Doctoral program DBA (Doctor of Business Administration) represents the highest level of management professional education. WEST University has this postgraduate degree course designed primarily for experienced managers operating at higher management level or Master´s graduates wishing to gain upper level and coaching experience. Studying the DBA program, you will learn how to understand better the environment in which you are engaged professionally and you will also develop the ability to respond effectively and promptly to new challenges. DBA program will help you get to know the techniques of scientific research and their applicability in practice.
In the first part of Doctoral studies all students study uniformly Preparatory courses in methodology and preparation for scientific work and writing the dissertation thesis.
Then according to their specialization students gain practical coaching, teaching and scientific experience topped with dissertation defense.
Students choose subjects from Specialization Courses.
Preparatory courses:
Methodology and thesis proposal
The aim of this course is to introduce the students to the preparation of the dissertation thesis and other aspects of doctoral studies. It includes theory and logical procedures in the research, theoretical and empirical constructions and their interrelations. The student learns about research methods and chooses the most appropriate for preparation of a high quality dissertation thesis and publication activity.
Essential part of the course is to narrow the proposal in terms of its form, content, objectives and hypotheses. The proposal (approximately 3,600 words) has to comprise following components:
Title of the dissertation thesis.
Introduction of the research problem, presentation of the research questions and hypotheses stating their importance and purpose, setting boundaries to the research in order to provide a clear focus to the research.
A proposed bibliography.
An overview of the methodology.
Definitions of terms and key concepts.
Literature review and theoretical background
The course’s objective is to assist students in a thorough review of literature and theoretical background.
Survey and data analysis
In this course students move their theoretical work to a practical level and focus on survey and data collection. The sample has to truly represent the reality which is demonstrated by descriptive statistical reporting. The students address each research question stated in their work plan individually and are advised to keep to the following points: restating the research question; stating the null hypothesis (in case the research question is testable); stating the type of statistical test(s) used; demonstrating the statistics and results using table(s) and graphs.
Students are encouraged to discuss the findings:
whether they support existing theories;
explain why they turned out the way they did;
present recommendations based on the findings;
present possible topics for future studies.
Consultations and manuscript of the dissertation thesis
Students are required to integrate the materials from all previous courses to a coherent publishable dissertation as well as prepare a power point presentation for the defense. All questions arising from the research are to be consulted with the tutor – supervisor and other relevant tutors based on the topic of the dissertation thesis.
Specialization Courses:
Publication Activity:
During the whole DBA study program the students have to publish at least 5 articles in printed or online sources. The publication activity should be linked to the dissertation thesis and the chosen field of specialization.
Dissertation Thesis:
In the dissertation thesis the student presents the results of their scientific research with the practical impact in the given field. That is the reason why the topic comes mostly from the practical experience of the student – its further development within the dissertation thesis enables to understand it in its complexity and proposes the solution to the problem, which is practically applicable. Thus it deals with a concrete situation or state of things.
After oral successful final examination and dissertation defense you gain the title DBA (DOCTOR OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION).