Mar 29, 2024  
Graduate Catalog | 2018-2019 
    
Graduate Catalog | 2018-2019 Previous Edition

DBA Degree Requirements


The Doctor of Business Administration (D.B.A.) degree is conferred by the University after the student has successfully completed all requirements in an approved doctoral program of study in the College of Business.  Specific program degree requirements are described in the College of Business  section of this Catalog.

Program of Study

All credits for the DBA degree must be completed in-residence at UNC Charlotte.  Students are expected to satisfactorily complete all required coursework with a GPA of 3.0 or above in courses on the degree plan of study.  Grades in all courses attempted, whether or not on the plan of study, remain on the transcript and will be included in the calculation of the student’s cumulative GPA as it is reported on the transcript.  Courses graded as C on the degree plan of study must be offset by an equal number of graduate-level credits graded as A.  Some programs may have stricter requirements regarding the applicability of grades of C towards degree completion.  Please reference the program-specific entries of this Catalog.  Students and faculty should refer to the Academic Suspension and Termination policies in this Catalog regarding the accumulation of marginal grades of C.

Time Limit

All requirements for the DBA must be completed within nine (9) calendar years, beginning with the student’s first term in the program.  The time limit cannot be paused, even if the student takes an approved leave of absence.  No course older than nine years may be applied towards a research doctoral degree (including transfer credit).  Any course that exceeds this limit must be retaken.  Failure to adhere to the time limit may result in the termination of a student’s enrollment.

The Graduate School may consider requests for a single extension of one (1) year in cases with rare, extenuating circumstances.  In such cases, the student and graduate program must provide a signed timeline for program completion that does not exceed one year.  Failure to adhere to the approved timeline for completion will result in automatic termination of the student’s enrollment for a lack of satisfactory academic progress.  Multiple extensions will not be approved.

Qualifying Assessment

Upon approval of the dissertation topic, the student begins to develop their research project.  The student’s dissertation proposal serves as the primary component of the qualifying assessment for the DBA program.  Students who fail a qualifying assessment are subject to termination and should discuss options with their graduate program director.  With program approval, a qualifying assessment may be retaken one time.  If the student fails the assessment a second time, the program may, in rare circumstance and with compelling evidence, allow a student to, within four months, retake the exam (or portion of the exam).  In such cases, the program must document the circumstances under which the student is allowed to retake portions of the exam and demonstrate that the student’s committee unanimously supports the decision.  Documentation must be submitted to the Graduate School for review prior to the exam date.  In no instance will the student be allowed to take the exam (or portion of the exam) a fourth time.  Students may only appeal a termination to the Graduate School if their appeal to retake the exam is based on a procedural error or discrimination (see the Category 2 appeal description under Appeal for Academic Termination) and their initial appeal to the program was denied.

Admission to Candidacy Requirements

Students are recommended for admission to candidacy after successfully completing the written and oral comprehensive examination, subject to the approval of the student’s Advisory Committee and the Dean of the Graduate School.  A student may not achieve candidacy and graduate in the same term.  Candidacy must be achieved at least one term prior to the term of graduation.

Dissertation

Students must complete and defend a dissertation based on a research program approved by the student’s Dissertation Advisor and Advisory Committee which results in a high-quality, original, and substantial piece of research.  Students must be continually enrolled in BDBA 8999  for dissertation research credit, beginning with the semester following completion of the qualifying assessment and continuing through the semester of their graduation.  Defense of the dissertation is conducted in a final oral examination that is open to members of the University community.  The announcement of the final defense can be uploaded by the advisor to the Graduate School website at least 10 days prior to the date and disseminated through the Academic Affairs listserv.  The announcement of the dissertation defense should include identification of the student’s full name, the date of the defense, the location of the defense, the time of the defense, the title of the dissertation, the name of the Chair of the dissertation committee, and a brief Abstract of the dissertation.  The defense constitutes the final exam for a doctoral student.  The decision of the faculty advisory committee is final.  In the rare event of a split decision, typically the faculty come to an agreement as to whether the student defense is acceptable.  No student is permitted to take the final examination more than twice.

For doctoral students, the committee will consist of at least four Graduate Faculty members, one of whom is appointed by the Dean of the Graduate School as the Graduate Faculty Representative.

The committee for doctoral students is indicated on the Appointment of Doctoral Dissertation Committee form (available in the Graduate School office or online). At the time that the Appointment of Doctoral Dissertation Committee form is approved, the Graduate School appoints the Graduate Faculty Representative to serve on the doctoral committee.

It is generally expected that all dissertation committee members be physically present for the dissertation proposal defense and for the dissertation final defense.  If there is an exceptional case in which one committee member needs to participate in the proposal or final defense from a remote location, the student and all committee members must assure that all the conditions listed on the Approval of Remote Committee Participation Form are met.  (No more than one committee member may participate from a remote location.)  This form, which may be obtained from the Graduate School, must be completed and returned to the Graduate School at least two weeks prior to the scheduled proposal or final defense.

The dissertation must be submitted for final review by the student’s committee at least three weeks before the date of the final examination in which the dissertation is defended.  Following the successful completion of this defense, the doctoral candidate must submit one electronic copy of the approved error-free manuscript to the Graduate School (via ProQuest) no later than the filing date indicated in the University calendar.  Guidelines for the preparation of the dissertation are online at gradlife.uncc.edu/resources/dissertation-thesis-formatting.  Each student must submit the Defense Report for Doctoral Dissertation and/or Master’s thesis form, the Submission and ETD Signature form, and the original dissertation title page to the Graduate School (with original signatures).

The Graduate School requires publication of the dissertation through ProQuest, an online database of dissertations.  The student is responsible for paying the optional copyrighting fees.  Any other arrangements for publications of the dissertation must not interfere with publication through ProQuest.  It may be appropriate for some students to restrict access to their dissertation temporarily (such as when a patent application is pending).  In these cases, the student and his/her committee must submit a sequester request to the Graduate School explaining why restricted access is needed.

Graduate Faculty Representative

The graduate faculty representative is a member of the doctoral student’s advisory committee appointed by the Graduate School. This faculty member’s role is primarily but not totally procedural. He/she must: 1) assure that the doctoral student is treated fairly and impartially by his or her advisory committee, and 2) assure that University standards and policies are upheld.  For these reasons, it is preferable for faculty serving in this role to have prior experience serving on a dissertation committee.  The faculty member may also participate in the development and evaluation of the student’s research to the extent appropriate for the faculty member’s background.  The Graduate Faculty Representative is a full voting member of the committee.  This representative is generally appointed prior to the student’s dissertation proposal defense and must participate in the formation of the student’s topic and in the final dissertation examination.  A student’s advisor may consult with the Graduate School regarding selection of this representative.

Application for Degree

Students should submit the Online Graduation Application at the beginning of the term in which they anticipate defending their dissertation.  Adherence to Graduate School deadlines is expected.  Degree requirements are completed when students successfully defend their dissertation and file the final copy of the dissertation in the Graduate School.  Students are encouraged to review their individual DegreeWorks audit to ensure they have met all graduation requirements.