Doctor of Business Administration
An accredited doctorate with Day 1 CPT, a $15,000 grant and an interest-free payment plan, and 3 to 4 more years in the U.S. while you work and study. Any accredited master's qualifies you.
The highest degree in business - earned without stepping away from your career.
Los Angeles & San Diego · Hybrid, 2 campus visits every 8 weeks · Six start dates a year
The doctorate built for people who are already working
While a PhD trains full-time academics, researchers, and professors who spend years on campus producing theory, a DBA takes the same doctoral rigor and points it at the real world: you research and solve actual business problems, often the ones inside the company you already work for.
The hybrid executive format brings you to the Los Angeles or San Diego campus twice every 8 weeks; the rest fits around your job. Most students finish in about three years while working full-time the entire way - and when you finish, you hold the title of Doctor.
Any accredited master's degree qualifies you. Moving up a degree level is exactly what unlocks your new period of work authorization and time in the U.S., and unlike most universities, your CPT is not capped - it runs from your first day of class straight through graduation.
Talk to an advisor
Tell us where you are in your journey, and we'll walk you through all of your options, including exactly what your cost looks like after the grant.
No obligation. We never share your information, and you can opt out at any time.
Three uninterrupted years of work - and a doctorate at the end
Most programs make you choose between your career and your degree. This one is engineered so the two run in parallel: you keep your job, keep your status, and graduate with the highest credential in business.
Day 1 CPT with no annual cap
Many universities limit how much CPT you can use per year or per degree level, forcing students to pause their jobs mid-program. Not here. You are eligible for full-time CPT from your first day of class through graduation - roughly three years of uninterrupted work in your field.
A fresh period of OPT
The doctorate is a higher degree level than your master's, so you qualify for new OPT after you finish.
$15,000 grant, interest-free plan
Eligible students receive up to a $15,000 grant toward tuition, and the balance is spread across an interest-free plan. No loans, no interest - you pay as you go while you keep earning.
Two campus days per term
The hybrid executive format brings you on campus twice every 8-week term in Los Angeles or San Diego. The rest is built around your work schedule.
Transfer up to 12 credits
Master's-level credits can transfer in, cutting both your tuition and your time to graduation. Any accredited master's - not just an MBA - qualifies you to apply.
Everything students ask about, in one place
The details that decide whether a program actually fits your status, your budget, and your schedule; without digging through a course catalog.
Built around a full-time job, not against it
Each term runs eight weeks. You are on campus at the beginning and the end - the rest is online, on your schedule, while you keep working on CPT.
On campus
Open the term in person with faculty and your cohort in Los Angeles or San Diego.
Online & working
Complete coursework online around your job. This is where the DBA earns its keep: the business problems you research are the ones on your desk, and your employer gets the answers as you produce them.
On campus
Close the term in person with presentations, assessments, and cohort sessions.
Four concentrations, one doctorate
Every concentration carries the same Day 1 CPT eligibility, the same hybrid schedule, and the same doctoral credential. What changes is the problem you spend three years getting very good at solving.
Management
The broadest pathway. Study contemporary leadership, organizational strategy, and change management for an AI-driven business landscape, then apply that research directly to the organizations you work with. Built for professionals targeting senior leadership, consulting, or entrepreneurship.
Information & Data Science
For students who want to understand the data revolution. You gain advanced knowledge in data science, learn to contribute to your field through quantitative analysis, and examine the ethical and societal considerations of how data is used. Guided practical training is available from Day 1.
Marketing
A broad view of how marketing drives organizational strategy across industries. Coursework spans human behavior, social influencing, and organizational adaptation, with research and theory that translate into management practice - and a heavy internship focus that connects you with prospective employers.
Hospitality Management
Prepares you for international strategy and leadership, cultivating the foundational skills for consulting and corporate positions. Internships give you a hands-on environment to sharpen management skills and build business relationships in your community.
Both are doctorates. They are not the same job.
