Jul 06, 2025

2011-2012 Argosy University Academic Catalog—Graduate Programs | Volume 2, Issue 4

2011-2012 Argosy University Academic Catalog—Graduate Programs | Volume 2, Issue 4 [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Doctor of Business Administration Degree Program

Offering Campuses
Program Overview
Program Learning Outcomes
Admission Requirements
Graduation Requirements
Program Requirements

Offering Campuses

Argosy University, Atlanta; Argosy University, Chicago; Argosy University, Dallas; Argosy University, Denver; Argosy University, Hawai’i; Argosy University, Inland Empire; Argosy University, Los Angeles; Argosy University, Nashville; Argosy University, Orange County; Argosy University, Phoenix; Argosy University, Salt Lake City; Argosy University, San Diego; Argosy University, San Francisco Bay Area; Argosy University, Sarasota; Argosy University, Schaumburg; Argosy University, Seattle; Argosy University, Tampa; Argosy University, Twin Cities; Argosy University, Washington DC

Program Overview

In the Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) degree program, industry and academic professionalshave the opportunity to build upon master’s-level competencies, skills, and knowledge to prepare themselves to perform more effectively in existing professional roles, to qualify for roles with increasing responsibility, and/or develop capabilities for a second career in teaching at the college level. The program requires students to develop applied research inquiry and analytical skills.

The DBA degree program is designed to help students develop competencies in understanding and performing applied research which can then be used to foster innovation and lead organizational change.

The following DBA concentrations are offered:

Accounting
Global Business Sustainability
Information Systems¹
International Business
Management
Marketing

In addition, with approval of the student’s program chair, a student may select four courses (12 credit hours) to create a customized concentration that better fits their specific career goals.

The DBA degree program is scheduled to enable busy professionals to balance the demands of career, family, and school. Students can meet the program’s requirements by completing courses in-residence and online. As such, courses are offered in a variety of formats including condensed weekend formats, regular weekly sessions, or a combination of class settings and online activities. Check with your Argosy University campus for additional information on course formats available.

The DBA degree program consists of five research foundation courses, six core courses, four concentration courses, one elective course, and twelve credit hours in dissertation study. Students must also successfully complete the Comprehensive Written Examination. Students must also successfully complete the Comprehensive Written Examination. The Comprehensive Examination cannot be taken prior to a student’s final semester of coursework, and must be successfully completed before a student can move into the dissertation process.

¹ Availability of the Information Systems Management concentration is limited. Program Chair approval is necessary to enter this concentration.

Program Learning Outcomes

Program Outcome One: Research
1.1 Performing – Design, conduct, and justify applied research in a business context using appropriate methodology
1.2 Understanding – Evaluate and apply existing theory and research to current business practice

Program Outcome Two: Communication
2.1. Oral – Present orally, complex business information that is concise, clear, organized, and well supported in a professional manner appropriate to the business context
2.2. Written – Present in writing, complex business information that is concise, clear, organized, and well supported in a professional manner appropriate to the business context using required format

Program Outcome Three: Critical Thinking/Problem Solving
3.1. Critical Thinking – Evaluate relevance of established theory to current business practice and identify gaps in current literature
3.2. Problem Solving/Decision Making – Given a business situation, diagnose the underlying causes of the situation, evaluate possible solutions, in relation to underlying business theory and determine and defend appropriate course of action
3.3. Information Literacy - Conduct an exhaustive literature search from a variety of sources, evaluate the credibility of the sources, and apply that information to create new knowledge

Program Outcome Four: Team
4.1. Leadership - Conduct an exhaustive literature search from a variety of sources, evaluate the credibility of the sources, and apply that information to create new knowledge
4.2. Collaboration - Given a case study or business situation collect, assimilate, and disseminate the views of stakeholders

Program Outcome Five: Ethics
5.1 Ethics - Given a case study or business situations, evaluate the ethical dimensions of decision situations and personal, social, and corporate responsibility not absolved by market forces

Program Outcome Six:Diversity
6.1 Diversity - Given a case study or business situation evaluate the multicultural dimensions of decision situations and multicultural solutions to business situations

Admission Requirements

A master’s degree in business administration, management, public or non-profit management, engineering management, JD, LLM, or other degree demonstrating exposure to managerial functions from a regionally accredited institution, nationally accredited institution approved and documented by the dean of the College of Business, or an appropriately certified foreign institution.
At least three (3) graduate semester credits or six (6) undergraduate semester credits in each of the following: accounting, finance, economics².
To be eligible to select the concentrations in accounting or information systems, students must have twelve (12) graduate semester credits in that respective discipline³.
A grade point average of at least 3.0 (on a scale of 4.0) in work leading to the master’s degree, and in any subsequent graduate study.
At least three (3) years and preferably five (5) years of full-time managerial or professional experience.
A minimum score on an Argosy University pre-approved English language proficiency test is required for all applicants whose native language is not English or who have not graduated from an institution at which English is the language of instruction as specified in Section Five, Admission Policies, “English Language Proficiency Policy .”

