Advance Your Career
The Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) at USF is a terminal doctoral degree designed for experienced professionals who want to conduct rigorous research and apply it to real-world decision-making in industry and government.
The program builds on executives’ existing business expertise while offering flexibility to pursue individual research interests. USF’s DBA is the only program in the nation with new cohorts beginning each January, providing added convenience for working leaders.
We are currently accepting applications for our Online Program for Summer 2026 & Fall 2026 and our In-Person Program for Fall 2026.
Please contact us at muma-dba@usf.edu with regard to your interest in the USF Muma College of Business DBA program.
In-Person DBA Program
We are actively recruiting for the Class of 2028 cohort that will launch in January 2026. Please contact the DBA Program Assistant Director, Lauren Baumgartner to apply or find out more about the program (as well as to look at some of the videos: DBA vs. PhD degrees, alternative DBA program designs and special features of the USF DBA degree).
Fast Facts
- Expected program duration: 3 years
- Key admissions requirements:
- Master’s degree (requirement may be waived for exceptional professional experience)
- GPA of 3.0 or above
- at least 12 years of professional work experience, at least 5 of which must be at a senior managerial, senior technical or executive level
- Timing: A new cohort launches every January, with rolling applications and admission throughout the year
- Required on-campus Sessions: one weekend per month, January-May and August-December
- Program cost: $30,000/year ($90,000 total) plus $2500 for initial research workshop
- Degree awarded: Doctor of Business Administration
Curriculum
The USF Doctor of Business Administration degree is a three-year program that meets 10 weeks per year. Students move through the program as a cohort, taking the same classes, which can vary from cohort to cohort. The first two years of the program are predominantly course work. The final year is focused on the candidate's dissertation requirement.
Key facts:
- Program duration: three years
- Program credits: 72
- All Tracks: Face-to-Face Meetings: five Friday/Saturday weekend each semester
Residential track only: 3 hour nightly meetings twice weekly for the first 3 and a half semesters - Regular Track: Approximately 20 hours of classroom time per 3-credit course, with about 80 percent of course time spent on completing readings and written assignments online, between program meetings
- Residential Track: Approximately 45 hours of classroom time per 3-credit course, with substantially more time spent on completing assignments outside of class time.
The program is designed to take three years to complete. For the first three and a half semesters, participants will take three-credit courses focused on research methods. For the last two and a half semesters, four-credit dissertation courses will run in parallel with two-credit issues courses.
Online Program
USF now offers a fully online version of the DBA program for working professionals to pursue their business doctorate regardless of where they live. With small cohorts that meet for highly interactive sessions on alternate Saturdays year round, the online program provides the same content, taught by many of the same instructors, as our original program.
Frequently Asked Questions
- How long will it take to earn my DBA?
3 years, assuming on-time completion of all requirements - How are the online courses offered?
Through synchronous (interactive) sessions using Microsoft Teams - When do the online classes meet?
Classes meet on Teams on alternating Saturdays, with breaks between fall, spring and summer semesters. Specific dates by cohort are posted at least 6 months before the start of each cohort year. - How often will I need to come on °µÍøTV Tampa campus?
- When you start the program, there is a 3-day research workshop on campus your first summer.
- Late in your cohort's second year, there will be another 3-day session that will allow you to meet face-to-face with your dissertation committee members.
- Attending graduation is optional, and we recommend celebrating this milestone and experiencing special workshops with your graduating class in person.
- Admission deadline: March 29, for full consideration (late applications beyond that date still may be accepted on a space available basis)
- What are the requirements to apply? (Same as the traditional DBA)
- Bachelor’s degree (Master’s degree strongly preferred)
- 12 Years of professional experience, at least 5 of which is at an executive, senior managerial or senior technical level
- Successful completion of DBA preliminary application, interviews with the Muma DBA Committee, and admission by the USF Graduate School
- When does the new online DBA cohort launch each year?
The online DBA cohort starts annually in early May. - How many credit hours is the program?
72 - How much does the DBA program cost?
The total cost is $90,000, or $30,000 per year over three years at $1250/credit. The introductory research workshop costs $2,500.
Calendar
Curriculum
The USF Doctor of Business Administration degree is a three-year program. Its online cohorts meet on alternating Saturdays during 3 terms per year. Students move through the program as a cohort, taking the same classes, which can vary from cohort to cohort. The first two years of the program are predominantly course work. The final year is focused on the candidate's dissertation requirement.
Key Facts
- Program duration: three years
- Program credits: 72
- Meetings: Saturdays, every other week, with breaks between trimesters
The program is designed to take three years to complete. For the first two years, participants will take three-credit courses focused on research methods. Starting near the end of year 2, participants will take four- or six-credit dissertation courses that meet monthly and run in parallel with two-credit issues courses.
DBA Leadership
David Howard
DBA Program Director
Uday Murthy
Associate Dean for Research, Graduate Programs, and International Affairs
DBA Committee
Contact Us
David Howard
DBA Program Director
davidhoward@usf.edu
Lauren Baumgartner
Assistant Director
lbaumgartner@usf.edu
813-974-2661
Carrie Fischer
Program Manager
cfischer1@usf.edu
813-974-1714
Students
Ashraf Dehlawi
Listen to why Ashraf Dehlawi, Vice President, Morphogenesis, Inc. chose the USF DBA
Program.
Mary Alice Trussell
Listen to why Mary Alice Trussell, Managing Director, KPMG US chose the USF DBA Program.
Genevieve Dobson
Listen to why Genevieve Dobson, President/Owner, Degrees of Success chose the USF
DBA Program.
Shirley Morejon
Listen to why Shirley Morejon, Senior Vice President, Bank of America chose the USF
DBA Program.
Student Bios
- Class of 2028
- Class of 2027
- Class of 2026
- Class of 2025
- Class of 2024
- Class of 2023
- Class of 2022
- Class of 2021
- Class of 2020
- Class of 2019
- Class of 2018
- Class of 2017
What is a DBA?
The Doctor of Business Administration degree is the original degree intended to qualify faculty members to perform research and teach at business schools. Over the past five years however, a new type of executive doctoral program has started to appear at AACSB-accredited institutions. The new DBA programs, such as the one USF offers, are designed for working professionals and tend to be pursued for different reasons.
The Doctor of Business Administration program offered by the USF Muma College of Business provides graduates with the skills needed to conduct rigorous research with the objective of applying the findings to real-world decision-making in industry and government. The program provides intellectual growth as students work closely with faculty in seminars, research projects, and other assignments that develop their research skills and ability to communicate their findings to a broad audience of both practitioners and researchers. It also offers students the opportunity to develop a portfolio of skills that, when combined with the extensive experience that students bring into the program, uniquely qualifies them to serve in clinical faculty positions.
°µÍøTV DBA is the only DBA program in the nation where new cohorts begin each January. Most programs begin in August. For leaders who are in industries where the fourth quarter can make or break the year, this January program start is often much more convenient.
The curriculum is designed to build upon the breadth of business understanding that students have previously achieved as successful executives. This is achieved by offering substantive coverage of a broad variety of qualitative and quantitative research techniques and by allowing students the flexibility to focus more deeply on personal areas of interest during their dissertation. The degree conferred is a Doctor of Business Administration, a terminal degree so-named to differentiate it from the PhD degree that specifically focuses on preparing students for an academic research career within a specific discipline.