Doctor of Business Administration

AIB's Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) is an AQF Level 10 professional research doctorate for experienced managers, combining coursework with a research thesis of 50,000 to 80,000 words that must make an original contribution to knowledge in management or professional practice rather than simply applying existing theory. It normally takes 3 years full-time to 6 years part-time (with extensions considered up to 7 years), and every candidate works with a supervisory panel of a Principal Supervisor and Associate Supervisor(s).

Unlike AIB's PhD, which it also offers, the DBA is explicitly framed around professional and management practice: candidates are typically senior managers, consultants or executives investigating a real problem from their own organisation or industry rather than pursuing a purely academic research question.

Entry requires a Master of Philosophy, or a Master's degree (AQF Level 9) at Credit average or better with an appropriate research component, or a Bachelor's degree with Honours (AQF Level 8) at minimum upper second class honours or equivalent; AIB MBA graduates with a Credit average (GPA 5.0) or higher automatically meet the eligibility criteria. AIB is not a CRICOS-registered provider, so it cannot enrol Student Visa holders; the DBA is delivered 100% online.