MBA & Master Glossary
DBA (Doctor of Business Administration)
Definition
The DBA (Doctor of Business Administration) is a practice-oriented doctoral degree for experienced executives. Unlike the PhD, which focuses on purely academic research, the DBA combines scientific methods with real business questions. Typical DBA candidates have 10-15+ years of work experience and an MBA or comparable Master's degree. The part-time study takes 3-5 years. The DBA is suitable for managers who want to deepen their expertise at the highest level without pursuing a purely academic career.
Example: "After the MBA he added a part-time DBA."
Why this matters for your MBA
"DBA (Doctor of Business Administration)" is one of the terms you will come across when comparing MBA and Executive MBA programmes in Germany, Austria and Switzerland — in admission requirements, accreditation details or programme descriptions. On mba.de you can check how individual business schools handle it and compare programmes independently.
Source: mba.de – independent comparison portal since 2003.