Board of Regents approves doctor of business degree at UW-Whitewater

July 17, 2013

The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater will become the only AACSB International-accredited university in Wisconsin to offer a Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) degree, under a plan approved by the UW System Board of Regents on Friday.

"The complexity of the global business environment, the increasing demand to collect and evaluate big data, and the focus on data-driven decision-making contribute to the importance of this educational opportunity," said Christine Clements, dean of the College of Business and Economics.

Fewer than 10 AACSB International-accredited universities offer a DBA, and there are currently none in Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan or Minnesota. AACSB accredits only five percent of business schools worldwide, meaning the program will meet rigorous international quality standards.

The DBA is geared toward business professionals with at least six years of executive or managerial experience. A master's degree in business is required to apply.

"Our DBA is an outstanding opportunity for people who either can't or don't want to quit working, but want to expand their problem-solving and data analysis skills and gain a doctoral degree to set them apart," Clements said.

While Ph.D. programs require full-time, daily commitments, the UW-Whitewater DBA is a 60-credit program where students attend intensive classes one weekend per month for two years, followed by a year of dissertation work. Online activities and assignments supplement the classroom experience.

All faculty members who will teach courses in the program have Ph.D. degrees and have published current, high-quality research.

The Higher Learning Commission is expected to approve the program sometime this academic year, and classes could start as early as September 2014.

For more information, visit: http://www.uww.edu/cobe/dba