARP 9004 | Applied Research Project: Research Executive IV (3 Credits)
The course assists students in working through the final chapters of the Applied Research Project. Students will complete chapters 5 & 6 of the applied research project.
BUS 9005 | Doctoral Colloquium (2 Credits)
The purpose of the doctoral colloquium is to help DBA students refine their selected dissertation topic. In this colloquium, doctoral students will engage faculty, industry practitioners, and other DBA students on topics related to their dissertation topics from the field of strategic management.
ARP 9100 | Comprehensive Exam (0 Credit)
The Comprehensive Exam is designed to test students' knowledge of the content of the DBA coursework and their ability to apply that knowledge to business problems requiring strategic solutions. Successful completion of the comprehensive exam is required for advancement to the final research project phase of the program. Prerequisite: BUS 8760 Survey of Business Strategy.
ARP 9200 | Applied Research Project Defense (0 Credit)
Student will present an oral defense of the methodology and finding of the applied research project. Successful completion of the applied research project defense signifies completion of the doctoral program. Prerequisites: ARP 9004 Applied Research Project: Research Executive IV.
Optional Courses
Courses may be utilized to complete outstanding coursework on corresponding chapters of the applied research project.
ARP 9005 | Applied Research Project: Research Continuation I (3 Credits)
The course assists students in working through completion of outstanding work in chapters 1-3 of the applied research project. Course may be taken twice.
ARP 9006 | Applied Research Project: Research Continuation II (3 Credits)
The course assists students in working through completion of outstanding work in chapters 4-5 of the applied research project. Course may be taken twice.
ARP 9007 | Applied Research Project: Research Continuation III (3 Credits)
The course assists students in working through completion of outstanding work in chapter 6 of the applied research project. Course may be taken twice.
Full Degree Catalog