I am currently holding MBA is wish to proceed for either DBA or Phd.

From my understading, Phd will be more towards theoritical (for professor?) and DBA will be more for those people working in non-educational firm.

Is there a private university offering above program with less than RM 30k for the entire course? Which U did you recommend>?

From my understanding, Doctoral degree is combination of coursework and thesis (research), but for Phd it is completely research.

Correct me if im wrong.

You are right, most of the U conduct DBA / PhD as you mentioned.

nowadays, DBS is quite popular and like a hot cake in the market....

what is the DBS.. so the DBA holder also can use the Dr title?

^ i think i saw some PHD philipine uni offer by local college for around 30k
your mba from which uni ?

This post has been edited by ivanswk: Feb 24 2012, 01:53 PM

which local college offering?

Doctorate degree, in any kind of form, usually geared towards academic field. Especially in Malaysia. DBA or PhD or DEng, you'll still be expected to ply your trade in the university.

You increase your market value for each education level you mastered, and it peaks at Masters. After that (phd, post doc), it'll be hard to find jobs, esp in Malaysia, since you're overqualified and will be massively underpaid.

DBA is kinda useless since business theories can only get you so far. Without real-life experience, all your business knowledge is only applicable in business school.

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Added on March 4, 2012, 11:38 amas far as I know, DBS is Dublin Business School.

This post has been edited by pusamus: Mar 4 2012, 11:38 AM

IMO, DBA is for those who have adequate working experience or have run their biz for say 10 years and above, as such the individual will be able to link the pratical experience and thories together.

Dont go for DBA if u r fresh grads or have limited working exp.

DBA is a combination of coursework, thesis, and consultancy. (This is in USM). The consultancy is a nightmare for most of the DBA students. If your consulting recommendation for the company is not successful or it does not work, you will fail.

In some other universities, DBA is just a combination of coursework and thesis. So easy easy la....

PhD is usually 100% research but I know there are other universities where the PhD is a combination of coursework and thesis especially those universities from the US. Even locally, UKM and UM's PhDs are a combination of coursework and thesis. In USM, the PhD is 100% research.

So, a choice of PhD or DBA?

If you want an easy journey, take the DBA lo.... I know many corporate managers did that. They just want the Dr title and also for career progression.

I feel nowadays any Tom, Dikk and Harry can easily get a DBA. I have seen too many corporate executives having those DBAs.

If you seriously want to go into the academic line, take PhD. It will hone your research and writing skills.

And...PhD is not just about theory. That's the misconception. If you are doing a PhD, you will have to go out to distribute questionnaires or interview people. Or some doing a PhD in the sociology area, they have to observe the phenomenon of interest. Like I read one thesis of a PhD anthropology student, she went to the Orang Asli village and mingle with them for several months and years just to write her thesis. She recorded the entire journey just like a diary for the PhD thesis.

Or some doing experimental research for their PhD, you really have to do your research hands-on.

This post has been edited by Blofeld: Mar 16 2012, 12:49 PM

Hi all,

My personal view, DBA is a well-structured course as coursework help prepare students for their thesis. (In a way, easier for working adults to cope with)

Just abit info, a typical DBA will consist 12 units (which require Assignment & Exam) and average number of words per Assignment is about 6000words. (12*6000=72,000words). A typical DBA thesis is about 60,000-70,000 words. While PhD is between 100,000-130,000words. [This is HBS course structure for DBA and PhD] .....

Maybe in Malaysia, there is this perception that DBA is academically lesser than a PhD but according to HBS, that's not the case. Most business schools around the world that offers DBA, try their best to follow the structure used by HBS as they are the benchmark. (Even Malaysian Universities, example MMU, UKM, USM, OUM etc)

I guess is safe not to under-estimate the value of DBA degrees.

Cheers everyone.

Thanks for the input. For my case, with 15 years of working experience, I m more into the DBA instead of Phd (pure research type). Phd is more suitable for those who like research very much. I hv almost finish my MBA with UM, we hv few lecturers are with DBA qualifications. They can teach better IMO, as most of them who take DBA have industrial experience, and can relates the theory to the real world better than those Phd that hv not worked in private sector. For example how can u teach entrepreneurship subject if u r not an entrepreneur?

Some institution like INCEIF offering their Phd on both coursework and research mode. For coursework mode u study 12 subjects (70%) and then a dissertation (30%), and end of the day u still get a Phd title in Islamic finance.
So the difference between phd and dba is getting lesser.

Know any latest 2012 DBA preview?

Hi there,

i am planning to persue my studies in PhD or DBA.

is there any uni that provides business manjor in strategic management? prefer cheaper uni.

Please advise.

Thanks.

usually DBA no majoring.
for PHD u can research in Strategic Managment topic.

Any IPTA in Malaysia is always cheaper than IPTS.

If you are interested in strategic management, you can always come over to USM. Or any of the other three research public universities in Malaysia - UM, UKM, UPM. I believe USM is the cheapest among the four research universities.

Another advantage of IPTA is the online journal database. Their online journal database subsribed to is quite extensive compared to IPTS. You will be relying on these database extensively.

DBA is more suitable for corporate executives.

If you intend to be an academic, take up the PhD.

For Phd in business related field i will prefer UM, the highest ranked among the public university in Malaysia. World top 200 univesity by QS, and the fee is still within the affordable range.

Dun forget UTM bro, the cheapest in Malaysia

How cheap??? what abt quality? as it translate into if what u paid is value for money??

thanks guys for ur info..i will look into UM.

i really appreciate all your comments.

Hi, you 'll find a that being a postgrad in a public university to be very different from a private university. Aside from fees differences, you'll find the experience, the expectations, the standards to be different as well.

If fees is a concern, there are a number of private universities, especially foreign branch campuses in Malaysia, that offer scholarships and other financial aid for scholars doing the PhD program. You'll find a good selection of Postgraduate programs at http://www.malaysia-education.com/postgraduate.html. I suggest you check out these private options before deciding.

Note also that the DBA lacks the research component and strength that a PhD would offer.