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About Start Dates
Additional future start dates include:
Spring 2025
Feb 10, 2025Mar 17, 2025
Summer 2025
May 19, 2025Jun 16, 2025
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Aug 18, 2025Sep 22, 2025
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Jan 5, 2026Feb 9, 2026
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May 18, 2026Jun 15, 2026
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Aug 10, 2026Aug 17, 2026
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Oct 26, 2026
Start dates for individual programs may vary and are subject to change. Please request free information & speak with an admission advisor for the latest program start dates.
Years To Complete
Advise, educate and innovate with an online doctor of business administration
A global economy combined with changes in accessibility, technology and consumer expectations have changed the way business is done – and administered. With increased prominence and greater responsibility, business administration practitioners are tasked with managing corporate-wide initiatives to competitive advantage and profitability. Educators, too, are pioneering in the field, bringing innovative business administration leadership practices to the classroom for the next generation of thought leaders, strategists and consultants.
Program Availability
Doctor of Business Administration Program Overview
Make a difference: Become a problem-solving business leader
Business and commerce as we knew it just a few years ago isn’t the same as business and commerce of today – and it certainly won’t be for tomorrow. Warp-speed changes in accessibility, technologies and consumer expectations, not to mention the global economy, have radically and dramatically altered the worldwide business landscape.
As a result, those working in business administration are taking on new roles and new prominence at both organizational and educational levels.
Business practitioners, for example, are becoming essentially on-staff consultants who are charged with across-the-board innovation for profitability and competitive advantage. Responsibilities have shifted from mere oversight and management toward visionary leadership in everything from best practices, to process management and change, to operational methodologies.
Business instructors, meanwhile, are becoming pioneering educators and champions who are tasked with preparing up-and-coming practitioners to become tomorrow’s thought leaders, strategists and innovation consultants.
Set yourself apart in business or business education
Because the business world is experiencing such tremendous change, employers need (and want) higher levels of skills from both practitioners and educators. In-demand skills include verbal and written competencies, technical and technological abilities, and advanced interpersonal aptitude. Yet these sophisticated and relevant skills don’t come easily – or automatically. Instead, they require proficiencies beyond even a master’s-level degree; they require a degree of the highest level, a terminal degree.
The skills you will develop in earning a terminal degree in business administration will prepare you to make logical, relevant connections between classroom learnings and real-world operational effectiveness. Acquiring these skills in the content area of management and developing the ability to perform research will give you deeper insight, sharper senses and greater abilities to distinguish among all the factors at hand to decide what is merely important and what is critical to address the identified problem. Further, improving your writing by developing a clear, crisp and concise style will give your thoughts a voice that will be heard and heeded.
Achieve tactical and strategic goals through strong organizational leadership
Our transfer-friendly Doctor of Business Administration program reinforces the core technical aspects of quality research, yet also equips you with such sought-after skills as communication and technology. Franklin’s applied doctorate is a practical degree that enables both subject mastery and field application. That means you’ll be prepared to research and communicate complex issues as you solve organization-wide issues.
Franklin’s applied doctorate in Business Administration is a program designed to help you:
- Differentiate yourself as a top performer or educator
- Apply research in order to solve actual business problems
- Assess and refine your own leadership competencies
- Understand and apply leadership theories for organizational transformation
Drive business innovation and improvement
Through our online DBA program, you’ll focus on advanced research in the fields of organizational strategy and performance. Knowing how and having experience with investigating, using and applying the research of others will increase both the depth and breadth of your own analytical and critical-thinking skills.
For example, through your research, you’ll gain a deeper understanding of key business dynamics, such as:
- Political and economic influence of global markets
- Increased regulation and government intervention
- Tension between public and private activities
- Technological innovations
- An increasingly diverse workforce
Armed with current research findings, you’ll be better prepared to:
- Recognize and respond to opportunities
- Form a vision for the future of your company or industry
- Generate possible solutions across many fields
- Address leadership issues
- Institute continuous innovation
- Improve customer satisfaction metric
All of which means that, with a Franklin DBA, you’ll be able to lead more strategically and focus innovative ideas to create competitive advantage.
Create a culture of effectiveness
Shaping corporate culture has never been more important. But it takes being intentional to create and sustain the right culture within your organization. Through Franklin’s applied DBA program, you’ll learn how to investigate, analyze and articulate organizational identity and behavior. You’ll also conduct substantive research into existing literature on organizational behavior, culture and effectiveness, culminating in the development of a research-ready proposal for cultural advancement or transformation.
Understand and manage organizational responsibility and integrity
It’s a modern-day business imperative: evaluate, assess and apply ethical constructs of business to provide more responsible management and leadership. From understanding theoretical principals, to developing ethical decision-making processes, to cultivating a social responsibility-minded corporate culture, Franklin DBA students will explore, assess and apply a full range of ethical theories and practices.
Get 360-degree support as you earn your DBA online
We’ve taken a comprehensive and systematic approach to our online DBA program, which includes team-based curriculum development, doctorally qualified faculty, and student-centered activities designed for the working adult. You’ll receive robust academic support from a variety of resources, including a graduate advisor, faculty advisor, personal librarian and peers, as well as the Student Learning Center staff and your Dissertation Committee members. You’ll also enjoy a cohesive and robust graduate culture and cohort. Together, our practice-minded faculty and your fellow students will support, mentor, encourage and keep you accountable to the program – and to yourself. At Franklin, you’re never alone on your doctoral journey.
Transfer up to 24 credit hours & finish your DBA faster
Want to complete your terminal degree in less than three years? Franklin grants up to 24 hours of prior-learning credit for previous doctoral work. We honor your prior-learning and make it easier to get credit for what you already know. Transfer credit can help you earn your applied doctorate degree faster, as well as reduce your overall tuition expenses.
