Curriculum
Unique Program Design: A Customizable Executive DBA
The Executive DBA curriculum consists of required classes all students take, four DBA research courses, and dissertation-related courses that allow students to personalize their research agenda under a faculty expert’s guidance.
Bauer College Executive DBA Curriculum | Program Format and Enrollment
The Bauer DBA program is designed to be finished in three years and accepts new students for the fall semester.
Years 1 & 2
During the first two years of the program, students will take three classes each in the fall and spring semesters. In each of these first four semesters, students will come to campus for three immersive three-day weekends with their fellow DBA colleagues. All other program instruction will be online. In the summers of the first and second year, candidates will work on Directed Studies.
Year 3
In year three of the program, students will complete their dissertation proposal (fall) and dissertation defense (spring). The summer of the third year, if needed, will focus on dissertation work.
The program is a total of 54 credit hours. Students must complete 30 core credit hours (3 credit hours each), 12 directed study hours, and 12 hours during their dissertation proposal and defense (6 credit hours each semester).
Residency Dates (2025-2026)
Spring 2025
- First residency:
Jan. 24-26, 2025 - Second residency:
March 7-9, 2025 - Third residency:
April 25-27, 2025
Fall 2025
- First residency:
Sept. 5-7, 2025 - Second residency:
Oct. 17-19, 2025 - Third residency:
Dec. 5-7, 2025
Spring 2026
- First residency:
Jan. 16-18, 2026 - Second residency:
Feb. 27-March 1, 2026 - Third residency:
April 24-26, 2026
Year 1 |
Fall Semester | Credits |
|---|---|
| Grand Challenges in Business and Society | 3 |
| Thinking Strategically in the Global Marketplace | 3 |
| Principles of Research Methods | 3 |
| Spring Semester | |
| Research Symposium | 3 |
| Managing Change, Technology and Innovation | 3 |
| Quantitative Analysis | 3 |
| Summer Semester | |
| Directed Study 1 | 3 |
Year 2 |
|
| Fall Semester | Credits |
| Creation of New Business Knowledge for Real-World Impact | 3 |
| Application of Quantitative Methods | 3 |
| Generating Business Insights using Qualitative Analysis | 3 |
| Spring Semester | |
| Competing on Analytics | 3 |
| Current Topics in Finance, Accounting and Economics | 3 |
| Directed Study 2 | 3 |
| Summer Semester | |
| Directed Study 3 | 3 |
Year 3 |
Fall Semester | Credits |
| Dissertation Research (Proposal) | 6 |
| Spring Semester | |
| Dissertation Research (Defense) | 6 |
| Total Credits | 54 |