Doctor of Business Administration (DBA)
2 Years Full-Time | October Start

You will learn through a blended-learning approach, i.e. a combination of structured lectures, workshops, directed learning activities, group work and seminar presentations, with emphasis on creative student-centred learning and self-reflection throughout.

The lectures are themed around topics such as:

• Keeping up to Date with Information Sources
• Philosophy
• Reflexivity
• Deductive/Inductive Strategies
• Research Ethics
• Visual Methods
• Focus Groups
• Post-Structuralism and Research
• Document Analysis
• Questionnaire Design
• Scaling and Reliability
• Qualitative Strategies: Content and discourse analysis
• ANOVA/Regression
• Action Research
• Grounded Theory
• Multiple Regression
• Logistic Regression
• Analysis with NVivo
• Autoethnography
• Systems Thinking for Research
• Engaging with Users

The mandatory block study mode allows you to continue in employment throughout your studies, giving you direct access to the professional context within which your doctoral programme rests. Personal study during the inter-block periods is vital for reflecting on the content of the taught modules, relating theory to your current (or past) professional practice, undertaking your research and preparing for your doctoral thesis/portfolio. This study time is self-managed, but supported by fellow participants, academic mentors and tutors.

You will be assessed in the taught stage of the programme by a critically argued research proposal of approximately 4000 words. On successful completion of the assessment, you will progress on to the research stage of the programme, which is assessed through the Annual Progression process, and ultimately your doctoral thesis/portfolio.

A feature of the Professional Doctorate is the flexibility of the form of submission at the research phase. Whilst a thesis of approximately 60,000 words is permissible, the University’s Professional Doctorate Framework also allows you to submit a portfolio commensurate with your professional circumstances and reflecting the research focus of your work.

*Lecture themes are subject to change

The tutors involved in this programme are highly experienced, research-active staff.

Supervisors are normally allocated, where possible, to reflect both your research interests and the expertise of the university’s staff. Discover more by reading staff profiles for the academics in Newcastle Business School.

We've invested £200 million to make sure that our campuses are places where you enjoy spending time. Our modern city campus is designed with you in mind; you'll find everything to give you an outstanding student experience, including our award-winning university library and excellent catering facilities.

The Graduate School is at the heart of the university's support network for research students, working closely with the research community across the university to promote high-quality academic and professional standards. From enrolment to viva, you'll benefit from focused training and development programmes solely reserved for research students.

You’ll have full access to our eLearning Portal, ‘Blackboard Learn’, which includes video lectures, web conferencing, study notes, discussion boards, virtual classrooms and communities. Blackboard Learn brings together all aspects of course management as well as assessment and feedback.

Northumbria University is a research-rich, business focused, professional university with a global reputation for academic excellence. The University is in the Times Higher Education UK top 50 for research power, based on the results of the Research Excellence Framework.

Click here to find out more about research at Northumbria, and here to explore research areas specifically within Newcastle Business School.

The course includes modules that are focused on developing global management competencies, leadership and management and leadership for responsible change. Topics during these modules include emotional intelligence, cultural awareness and the ability to work in diverse groups and teams, as well as project management and decision making.

To further enhance your employability, we offer the opportunity to undertake a master’s consultancy project, or management enquiry project as an alternative to the traditional dissertation. You’ll work in a small group, typically no more than five people, or on your own in the case of the management enquiry and tackle a live project from a host organisation under the mentoring of a member of our academic team. The project can be an excellent vehicle for you to relate theory to practice while developing key employability skills.

Our graduates typically go into professional and graduate management positions and, by the end of the course, you’ll be well-equipped to follow them. You may choose to start a career within an industry that’s related to the subject that you studied during your first degree or you may prefer to take on a completely new challenge.

If you decide to start up your own business, it’s good to know that the combined turnover of our graduates’ start-up companies is higher than that of any other UK university. 

The Business Management Masters could also lead you to a postgraduate research degree such as an MPhil, PhD and Professional Doctorate.

Whatever you decide to do, you will have the transferable skills that employers expect from a master’s graduate from Northumbria University. These include the ability to tackle complex issues through conceptualisation and undertaking research, the ability to contribute to new processes and knowledge, and the ability to formulate balanced judgements when considering incomplete or ambiguous data.