Succeed with our unique dissertation structure
If there’s such a thing as a no-fear dissertation process, Franklin has it. We’ve intentionally designed a dissertation structure to help you complete your dissertation step-by-step, beginning with your enrollment in the program. We’ve also built-in faculty mentoring and guidance, and peer-to-peer support so you’re never left to “figure it out” on your own.
Throughout the online DBA program, you’ll develop important research skills and the necessary writing prowess to publish a dissertation or a dissertation in practice as a capstone project to your studies. Your dissertation will showcase your ability to identify a topic of interest within the workplace, develop a proposed solution to a problem, and test your hypotheses in the real world.
Future Start Dates
Your Best Value Doctor of Business Administration (DBA)
The Finish Formula
2 years of coursework + 1 year for the dissertation.
Transfer MORE Credits, Pay LESS tuition*
This is only an estimate of tuition costs after average or max transfer credits are applied. Pricing may be higher or lower depending on actual transfer credits and tuition discounts.
Faculty Support
Be mentored + guided by doctoral faculty advisor from first term through candidacy.
Highly Recommended
98% of graduating students would recommend Franklin to their family, friends and/or colleagues.
Source: Franklin University, Office of Career Development Student Satisfaction Survey (Summer 2023)
Non-Profit = Student Focused
Unlike for-profit universities, Franklin invests in student success, not shareholder gain.
Source: Internal research of leading programs (May 2022)
Affordable Tuition
Get ahead without going broke.
Doctor of Business Administration Courses & Curriculum
Microcredentials Align with Job Essentials
In today's dynamic work environments, adaptive professionals thrive. A microcredential - either as a stand-alone course or integrated into your degree program - is a short, skill-specific recognition that enables you to demonstrate your competency in a distinct area. Like Franklin's degree programs, microcredentials are aligned with market and industry demand to ensure what you learn can be put to use right away. Microcredentials are easily shared via digital badges and can be stacked to create a unique portfolio of in-demand skills.
Doctor of Business Administration Degree Program Details
Employment Outlook
From 2022-2032, jobs in Business & Leadership are expected to increase by 14%
Occupation | Median Salary (2022) | Job Postings (2022) | Projected Growth (2022-2032) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Occupation | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Chief Executives | $189,530 | 49,621 | -2% | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Chief Executives
Median Salary: $189,530
Job Postings: 49,621 Projected Growth: -2% |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Occupation Job Titles Skills Industry DescriptionChief Executives determine and formulate policies and provide overall direction of companies or private and public sector organizations within guidelines set up by a board of directors or similar governing body. Plan, direct, or coordinate operational activities at the highest level of management with the help of subordinate executives and staff managers. Projected Growth
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Marketing Managers | $140,046 | 362,771 | 15% | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Marketing Managers
Median Salary: $140,046
Job Postings: 362,771 Projected Growth: 15% |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Occupation Job Titles Skills Industry DescriptionMarketing Managers plan, direct, or coordinate marketing policies and programs, such as determining the demand for products and services offered by a firm and its competitors, and identify potential customers. Develop pricing strategies with the goal of maximizing the firm’s profits or share of the market while ensuring the firm’s customers are satisfied. Oversee product development or monitor trends that indicate the need for new products and services. Projected Growth
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Financial Managers | $139,797 | 476,494 | 22% | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Financial Managers
Median Salary: $139,797
Job Postings: 476,494 Projected Growth: 22% |
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Occupation Job Titles Skills Industry DescriptionFinancial Managers plan, direct, or coordinate accounting, investing, banking, insurance, securities, and other financial activities of a branch, office, or department of an establishment. Projected Growth
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sales Managers | $130,603 | 394,080 | 11% | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sales Managers
Median Salary: $130,603
Job Postings: 394,080 Projected Growth: 11% |
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Occupation Job Titles Skills Industry DescriptionSales Managers plan, direct, or coordinate the actual distribution or movement of a product or service to the customer. Coordinate sales distribution by establishing sales territories, quotas, and goals and establish training programs for sales representatives. Analyze sales statistics gathered by staff to determine sales potential and inventory requirements and monitor the preferences of customers. Projected Growth
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Advertising and Promotions Managers | $127,837 | 9,077 | 14% | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Advertising and Promotions Managers
Median Salary: $127,837
Job Postings: 9,077 Projected Growth: 14% |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Occupation Job Titles Skills Industry DescriptionAdvertising and Promotions Managers plan, direct, or coordinate advertising policies and programs or produce collateral materials, such as posters, contests, coupons, or giveaways, to create extra interest in the purchase of a product or service for a department, an entire organization, or on an account basis. Projected Growth
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Occupation Job Titles Skills Industry DescriptionGeneral and Operations Managers plan, direct, or coordinate the operations of public or private sector organizations, overseeing multiple departments or locations. Duties and responsibilities include formulating policies, managing daily operations, and planning the use of materials and human resources, but are too diverse and general in nature to be classified in any one functional area of management or administration, such as personnel, purchasing, or administrative services. Usually manage through subordinate supervisors. Excludes First-Line Supervisors. Projected Growth
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Occupation Job Titles Skills Industry DescriptionPostsecondary Teachers aggregate category equivalent to SOC group 25-1000. Teach undergraduate and graduate level courses in their specialized field of study. Include both teachers primarily engaged in teaching and those who do a combination of both teaching and research. Alternate titles: College Professor. Projected Growth
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Source: Employment Outlook data is provided by Lightcast. Franklin University cannot guarantee employment placement, salary level, or career advancement.