MANCOSA Doctor of Business Administration Admission 2019

The MANCOSA DBA is contextualised within the rubric of a world that continues to be severely interrupted by two major processes, namely, globalisation and the fourth industrial revolution. These processes have introduced new dynamics into the global economy and have fundamentally changed how business is visualised, conducted and studied. The impact of globalisation on business operations has been pervasive and extensive, requiring a fundamental review of existing business approaches. It is now imperative that strategic planning, at all levels of business, integrate knowledge that is both local and global. Simultaneously, the impact of the fourth industrial revolution has hastened the adoption of key technologies.

The new revolution is transforming businesses and sparking a new wave of wealth creation, particularly in emerging economies of the world, such as in Africa. Since economic growth and technology are inextricably linked, current economic conditions are fostering investment in technology as emerging African economies ramp-up their demand for technology to fuel growth. Captains of industry must be keenly aware of these new challenges.

The Africa Rising narrative offers extraordinary potential for companies that understand the needs of emerging economies and their relatively untapped markets. Within this perspective, Africa will require a new generation of leaders and managers. Most importantly, the new generation of leaders and managers must possess the skills and experience to compete globally and think locally in their attempt to respond to the myriad challenges and opportunities that globalisation and the fourth industrial revolution offers.

The DBA, which is the pinnacle of management education, is a qualification that holds great significance. As a full thesis doctoral degree it stresses practical approaches informed by theoretical understandings. It allows students to learn and thrive in a dynamic global (knowledge) marketplace that is shaped by geo-political disruptions, big data analytics, e-commerce, mobile technology and much more.

The MANCOSA DBA is designed for candidates who, having already completed a Master’s degree programme, are looking to further develop their practical and theoretical knowledge of the principles that govern private and public sector organisations, through research. The strength of the DBA programme is centred in MANCOSA’s mission to have an impact on the student’s professional knowledge base and skills and to conduct rigorous research that is directly relevant to one’s organisation, industry or country.

Programme structure

Duration: 3 years

The MANCOSA DBA programme is underpinned by exceptional support with individual and group supervision. A two-phase registration process ensures that candidates are appropriately selected and adequately prepared for the demands of the programme.

Phase 1

DBA PRE-REGISTRATION(Duration – 6 months)

Upon enrolment onto the pre-registration phase of the MANCOSA DBA, a candidate will be assigned to a supervisor. The candidate will be required to work under the guidance of the allocated supervisor in developing a research proposal. In addition, the candidate will be required to attend weekend support workshops during the pre-registration phase. At the end of the 6 month pre-registration phase, a candidate will be required to present and defend their research proposal at a MANCOSA Colloquium. Successful defence and approval of a candidate’s research proposal is required as an eligibility criterion to register for the MANCOSA DBA programme.

Phase 2

DBA REGISTRATION(Duration – 36 months)

A candidate whose research proposal has been successfully defended and approved, will be eligible to enrol onto the MANCOSA DBA and continue with Part B (executing the research plan), Part C (analysing research data) and Part D (research writing and thesis construction). Each Part (B, C and D) is 6 months in duration. During each Part (6 months), the candidate will be expected to attend weekend support workshops. Individual supervision will continue beyond Parts B, C and D, until a student has successfully completed the programme.

Exceptional Research Support

Not all doctoral programmes are created equal. The MANCOSA DBA has been developed to provide students with the optimal level of support during the course of their studies. Here are some of the reasons to choose the MANCOSA DBA:

Structured Doctoral Research Development Programme
Dual Supervision (Individual and Group)
Access to Electronic Resources
Dedicated Research Coordinator
Weekend Research Workshops
Focused Research
Proposal Development Support
Specialised Data
Analysis Services

Admission requirements

Minimum admission requirements for pre-registration (Phase One) of the MANCOSA DBA programme:

Have an MBA or appropriate Master’s degree with an overall minimum average of 60%; and with 60% in the coursework and 60% in the research component;

Have an appropriate research Master’s degree with a minimum 60% pass.

To facilitate the selection process, applicants must additionally:

Provide a statement of intent in the form of a concept note on the proposed study, in which the candidate motivates for his/her admission into the doctoral programme and outlines a preliminary research proposal;
Provide three professional/academic letters of recommendation which attest to the candidate’s academic ability to undertake doctoral studies and benefit from a DBA programme;
Provide a copy of their Masters’ thesis and any relevant publications or other recognised academic work (electronic);
Possess a minimum of 5 years’ relevant work experience; and
Be prepared to participate in an interview.

Application

Please take note of the following:

Applications for the DBA have opened and will close on 28 September 2018 for admission into the first offering of the pre-registration programme – the Doctoral Research Proposal Development Programme, which is the first part of the Doctoral Research Development Programme.

If you are considering applying for this first intake (Durban Cohort), please note that the 6-month Doctoral Research Development Programme comprises the following mandatory weekend research workshops (Friday 15h00 – Sunday 13h00) and a defence of your doctoral research proposal, which will take place in Durban and have been scheduled as follows:

MANCOSA Doctoral Research Proposal Development Programme Schedule (DURBAN)

Weekend Research Workshop 1: 19 to 21 October 2018
Weekend Research Workshop 2: 7 to 9 December 2018
Weekend Research Workshop 3: 18 to 20 January 2019
Colloquium: Research Proposal Defence: 22 to 23 February 2019
Submission of Research Proposal for approval and ethical clearance: 15 March 2019
Registration for admission into the MANCOSA DBA: 1 April 2019

If you are considering applying for the second intake (Johannesburg Cohort), please note that applications will open on 1 November 2018 and close on 31 January 2019. The 6-month Doctoral Research Development Programme comprises the following mandatory weekend research workshops (Friday 15h00 – Sunday 13h00) and a defence of your doctoral research proposal, which will take place in Johannesburg and have been scheduled as follows:

MANCOSA Doctoral Research Proposal Development Programme Schedule (JOHANNESBURG)

Weekend Research Workshop 1: 8-10 March 2019
Weekend Research Workshop 2: 10-12 May 2019
Weekend Research Workshop 3: 19-21 July 2019
Colloquium: Research Proposal Defence: 23-24 August 2019
Submission of Research Proposal for approval and ethical clearance: 20 September 2019
Registration for admission into the MANCOSA DBA: 18 October 2019

Want more information? Download application and other documents below.