Applied Research
Develop ability to identify and articulate pertinent business challenges, design and execute practical research projects, and effectively communicate findings.
Doctor of Business Administration
The Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) program at Babson is the only one of its kind, with a core focus on Applied Research, Learning Facilitation, and Entrepreneurial Leadership woven into the curriculum. Babson’s DBA program leverages the institution's decades of expertise as the #1 school for entrepreneurship and teaches accomplished executives and leaders how to apply rigorous research to complex business challenges to create and amplify long-term impact in their industry and beyond.
Why Babson’s Doctor of Business Administration?
Designed for executive-level professionals and rising leaders looking to expand their career impact, the three-year, blended program teaches you how to craft relevant research questions, apply theory to design and execute research projects to initiate evidence-based change in organizations, economies and communities small and large.
Our renowned and experienced team of faculty is available to support and guide students through the intensive program from beginning to end. With one-on-one mentorship and a rigorous course load designed for curious and ambitious business leaders, Babson's DBA will help students gain the knowledge, skills and entrepreneurial mindset needed to excel as a practitioner-scholar, entrepreneurial leader and educator in today’s demanding and fast-changing world.
The DBA’s Core Learning Goals
Our mission is to cultivate interdisciplinary, entrepreneurial leaders equipped to tackle today’s dynamic business challenges. The goal is to amplify post-graduation impact through engaged scholarship. We achieve this mission by guiding executives to develop skills in three areas:
Entrepreneurial Leadership
Cultivate an entrepreneurial mindset, that enlists and inspires others to co-create innovative solutions to complex problems.
Learning Facilitation
Gain expertise in understanding how people learn, designing impactful learning experiences, and measuring learning outcomes.
DBA Program At A Glance
- Duration: 3 years
- Format: Blended, in-person residencies and remote learning
- Core Focus: Applied research, entrepreneurial leadership, and learning facilitation
- Experience: 10–20 years of work experience, 7–10 at the managerial/executive level
- Required: MBA or MS equivalent
- Terminal Degree
Join the Inaugural DBA Class
Babson’s DBA candidates will get the chance to collaborate with their cohort of seasoned executives and business leaders throughout the program. By working and learning closely together, students will walk away with newly developed leadership skills as they problem-solve together in group settings, and will gain thoughtful feedback from diverse perspectives while developing their research projects and addressing real-world business issues.
The DBA program is offered in a blended format with intensive in-person residencies on the Babson campus, supplemented by remote learning opportunities to accommodate busy schedules between residencies. Students can learn with their cohort during in-person class sessions, virtual discussion boards, live virtual sessions, research development, and more.
A One-of-a-Kind DBA Curriculum for Entrepreneurial Leaders
Babson’s DBA curriculum helps professionals develop the skills to address a major business challenge and enhance their organization’s performance, as well as effectively teach and influence others, through evidence-based practice. With a strong emphasis on entrepreneurial leadership and learning facilitation for creating impact, Babson’s DBA program leverages the institution’s depth of expertise in these areas to provide a rigorous and relevant education for leaders of all kinds of organizations.
The curriculum is designed to integrate business knowledge with applied research skills. Over the three-year program, students will complete courses covering the academic research process, entrepreneurial leadership and organizational change, various relevant and rigorous research methods, the art and science of teaching, and designing and executing your own research project. In the Fall and Spring semester students will attend three-day residencies on Babson’s Wellesley campus three times per semester.
Curriculum Overview
FALL
Entrepreneurial Leadership
Introduction to Academic Research
Qualitative Research Methods I
WINTER
Price-Babson Symposium for Entrepreneurship Education
SPRING
⇊ Group Research Project begins
Entrepreneurship
Quantitative Research Methods I
Lab for Business Driven Research I
SUMMER
Data collection for Group Research Project
FALL
How People Learn
Qualitative Research Methods II or Quantitative Research Methods II
Lab for Business Driven Research II
⇈ Group Research Project ends
SPRING
⇊ Dissertation begins
Innovation
Dissertation Lab I
Dissertation Lab II
SUMMER
Dissertation Research work
FALL
Teaching across Contexts
Writing and Communicating Data
Dissertation Lab III
WINTER
Teaching Workshop
SPRING
Organizational Change
Dissertation Lab IV
Dissertation Lab V
⇈ Dissertation Due
Segments:
C = Content
M = Research Methods
T = Teaching
R = Research
By the end of the program, DBA graduates will have:
- Designed and executed a rigorous and relevant academic research project
- Produced an academic paper ready to be published
- Participated in a symposium for entrepreneurship educators
- Designed and led a learning experience
- Explored how to leverage your findings for impact post-graduation
- Produced a dissertation that you will defend to a committee of academic scholars
Not only will graduates complete the program with a new network of accomplished colleagues, but they will also have the expansive and global Babson network of 45,000+ entrepreneurial leaders to tap into for all of their future endeavors in business, education, and broader society.
Take the Next Step
Ready to pursue the Babson's Doctorate of Business Administration program? Let us help you get started.
Some of the most important skills and perspectives that have helped in so many facets of my life, but especially as an educator, I gained at Babson. To hear that Babson is branching out and doing a DBA … I would have run to join the program. I would have been banging down the door.
Angela Schill MBA’19, DBA
Grenoble Ecole de Management
Meet Your Faculty
The team of faculty selected to teach our courses consists of renowned, experienced researchers and practitioners who are dedicated to your success.
