For 15 years, Wilmington University’s DBA Residency Program has brought together doctoral candidates to refine their dissertation topics, gain insights from alumni, and meet professors and fellow students.
“They are spread out all over the country and this is the first time many of them meet face-to-face,” says Dr. Amy Danley, who chairs the DBA program in the College of Business. “There’s terrific collaboration between the students and the faculty.”
Dr. Amy Danley
Over the course of two days, the students attend an alumni roundtable, where individuals who have completed the program discuss how earning a DBA advanced their careers. They socialize at a dinner, observe a live dissertation defense, and explore their dissertation ideas in one-on-one sessions with faculty.
“I had been struggling with my research questions and my propositions. After an hour of individual sessions, I had them refined and felt a thousand times better about the direction of my dissertation,” says DBA candidate Cari Miller.
Her cohort mate, Oyindamola Ijewere, says quality time with professors provided her with invaluable encouragement. “Meeting faculty and understanding how much everyone wants us to succeed in this program is amazing. I feel very supported on my DBA journey,” she says.
Residencies are conducted several times a year. In a recent cohort, students came from as far as Florida. Several cohorts have welcomed foreign students.
“It’s a very diverse group,” Dr. Danley says. “We have had CEOs and a two-star general. We had one student who is 73 years old, earning her DBA simply because it was always something she wanted to accomplish.”