Framing
Confirmation of the question and protocol in the first year, after the academic council reviews the proposal.
Doctorate of Business Administration
The Academy’s private professional doctorate: design, conduct and defend applied management research.
Applied research, assessed, with limited intake.
The Doctorate of Business Administration is AEES’s professional doctoral award. It rests on an applied management research project, conducted over a minimum of thirty-six months, under the Academy’s scientific supervision.
The candidate formulates a question, establishes a protocol, produces a professional thesis of 40,000 to 60,000 words and defends the work before a board including at least one examiner external to AEES and the host institution. Intake is limited. There is no automatic admission linked to payment alone.
This DBA does not confer the French national doctorate and must never be presented as a state university PhD. It is not an honorary doctorate.
- Award issued
- AEES Professional DBA
- Internal positioning
- AEES Level 8 — 180 internal credits
- Duration
- 36 months minimum
- Admission
- Postgraduate award and five years’ senior experience, proposal and interview
- Output
- Professional thesis of 40,000–60,000 words and viva
- Awarding
- AEES — direct scientific supervision
How the programme proceeds.
The DBA is an assessed research programme, not an honorary enrolment or a purchased title.
Conduct
Annual progress reports, a supervised academic seminar and AEES scientific supervision.
Thesis and viva
Substantial written production, then a viva before a board that includes an external examiner.
Decision and appeal
A collegial decision. An appeal may be lodged with the ethics and appeals committee.
Who may apply, and on what terms.
Admission requires a postgraduate award (AEES Level 7 or a documented private equivalent) and five years’ senior experience. The file includes a research proposal, two references and an interview with the academic council.
The award is issued directly by AEES. Hosting in a partner centre is possible only if that centre is expressly approved for Level 8. UNIVGA’s current approval, for example, does not include the DBA.
Read the DBA specification.
The proposal, thesis, board and limits of the award are described on the public specification.