You will have mentorship, intensive instruction, and support from our team of faculty through every step of the research process, from helping you refine your research question to reviewing your dissertation.
With areas of expertise ranging from entrepreneurship, strategy, innovation, economics and organizational behavior, Babson’s professors will challenge you to explore complex, pressing business issues and support you as you build your case to solve them. Your professors will guide and coach you through the process of becoming an evidence-based leader and will provide valuable contextual insights where their expertise lies.
Sebastian Fixson
Professor and Marla M. Capozzi MBA’96 Term Chair in Design Thinking, Innovation and Entrepreneurship
Academic Faculty Director, DBA program
Expertise: Innovation; Design Thinking; Product Design and Development; Operations Management; Corporate Entrepreneurship, Future of Work
Stephen Brand
Assistant Professor of Practice
Expertise: Entrepreneurship; Design Thinking; International Trade; Ecosystem Building
Andrew Corbett
Paul T. Babson Distinguished Professor of Entrepreneurial Studies
Expertise: New Venture Creation; Entrepreneurial Cognition and Learning; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Entrepreneurship Education
Eliana Crosina
Assistant Professor of Entrepreneurship
Expertise: Identity; New Venture Creation and Growth; Entrepreneurial Ecosystems; Qualitative Methods
Kristi Girdharry
Associate Teaching Professor of Arts and Humanities
Expertise: Writing Centers; Rhetoric and Composition; Community Engagement; Artificial Intelligence
Ben Luippold
Professor of Accounting and Law
Expertise: Management Accounting; Auditing; Financial Accounting
Mahdi Majbouri
Professor of Economics
Expertise: Quantitative Research Methods, Global Entrepreneurship Research, Empirical Economics
Gina O’Connor
Professor of Innovation Management
Expertise: Breakthrough Innovation; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Organizational Design for Innovation; New Market Creation
Keith Rollag
Professor of Management
Expertise: Management and Organizational Behavior; Management Training; Newcomer Training and Socialization; Social Networks
Scott Taylor
Professor of Organizational Behavior
Expertise: Leader Development; Organizational Behavior
Beth Wynstra
Associate Professor of Arts and Humanities
Expertise: Modern Drama; Political Theater; Public Speaking and Performance; Rhetorical history and theory; Eugene O'Neill; Gender Studies
Dive Deeper into Research with Babson’s Resources
DBA candidates have access to a wealth of resources designed to support them in their research development.
As a student in the DBA program, you will have the opportunity to connect and collaborate with leaders of Babson’s esteemed and diverse centers and institutes, covering areas including entrepreneurship, franchising, women’s entrepreneurial leadership, health innovation, social innovation, and more.
Gain full access to explore Babson’s extensive library database and the latest Global Entrepreneurship Monitor dataset, which is exclusively available to Babson students before it is publicly released.
Experience the Impact of a DBA Degree
Make an investment in your professional future with a DBA from Babson. Whether you’re seeking the knowledge and capabilities to further legitimize your business, the pathway to a new career in business academia, or the evidence-based management skills to become an agent of change in your organization, Babson’s DBA degree will equip you with the power to transform today’s business environment.
You are already an accomplished and successful business leader. With Babson’s DBA, elevate your leadership expertise, engage with the latest research, and gain a highly experienced network of business leaders across industries. Complete the program with the research and leadership skills needed to make an even greater impact in your industry, and transfer that knowledge to others, whether in the context of higher education or within an organization.
Accreditations
The Babson DBA is accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE), a regional accreditation body recognized by the US Council for Higher Education Accreditation. The program awaits additional accreditation from the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB).
Take the Next Step
Ready to pursue the Babson's Doctorate of Business Administration program? Let us help you get started.
Frequently Asked Questions
The Babson DBA is ideal for professionals with 10–20 years of work experience, and 7–10 years at the managerial/executive level. The program is designed for individuals seeking to enhance their leadership skills and make a significant impact on their industry, combining practice and research to address complex, relevant business challenges.
A DBA degree emphasizes applied research skills for industry impact, while a PhD emphasizes theoretical research for academic knowledge creation. DBA candidates address real-world challenges faced by experienced practitioners, and while the degree can lead to careers in academia, it often leads to executive roles in business, including CEOs, COOs, and CMOs. Like a PhD, a DBA requires advanced research skills that culminate in a dissertation and the conferral of a doctoral title.
Students will complete three in-person residencies on the Wellesley campus per semester, each of which will be three days long. In total, students will complete 18 on-campus residencies through the entire program. In addition, there are two week-long intensive courses, one in year 1 and one in year 3.
The application requirements for the DBA program include:
- Short answer questions
- Two letters of recommendation
- Resume
- Transcripts from all institutions, undergraduate and graduate
- Candidates may include an essay to provide additional pertinent information to the admissions committee (optional)
- Interview (by invitation)
- Demonstration of commitment to demanding program (min. 15–20 hours per week)
- A $100 application fee
No, this is a three-year cohorted program.
However, we understand that unexpected life events happen. In the case of special circumstances, we aim to work with students and discuss their options to ensure they are set up for success as much as possible.
The Babson DBA is accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE), a regional accreditation body recognized by the US Council for Higher Education Accreditation. The program awaits additional accreditation from the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB).
For Fall 2025, Babson is currently unable to issue a Form I-20 (certificate of eligibility for F-1 nonimmigrant student status) for participation in the DBA Program. Interested international students are encouraged to email gradadmissions@babson.edu. Please also check back to this website for updates as our authorization is pending.