The Pepperdine Graziadio Business School announced June 5 it is launching in the fall an Executive Doctorate of Business Administration program which will further develop skills for executives through courses and research.
This new program is the only one of its kind in the Western U.S. to receive accreditation from the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, according to the announcement.
“A doctorate is the highest academic qualification a university can grant,” Deryck van Rensburg, dean of the Pepperdine Graziadio Business School, said in the announcement. “The addition of the Executive DBA demonstrates our commitment to offer an advanced educational program that focuses on the unique needs of intellectually curious and progressive senior executives.”
The program, designed specifically with a senior executive’s schedule in mind, can be used to further an executive’s career or to steer an executive towards a more academic track. It blends six intensive week-long residential sessions at Pepperdine’s Malibu campus with online learning directed instruction and self-paced assignments. Students will present their research ideas, projects, and final papers to peers, faculty, and alumni at an annual DBA conference.
The progression of coursework builds toward completion of the final research dissertation project. In the first year, students select a business problem or opportunity and conduct a literature review to identify the relevant theories and assess current evidence-based knowledge about the topic. The second year of the program provides instruction on applied research methods and research design.
“The Executive DBA program…enables executives to develop new evidence-based knowledge and insights, share these with the business community, and help shape future business practices and societal impacts,” John Mooney, associate professor for information systems technology management at the Graziadio school and academic director for the Executive DBA program, said in the announcement.
Economy, education, energy and transportation reporter Howard Fine can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @howardafine.
