The Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) is a professional doctorate that emphasizes the application of theory to actual business issues. The program follows a lock-step cohort model and is designed to train practitioner-scholars beyond the MBA curriculum. The DBA program will help you develop proficiency in applied research by improving your methodological and analytical skills. A guidance committee assists all of our doctoral students in planning and navigating a rigorous program of multidisciplinary study. The DBA program is a non-resident program with limited visits to campus allowing you to complete your studies without having to sacrifice your career. Over the course of our three-year program, you will attend in-person classes two times each semester while engaging and collaborating in an online learning environment throughout the program.
The DBA curriculum provides an interdisciplinary perspective and is focused on practitioner engagement through research, creative scholarship, and production of works for publication in reputable professional and academic journals. Courses span major areas of business administration including accounting, information systems, finance, logistics and supply chain management, marketing, organizational behavior, human resource management, leadership, operations management, strategic management, and research methodology for examining business problems empirically.
Foundation Courses: Knowledge of quantitative skills and basic knowledge of scholarly writing.
Term I (Fall 2025)
| Course Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|
| Statistical Modeling (BUS AD 7301) | 2 |
| Doctoral Foundations Seminar (BUS AD 7109) | 4 |
Term II (Spring 2026)
| Course Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|
| Scientific Inquiry in Business (BUS AD 7100) | 3 |
| Qualitative Research Methods I (BUS AD 7102) | 3 |
Term III (Summer 2026)
| Course Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|
| Quantitative Research Methods I (BUS AD 7101) | 3 |
| Managing Talent for Strategic Advantage (BUS AD 7600) | 3 |
Term IV (Fall 2026)
| Course Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|
| Quantitative Research Methods II (BUS AD 7103) | 3 |
| Role of Accounting Info in Firms and Markets (BUS AD 7400) | 3 |
Term V (Spring 2027)
| Course Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|
| Qualitative Research Methods II (BUS AD 7104) | 3 |
| Sustaining and Disruptive Information Technologies (BUS AD 7800) | 3 |
Term VI (Summer 2027)
| Course Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|
| Marketing Intelligence and Decision Making (BUS AD 7700) | 3 |
| Strategic Business Analysis (BUS AD 7106) | 3 |
Term VII (Fall 2027)
| Course Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|
| Development and defense of proposal for dissertation research (BUS AD 7107) | 6 |
Term VIII (Spring 2028)
| Course Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|
| Research Practicum (BUS AD 7108) | 6 |
Term IX (Summer 2028)
| Course Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|
| Research Practicum (BUS AD 7108) | 6 |
Term X (Fall 2028)
| Course Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|
| Research Practicum Final Dissertation Defense (BUS AD 7108) | 6 |
April 1, 2023 |
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UMSL is the only public university in the region to carry dual AACSB accreditation for its business and accounting programs at the undergraduate and graduate levels.
