DBA vs DMGT: What’s the Difference?
Both a Doctorate of Business Administration and a Doctor of Management provide students with a rigorous program providing in-depth knowledge of advanced business and management concepts and methods of conducting research.
Both also can propel business professionals higher in their career fields. However, the two programs differ in the candidate profiles of students, the focus of the academic program, and the career outcomes for graduates.
Touro University Worldwide offers both an online DBA program and an online DMGT program. Those considering either program should first take the time to review their own skillset and ambitions, as well as areas of academic interest.
Student Profiles in DBA vs DMGT Programs
In most cases, an online DBA program attracts working professionals who have experienced success in business and now seek new challenges. They often come from the ranks of senior executives and top management. Many have earned an MBA. They typically take an interest in management research and may enter the program with a practical research question in mind.
The online DMGT program also attracts senior executives and top management, but typically students are earlier in their careers and have a focus on earning a faculty position at a college and university.
DBA vs DMGT: Career Paths
Graduates often earn a DBA degree as a steppingstone to C-suite level positions. Earning a DBA better prepares them for decision-making positions by challenging them with knowledge beyond the practical information learned through experience. Graduates from the DBA program prepare for a variety of career paths, although many pursue academic positions. Other career path possibilities include junior and senior management roles, senior management consulting, and administrative and management roles in government, banking, the finance industry, and non-profits.
DMGT graduates learn research skills that may lead to careers as guest lecturers and publishing in practitioner or academic journals. They may also focus on a dissertation that solves a specific challenge at their current business.
What They Learn
TUW offers both degree programs 100 percent online, giving working professionals flexibility in how they approach integrating academic study into their professional and personal lives.
The DMGT Program
Students in a Doctor of Management program develop expertise in advanced management theory and techniques. Using statistical research skills and tools, they determine the management actions that best improve organizational efficiency.
The program focuses on developing skills in advanced theoretical analysis, research comprehension, and application. Students improve their ability to critically understand and assess research reports in their work. Coursework in the program includes:
- The Scholar-Practitioner Model
- Theories of Organizational Behavior
- Organizational Governance and Accountability
- Turnaround Management & Organizational Renewal Strategies
- Applied I/O Psychology
- Research Methods
- Survey Design
- Qualitative Research Methods
- Quantitative Research
- Applications of the Scholar-Practitioner Model
- Evidence-based Practices in Management
- Application of Research Methods in Professional Settings
- Dissertation courses in research areas of interest guided by Doctoral Practitioner/Scholar Faculty
A proposal and final dissertation demonstrates students are prepared to share their knowledge in a research area of interest in scholarly and/or professional settings.
The DBA Program
The DBA offers a broad view of the elements of a business, including marketing, finance, and accounting. TUW designed the program to teach those at the highest levels the skills they need to practice evidence-based business problem-solving in a highly competitive, global market.
TUW designed the DBA curriculum to educate working professionals in the academic, research, and application skills required to succeed in business administration. Faculty members hold doctoral degrees and have experience as leaders and business professionals.
Courses include:
- The Scholar-Practitioner Model
- Theories of Organizational Behavior in Business
- Business and Management Across Cultures
- Organizational Governance and Accountability
- Ethics for Business Professionals
- Financial Principles & Management in Business
- Contemporary Marketing in Business
- Research Methods for Business
- Turnaround Management & Organizational Renewal Strategies
- Quantitative Research for Business
- Survey Design for Business Leaders
- Accelerated research project courses tailored to a professional area of interest that can be used immediately in a current workplace, industry and/or sector setting
Students complete a research project at the end of the program which may be immediately used in a current workplace, industry, and/or sector setting.