A return to school, homework assignments, and all-nighters has never looked as good as it does for students enrolled in the Executive Doctorate in Business Administration (Executive DBA) program at Temple University’s Fox School of Business.
Considered among the top Executive DBA programs in the world, Fox’s program annually gathers an intimate cohort of 25 business professionals — each with an average of 20 years of industry experience and at least one graduate degree — in a rigorous three-year, part-time doctoral program designed to teach the tools of applied research, enabling students to solve complex business problems and create new knowledge.
“It’s rewarding to see these senior executives excited to be students again,” said Dr. Steven Casper, Assistant Professor of Finance at the Fox School, and the Executive Director of the Executive DBA program.
The Executive DBA will enter its third year this fall, welcoming back its inaugural cohort for its final year in the program. The program’s students originate from across the United States and from four other countries worldwide.
The program features six on-site residencies at The HUB at Commerce Square, in Center City Philadelphia. These learning-intensive weekends provide face time between students, professors, and mentors to help guide the students throughout the program and in preparation for their research projects and dissertations.
“They have to be self-starters,” Casper said, describing the ideal Executive DBA student. “Our students have to be incredibly organized and driven, as they are busy executives and must also complete an average of 12 to 15 hours of homework per week for the program.”
In a short span of time, Fox’s Executive DBA program has enjoyed great success. Temple University has been selected to host the Executive DBA Council’s annual International Engaged Management Scholarship Conference in 2018. It will follow conferences in Paris in 2016 and Tampa, Fla., in 2017. Casper noted that hosting the conference presents an exclusive opportunity to highlight Fox’s program, and the achievements of its students.
“Going to the DBA conferences is very beneficial, as it lets us see where other students are in comparison to our students, and share best practices with other programs,” he said. “It’s an opportunity to be part of the DBA community through idea exchanges and collaboration.”
Furthering its reach, the Fox Executive DBA is also looking to grow its international presence by expanding to China through a partnership with Tsinghua University in Beijing. The program will equip students at Tsinghua’s People’s Bank of China School of Finance with the same curriculum that drives the Fox Executive DBA, with the program led by faculty from the Fox School and Tsinghua.
“Tsinghua is excited to partner with Temple because we’ve developed one of the world’s leading Executive DBA programs,” Casper said.