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Athabasca University

Doctor of Business Administration Program Information

Admission to the AU DBA program occurs once per year, in the fall. The deadline to apply is March 15 of the same year.

Program Structure

DBA students begin their program with two orientations: one online and one on site. Onsite orientations coincide with research workshops for second and third year DBA students.

In years one and two, students complete six online courses plus two on site research workshops. Following this coursework, in year three, each student prepares a dissertation research proposal (under supervision) followed by an oral candidacy exam. Upon successfully passing the oral candidacy exam, a student becomes a 'doctoral candidate' and commences work on the final dissertation.  The doctoral candidate must conduct original research, write a dissertation and participate in an oral dissertation defence that is approved by a supervisory committee before being awarded the doctorate degree. 

Course Descriptions and Schedules

How Courses Work

All online DBA courses are paced, meaning there are scheduled start and end dates, and assignment deadlines within each course. The learning environment is asynchronous, meaning students do not have to be online at a prescribed time.

Time Commitment

Students will normally complete the DBA program in four to five years, but may have up to seven years to complete all requirements.

Graduation Requirements

To be awarded the Doctor of Business Administration, students must meet all of the requirements as set out in the Faculty of Graduate Studies guidelines. A minimum grade of B- (2.7) is required for all courses. Students must also complete and submit an Application for Graduation form, and meet all other regulations.

In addition, students must have paid any fees owed to the University and have returned all library resources.

Information effective September 1, 2015 to August 31, 2016.

Updated June 30 2015 by laurab

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