All applications for admission must be submitted to the Admissions Department. An admissions representative is available to help interested applicants complete the following required documentation:

Completed Application for Admission Form
Application fee (Non-refundable, except in California and Arizona. In the state of Arizona, the application fee is refundable if the application is canceled within three business days of the applicant signing the Enrollment Agreement.)
Documentation of applicant employment with or access to a professional organization
Official transcripts from the institution that conferred the master’s degree and any institutions where graduate coursework was subsequently taken. Bachelor’s level transcripts are not required.*

² Students may be accepted into the DBA degree program without these functional courses but must complete designated masters-level course work in these fields prior to beginning the DBA degree program coursework.

³ Students may enroll in the DBA degree program without declaring the accounting or information systems concentration and concurrently complete the professional graduate business certificate in either one of these fields to meet the requirement of the DBA concentration, and then declare the concentration upon successful completion of the certificate program

Graduation Requirements

Satisfactory completion of all requirements in the program of study developed in consultation with the program chair and the student’s dissertation committee
Satisfactory completion of at least 60 semester credit hours distributed as follows: five research foundation courses, six core courses, four concentration courses, one elective course, and a dissertation
A minimum grade point average of at least 3.0 (on a scale of 4.0) and a grade of “B-” or better in all courses
Satisfactory performance on the Comprehensive Examination
Successful completion of the dissertation
Completion of these requirements within seven years of matriculation into the program
A completed Petition to Graduate submitted to campus administration

Program Requirements

The DBA degree program requires the satisfactory completion of 60 semester credit hours distributed as follows: research foundation requirements, 15 credit hours; core course requirements, 18 credit hours; concentration requirements, 12 credit hours; elective requirements, 3 credit hours; and dissertation requirements, 12 credit hours.

Research Foundation Requirements

Students enrolled in the DBA degree program are required to complete five research foundation courses (15 credit hours).

Research Foundation Requirements — Students Are Required to Take the Following

Students Choose One of the Following

Research Foundation Requirements — 15 Credit Hours

Core Course Requirements

Students enrolled in the DBA degree program are required to take six core courses (18 credit hours).

Core Course Requirements — Students Are Required to Take the Following

Core Course Requirements — 18 Credit Hours

Concentration Requirements

Students enrolled in the DBA degree program are required to take four courses (12 credit hours) in one of the designated concentration areas or receive permission to develop a customized concentration. Many DBA degree program students will seek full-time or part-time teaching opportunities in a variety of college-level organizations. The depth and breadth of graduate course work required by such institutions vary. Consequently, depending on the career interests of the student and the specific educational background, those DBA degree program students should consider using elective credits in the academic discipline in which they hope to teach.

Accounting Concentration Requirements — Students Choose Four of the Following

Accounting Concentration Requirements — 12 Credit Hours

Global Business Sustainability Concentration Requirements — Students Choose Four of the Following

Global Business Sustainability Concentration Requirements — 12 Credit Hours

Information Systems Concentration Requirements — Students Choose Four of the Following

Information Systems Concentration Requirements — 12 Credit Hours

International Business Concentration Requirements — Students Choose Four of the Following

International Business Concentration Requirements — 12 Credit Hours

Management Concentration Requirements —Students Choose Four of the Following

Management Concentration Requirements—12 Credit Hours

Marketing Concentration Requirements — Students Choose Four of the Following

Marketing Concentration Requirements — 12 Credit Hours

Customized Professional Concentration Requirements

Students selecting this concentration work with a faculty advisor and the program chair to develop a learning contract tailored to individual needs. Students are required to take four courses (12 credit hours) focused on a particular theme and pre-approved by the program chair to complete the Customized Professional Concentration. A maximum of two courses (6 credit hours) may be taken as directed independent study courses.

Elective Requirements

In addition, students enrolled in the DBA degree program take 3 credit hours of electives. Students choose courses listed in any of the concentration courses, or from another Argosy University college, at the doctoral-level with permission of the program chair. Electives should be discussed with either the program chair or other faculty to provide the greatest opportunity for the student to meet their personal career goals.

Dissertation Requirements

Upon successful completion of required coursework and comprehensive examinations, students enroll in dissertation courses. To progress through each dissertation course, students must complete specified course objectives. If progress is made and all objectives met, students enroll in the next dissertation block. If progress is made and objectives are substantively but not fully met by the end of each course (as determined by the dissertation chair in discussion with the dissertation committee) students must enroll in a zero credit extension course (tuition based on a credit hour equivalent as defined in Appendix IV, Schedule of Tuition and Fees ). If it is determined that no progress has been made, students will be required to retake the block in which no progress was made. If the student is required to retake a block due to no progress, the dissertation chair will assign a grade of No Credit (NC). Students are required to enroll in a Dissertation course or Dissertation Extension course every session from the beginning of the dissertation until passing the final defense earning 12 semester credit hours for dissertation. A student may only receive any combination of two NC, W, or WF grades during the dissertation sequence. Upon receiving the third NC, W, or WF within the dissertation sequence, the student will be dismissed from the program. Published course objectives for each dissertation course apply unless the student and dissertation committee/chair agree to and confirm in writing alternative specified objectives more appropriate for a particular dissertation topic.

Dissertation Requirements—Student Are Required to Choose One of the Following Tracks*

Track One

Track Two

Dissertation Requirements–12 Credit Hours

Note

* Unless otherwise advised, students who begin dissertation Session I will follow Track One. Students who begin dissertation Session II will follow Track Two.