A Doctorate degree in Business Administration (DBA) holds immense value for a candidate’s professional profile. It is much coveted by top-level executives who desire career advancement opportunities within their field of work. The programme gives professional executives an edge in the marketplace and business. This includes enormous career enhancements such as rapid promotions, increased remunerations, including better job offers. Of course, proficiency on the job is the primary benefit of all other benefits the degree brings.
The DBA programme prepares professionals for leadership and management in business. At the end of the study, you become proficient as an astute business consultant. The degree obtained allows you to refine your knowledge and embrace emerging trends, technologies and solutions. This also includes the opportunity of learning from other advanced colleagues and business leaders. The interesting thing about a DBA is that it ensures inclusive learning. Advanced professionals from all walks of life come together to share their knowledge in the study process.
With the rapidly expanding MBA graduates being churned out, businesses are beginning to seek DBA degree holders for senior positions. As a result, a DBA is becoming a better competitive degree. A Doctorate degree in Business Administration is ideal for those who intend to rise to the pinnacle of their career in business leadership. In the job market, higher academic qualifications are part of the prerequisite for higher-income. The degree obtained as a DBA holder qualifies you for a C-Level executive job. It also makes you suitable as a senior business management consultant. This is one of the reasons why having a DBA degree may be necessary for forward-thinking professionals and those in the academic fields.
The career opportunities that await you
DBA graduates can expect senior-management career opportunities in banks, oil and gas, government, education, and almost all sectors. A DBA builds on the business acumen by using global practice as a standard to equip the students with the skills needed to solve contemporary business problems. In most cases, the programme applies global concepts to local problems – ‘’think global, act local’’. In a DBA programme, professionals can find inspiration to develop new perspectives and approach business uniquely and innovatively. The major attraction is the opportunity to study real business issues in-depth, and then apply that knowledge in a real-life scenario.
Typically, a DBA is a part-time professional programme degree with an international scope and reputation. It is designed to enhance executive and professional practice through the application of sound theory, practical and rigorous research work. This is inculcated into real-life and complex issues in business and management. It enhances the capability to develop knowledge and theory, and their application. The aim is to key in these factors to develop personal, consultancy, management and research skills in the context of rigorous and relevant business problem-solving. The degree goes one step further by demonstrating a desire to apply high-level business education to solve problems and seek solutions in the workplace.
How should you prepare yourself for this programme?
The DBA builds on the experience of incoming students, all of whom are expected to have years of executive business experience under their belts. This is to enable them to develop the executive business management skills that the programme studies. A DBA class is often an all-inclusive class, students studying the programme are expected to contribute extensively. One interesting thing about the programme is that some of the current challenges which your business face could be brought in as a case study and addressed. Business leaders from various work-life will apply their wealth of knowledge in solving these complex business challenges. In the end, they will proffer extensive solutions to some of these business challenges.
Prospective students seeking a DBA should also have completed a business-related master’s degree or the equivalent. Students in the programme will graduate with a comprehensive framework for business operations, management and leadership. Core areas like Practice and Theory of Consulting and Intervention, Application of Action Research, Organisational Innovation and Scenario Thinking, and Management and Ethics are sometimes common requirements for students, irrespective of their chosen concentration.
DBA student is prepared for upper management and executive position in research organisations, business firms, and other types of organisations. The degree holders may even become business professors and combine teaching with research in their area of expertise. You may advance within your current company into a broader role or seek employment in another company that offers better advancement opportunities.
A doctorate in business sets you apart from the crowd, signifying to employers of your outstanding expertise in business management – in common words, you are a doctor of business.
Let us examine some of the core benefits of obtaining a Doctorate degree in Business Administration (DBA)
- Career Advancement. For many, this is one of the core reasons why the programme is considered. A Doctorate of Business Administration helps you extensively improve your business management technique. It improves your research skill and sharpens your understanding of the business management process and leadership. You become more articulated in managing a business, and also managing a vast portfolio of projects under a business. With this, you will positively grow in your career in all areas such as better knowledge on the job, promotion, better pay, etc.
- Higher Pay. DBA holders no doubt enjoy a higher income than professionals with lower degrees or even equivalent. DBA degree holders are on high demand, but these professionals are limited. Therefore, having a DBA will set you apart in the industry, including in compensation structure. This, of course, translates into higher income for you, including other compensation packages for c-level executives.
- Higher Job Opportunities. There is currently an increased demand for DBA holders in the job market. In some cases, organisations have to seek for these holders as expatriate staffs. Having a Doctorate degree in Business Administration leaves you with a plethora of job options to choose from. The reason being that DBA degree holders are considered an expert in advanced business management. As a result, businesses seeking results and remedy will often seek your expertise.
Studying for this programme might be more flexible than you think
Because DBA programmes are often delivered as part-time programmes, the delivery method is usually online, through distance learning. As a result, many professionals who opt-in for DBA do so in internationally recognised institutions. This is to add more value to the degree obtained from the programme. The delivery method makes DBA even more interesting, as professionals studying for the Doctorate degree in Business Administration can do so while working.
Among other popular international institutions offering online study system, Unicaf University stands out. This is because of its flexible delivery model, affordability and global recognition of the degrees awarded. In addition, the online DBA programme offered by Unicaf University is typically a highly versatile option featuring different areas of concentration. Some of the duly taught areas in the programme include leadership, strategic management, qualitative and quantitative research. After which a doctoral dissertation will be taken by the students as part of the fulfilment of the programme.
Applying to the Unicaf University DBA programme
Candidates interested in applying for the Unicaf University’s Doctorate of Business Administration can do so by applying online here or by visiting one of the offices of Unicaf University in their home countries. Unicaf University has campuses and offices in about 11 African countries, this detail can be found here.
More about Unicaf University
Unicaf University is a pan-African independent and internationally recognised university. The institution combines the best elements of international education, offering high quality and internationally recognised degrees. Some of the programmes offered by Unicaf University through online and on-campus study system include undergraduate and postgraduate degrees. Internationally recognised degrees are available for professionals with interest. At the end of their study, their certificate does not state online. It is the same as the certificate of a student who has studied in any of the Unicaf University’s campuses.
Also worthy to mention, Unicaf University is a member of United Nations Academic Impact (UNAI), and also a member of Southern African Regional Universities Association (SARUA).
Unicaf’s Scholarship on the Doctorate of Business Administration
Unicaf offers partial scholarships to students seeking international education. Currently, more than USD 90 million worth of scholarships have already been awarded so far. Also, Unicaf University and its university partners have severed over 25,000 students across Africa.
Okeke Vincent Chidozie (Entrepreneur, Writer & Digital Education Consultant)
