Doctorate of Business Administration (DBA)

A 3-year professional doctoral programme for managers, executives and consultants wishing to carry out applied research directly linked to the challenges facing their organisation, while remaining in employment. The ESMT DBA is offered in partnership with the FEDE doctoral school, in a hybrid e-learning format, with close supervision by HDR-accredited faculty.

Blended

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Duration: 3 years
Format: Blended

Doctorate of Business Administration (DBA)

Overview

About this programme

Objectives

Develop high-level expertise in applied research in management and strategy.
Equip the doctoral candidate to diagnose and resolve real organisational and strategic dysfunctions.
Strengthen the academic credibility of executives and consultants through supervised doctoral work (HDR).
Build on experience through VAE (accreditation of prior experiential learning) and the scientific formalisation of professional practices.

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Admission requirements

Prerequisites

Bac+5 (Master's Degree/Engineering degree) in one of the following fields: digital regulation, management, computing, telecommunications.
Admission based on an application review (qualifications, course content), a motivation interview and submission of a DBA research proposal.

Procedures and requirements

A three-stage process: eligibility check and in-depth review of the application, interviews including reading and feedback on the thesis proposal, and an admissions panel. Enrolment is followed by structured support (courses, one-to-one meetings, supervision by the doctoral school and host institution) through to the viva.

Learning outcomes

Skills covered

Research methodology and scientific design (doctoral level)
Literature review and conceptual modelling
Qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis
Leading transformation projects and managing change
Writing, defending and disseminating findings with a strong managerial impact
An evidence-based consultant/executive approach (evidence-based management)

After the programme

Career prospects

01Senior executives and C-level roles (strategy, transformation, innovation)
02Senior consultant / Partner in international firms (e.g. Deloitte, PwC, EY, KPMG)
03Highly analytical roles in finance and industry
04In-house expert consultant for international groups (e.g. Nestlé, Total, Carlsberg – cited practices)
05Higher education and research-based professional expertise

Resources & frequently asked questions

Downloads

fiche_programme_dba-2.pdf

Frequently asked questions

Experienced professionals (executives, managers, consultants) wishing to produce applied research directly linked to their practice while remaining in post.