Earn Your University of Fairfax Degree
Doctorate of Business Administration
As an MBA, you can already analyze practical business problems, take calculated risks and make timely decisions for your team. Businesses, especially the Fortune 500, have a huge war chest and spend a significant portion of it for staying ahead in the industry. They do this by solving their customers’ problems of tomorrow while their smaller peers play catch-up. They need professionals with strong research and analytical skills in addition to the business management experience that MBAs possess. If you desire to land a C-level position in an enterprise or are looking for a role in academia, our Doctorate of Business Administration program would be the best complement to your MBA.
This program fosters the development of students who:
- Desire to take on leadership and managerial positions within an organization that demand a higher order of critical thinking, decision-making, and communication skills.
- Apply advanced qualitative and quantitative data analysis to solve complex business problems.
- Analyze and critically assess the dilemmas and issues that impact an organization and its business processes.
- Incorporate problem-solving methods and advanced research techniques that organizations implement to gain a competitive advantage in the global marketplace.
- Master the skill-sets necessary to address a variety of specialized areas within the business world such as organizational management, information security, project management, human resources, accounting, and finance.
Program Outcomes:
Upon completion of this degree program, graduates will be able to:
- Create organizational environments for a learning organization that focuses on one or more of the following: leadership, information security, project management, supply chain, accounting, and managing an organization.
- Evaluate how organizations inspire employees and nurtures a positive organizational culture.
- Create qualitative and/or quantitative methods to analyze critical business issues.
- Choose project management tools, methods, and techniques in effort to reduce waste while improving quality and safety throughout an organization.
- Develop effective business methods as a practitioner and researcher using both verbal and written communication methods.
Doctorate of Business Administration comparison dimensions
| Research Project Scope | Focused business procedures and processes |
| Scope of Applied Research Conducted | Using existing research, theory, and trends to design a novel solution, assess its feasibility and describe the real-world knowledge needed by business leaders |
| Dissertation Required | Documentation of how the study was designed, feasibility was assessed, and the implications for business best practices |
| Qualifying Exam | Evaluates mastery of concepts of applied research |
| No. of Comprehensive Exams | One |
| Minimum Number of Credits Required Beyond Master’s | 62 |
| Completion Time | 3-5 years |
| Publishable Research Opportunities | Yes |
| Admissions Requirements | Master’s and three years of relevant experience |
| Online Delivery | Asynchronous and Synchronous |
| Blended Delivery | Asynchronous and Synchronous; one 4-day on-campus residency every 16 weeks for international students on F-1 visa. |
| Student Career Objectives | Expert business practitioner in management, business security, and critical thinking and problem-solving skills |
| Title | Dr. |
Comprehensive & Qualifying Exam
Doctoral students enrolled in the DBA program must pass the Comprehensive & Qualifying Exam. This exam is used to evaluate mastery of the concepts and foundations of applied research and is administered concurrently in weeks 4-8 of the RM9100 course in a separate course shell called MB9130-CX (0 credits).
Doctorate of Business Administration Credit Requirements
The Doctorate of Business Administration consists of a minimum of 62 semester credits, including 48 credits of pre-dissertation courses (consisting of 30 credits of content taken from core and specialization courses, 6 credits of research methods courses, 6 credits of research methodologies courses, 6 credits of research-preparation courses) and 14 credits of dissertation development courses.
To ensure that doctoral students make steady progress towards the completion of their dissertations, the University has developed the Dissertation Project Plan. This plan consists of a series of deliverables students produce in research methods courses and dissertation courses.
Finally, prior to conferral of the degree, the doctoral candidate must successfully defend the doctoral dissertation in an oral presentation before the Dissertation Committee.
Doctorate of Business Administration Required Courses
Core Courses
ACC6100: Financial Reporting
DBA8150: Information, Organization & Strategy
DBA8300: Leading Organizational Change (Qualitative)
DBA8350: Sociology of Corporate Culture
DBA8450: Managing, Organizing & Negotiating for Value
DBA8900: Project Management
MB7000: Managing Global Diversity (Quantitative)
MGT8200: Human Resource Management
RM8500: Research Foundation
RM9100: Qualitative and Quantitative Analysis
Program Electives (Select 3)
ACC6500: Accounting & Multinational Enterprises
BR9200: Designing Solutions to Business Problems
CEX8230: Legal and Ethical Management Issues in Information Security
IA7000: Security in the Digital Age (CISSP)
IA7020: Information Security Systems & Organizational Awareness
IA7030: Legal and Ethical Practices in Information Security
IA7401: Ethical Hacking (CEH)
IA7402: Information Security Management (CISM)
IA8010: Business & Security Risk Analysis
IA8021: Cloud Cybersecurity
IA8030: Design, Development, and Evaluation of Security Controls
IA8031: Cybersecurity Insurance
IA8060: Intrusion Detection, Attacks, and Countermeasures
IA8190: Forensic Evaluation and Incident Response Management
IA9150: Strategic and Technical Trends Information Security
MB6900: Organizational Management
RM9150: Feasibility Problem-Driven Research
RM9200: Designing Solutions to Information Security Problems
Free Electives (Select 3)
7000-Level Elective
8000-Level Elective
9000-Level Elective
Comprehensive Examination
DST9500: Comprehensive and Qualifying Examination
Dissertation Courses
RES8110: Dissertation Initiation
RES8120: Dissertation Literature Review I
RES8121: Dissertation Literature Review II
RES8130: Dissertation Research, IRB, and Analysis
DST8110: Dissertation Results and Findings
DST8130X: Dissertation Manuscript Certification
Minimum credits required for Doctorate of Business Administration: 621
1Credit hours may exceed the minimum stated if dissertation deliverables are not completed within the expected timeframes.