This confuses a lot of people from outside the U.S., where "doctorate" often just means PhD. Both earn you the title of Doctor - they simply point at different futures.
DBA - the applied doctorate
- Applied research on real business problems, often inside your own company
- Built around your job: hybrid, evenings and weekends around campus sessions
- Aimed at executive leadership, consulting, and entrepreneurship
- Roughly three years, working full-time the entire way
- Day 1 CPT with no annual cap, then a fresh period of OPT
PhD - the academic doctorate
- Theoretical research produced for scholarly journals
- Years on campus, typically full-time study
- Aimed at a professorship and an academic research career
- Longer timeline, with far less room for a parallel career
- Also a doctorate - just a different destination
The support that gets you to the finish line
A doctorate is a long road. These are the things that keep students on it - and the reason most of ours finish in about three years while holding down a full-time job.
A faculty mentor from prospectus to defense
Because classes are small, you get real attention from your professors. As you progress, you are paired with a faculty mentor who advises and guides you from the prospectus stage all the way through your final defense.
Work placement support, either way
Already have an employer? We make the transition seamless and the arrangement compliant, so you keep working from day one. If you don't, our CareerConnect CPT/OPT placement team matches you with a paid position aligned with your degree - resume help, employer introductions, and placement support included.
A practical, industry-focused curriculum
Delivered through EduConnect's partnership with Alliant University, the program pairs an industry-focused curriculum with the flexibility working professionals actually need.
Roles our graduates move into
A doctorate is the credential that separates senior candidates from everyone else - and here you earn it alongside three years of U.S. work history, not instead of it.
Corporate leadership
Senior management, strategy, and operations roles where a doctorate signals depth that an MBA alone no longer does.
Consulting & entrepreneurship
Advisory work and founding your own firm, backed by three years of applied research on problems companies actually pay to solve.
Academia & industry research
Teaching and research roles for graduates who want to bring practitioner experience into the classroom.
Priced so you can pay it while you work
The cost of a U.S. doctorate is the reason most international students hesitate. This one is structured so you are never asked for a large lump sum, and so the income you earn on CPT can cover the payments as you go.
- Up to a $15,000 grant is available and applied directly to your tuition.
- Transfer up to 12 master's-level credits to reduce tuition further.
- Interest-free installments - no loans and no financing charges, ever.
- Pay as you go, on a schedule designed to be covered while you work on CPT.
- One down payment and registration fee, then the remaining balance is split automatically for you.
Ask an advisor whether you qualify and we'll show you exactly what your payment looks like once the grant and your transfer credits are applied.
Get My Cost BreakdownFive steps from first question to first day of class
You won't do any of it alone - an EduConnect advisor stays with you from the first conversation through your first term.
Free consultation
We review your master's, your status, and your goals, and confirm grant eligibility.
Prepare documents
Transcripts, passport, visa records, and financials; we tell you exactly what is needed.
Submit application
We review everything before it is filed so nothing comes back for a missing item.
Admission & I-20
Receive your acceptance, complete enrollment, and get your I-20 issued.
Start & work
Begin classes and, with CPT authorization, keep or begin paid employment from day one.
Currently on OPT? Start 3–6 months early.
This is the most common path into the DBA. Register three to six months before your OPT ends and we handle the SEVIS transfer or change of status so your student status continues with no gap. Your Day 1 CPT activates on the first day of class, which means you can keep the same job without a single week of interruption.
Frequently asked questions
What is a DBA?
Is a DBA the same thing as a PhD?
Do I need an MBA to apply?
Can I really work through the entire program?
What does the program cost?
When does the DBA start, and what is the format?
I'm on OPT right now. How does the transition work?
What if I don't have a job, or my employer isn't set up for CPT?
What scholarships and financial aid are available?
Let's find out if you qualify
One short conversation tells you your start date, your total cost after the grant and transfer credits, and exactly what your CPT timeline looks like. No pressure, no obligation.