OVERVIEW - 

One of the greatest wastes of resources in higher education lies in the uncompleted doctorate.  Students and institutions both invest heavily in doctoral studies, and uncompleted degrees signify a significant cost to both parties.  In an attempt to assist doctoral students in this situation, the university has established its Doctoral Completion Program.  This program is designed to assist students who have started their doctoral studies at another institution but whose degrees remain uncompleted.

Students who have attended a doctoral program in business administration or a closely aligned field of study within the past seven years and who have completed substantially all of their pre-dissertation work may petition for special admission to the university.  Students may be admitted into one of two programs:

 1.   Students who have completed all doctoral coursework work and the comprehensive examination at a previous university and who have been advanced to candidacy status may be admitted as University Fellows.  Each University Fellow will be assigned a dissertation advisor to serve as a mentor and guide through the dissertation process. Fellows must complete four three-credit courses designed to lead to the completion of the dissertation (DISS 750, DISS 760, DISS 770, and DISS 780) and the dissertation itself. On completion and acceptance of the dissertation by the Fellow’s doctoral committee, an oral defense and presentation of the study will be held. The expectation is that the degree will be completed in no more than a 12 month period.

 2.   Students who have not been advanced to candidacy status at a previous university will be assigned a mentor who will work with the student to assess all doctoral work previously completed.  The taught courses the student must complete at UoNA will be identified.  Following completion of all required taught courses, the student will take the Comprehensive Examination.  On successful completion of the Comprehensive Examination, the student will be advanced to Candidacy Status and will be assigned a dissertation advisor.  Students must complete all four dissertation courses and the dissertation itself.  On completion, and acceptance of the dissertation by the student’s doctoral committee, an oral defense and presentation of the study will be held.  The length of the program will be determined by the number of academic courses the student must complete.

The goal of the Doctor of Business Administration program is to prepare leaders for top-level positions for industry, government, and education and to provide these leaders with a breadth and depth of knowledge that is supported by the ability to effectively address real world issues.  On completion of the program, the doctoral graduate will be able to provide real-world based leadership that is grounded in the latest theories to a wide range of business entities in the international marketplace.  Further, graduates will be able to clearly and effectively articulate their approach and findings to both a technical and a lay audience in both written and oral forms.

The program has an international focus, and themes and cases drawn from all parts of the world are interwoven throughout.

Managers must be able to express themselves clearly and compellingly if they are to serve as leaders in businesses, government entities, and not-for-profit organizations.  Thus, the program has a strong emphasis on the development and demonstration of the ability to communicate effectively in both written and oral formats.  Students will be provided with opportunities in each course to develop and hone these skills.

Each candidate for admission to the Doctoral Completion Program will receive a personal assessment of the likelihood of his or her success in this focused program and of the probable contribution that the candidate will make to the field of business administration after graduation.

The process that will be followed in determining admission will be:

 1.   Potential students must make application to the Doctoral Completion Program following standard university procedures including the submission of the application form, transcripts, any required language test results, and a statement of the proposed area of research contemplated for the dissertation.

 2.   An individualized assessment will be completed for each prospective doctoral student.  The applicant’s completed coursework will be compared with the university’s existing doctoral degree requirements to determine the work required to be completed.  If the applicant is accepted for admission to the program, a degree completion plan will be designed and presented to the student.  Should the student accept the offer of admission, a mentor will be assigned to guide the student to the completion of his or her degree.

The UoNA Doctoral Completion Program requires the completion of a minimum of 54 credit hours beyond the Master’s degree.  Included in this total are 42 credits of taught coursework and 12 credit hours (the university’s four DISS courses) dedicated specifically to the completion of the dissertation.  Students who have not previously passed the comprehensive examination must also successfully complete all four sections of the comprehensive examination in the areas of:

       Management Theory

       Quantitative and Qualitative Research Methodology

       Operational Issues

        Financial Data Application

Once the student has advanced to Candidacy status, s/he moves to the preparation of a dissertation in an area of business administration of direct interest and relevance to the student.  The dissertation must address two related issues –

·           The student is expected to advance the boundaries of knowledge by the completion of this dissertation, and

·           The dissertation must be designed to address a real-world problem or issue in an organization today.

To focus the efforts and direct the completion of the dissertation, students complete a series of four Dissertation Courses sequentially and one at a time.  Completion of each course assures the student and the Dissertation Advisor that the student will accomplish the goals of the process in a timely manner.

When the dissertation has been completed and approved by the student’s dissertation committee, a viva voce defense will be scheduled at which the candidate will present his or her issue, approach, and findings.