The University of South Alabama Mitchell College of Business has received approval from the Alabama Commission on Higher Education to offer a Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) program that will allow business executives and aspiring business faculty to complete a doctoral program without leaving their full-time jobs.

The program targets executives and instructors who want to obtain a professorial ranked teaching position at the university level. Qualified adults will be able to maintain their full-time jobs during a rigorous program that blends intensive on-campus sessions with on-line learning.

For over a decade, business schools have experienced a critical shortage of doctoral faculty in all business disciplines. Currently the number of doctorates produced each year does not meet the demand for faculty vacancies that require a terminal degree in business. The business accreditation agency, the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, International (AACSB), estimates that there are a number of job openings for each graduating business doctoral student.

“The University of South Alabama is committed to offering a wide range of degrees that meet the needs of our modern society,” USA President Gordon Moulton said. “The Doctor of Business Administration program is designed to enhance the ability of professionals to thrive and lead in a complex and ever-changing business world.”
USA Mitchell College of Business Dean Dr. Carl Moore said the program will help address the critical shortage of doctoral faculty in the business disciplines of management and marketing.

“This program enables the USA Mitchell College of Business to meet the advanced degree needs of business and industry leaders, as well as those who aspire to become business faculty members,” Moore said. “The approval of a doctoral program in business is a significant milestone in the development of the Mitchell College of Business and the University of South Alabama.”

Moore expects to draw students from the program within a six-hour driving distance of Mobile. A survey of USA business alumni and current students seeking a MBA degree indicated strong interest in the program.

USA Senior Vice President of Academic Affairs Dr. David Johnson said, “This is an innovative program that is the first of its kind offered in our state. I am very pleased that the faculty in the Mitchell College of Business have developed this significant addition to the degree programs offered at USA.”

Details of the program, including admissions requirements, will be announced in early 2012. For more information on the USA Mitchell College of Business, visit www.southalabama.edu/mcob.