The market for professional doctorates in management changes rapidly. New programs are launched, old ones are cancelled. Sometimes, websites are offline while the programs still run. And sometimes, programs are just in a process of transition and change.

• Please note that we kept the DBA Report 2015 short to avoid a repetition of the 2014 report. if you are interested in detailed information, please read the Global DBA Report 2014.

In spring 2015, we found 259 professional or executive doctorates in management - offered with a part-time base teaching mode that allows managers to maintain their jobs while achieving a research degree in management.

Degrees granted for professional doctorates in management

• 229 of them grant a Doctor of Business Administration (DBA)
• 10 grant a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
• 20 grant a Doctor in another business discipline or just with a different wording - for example, a Doctor of Management or a Doctor of Organizational Change

Regional distribution

• 45 percent of the professional doctorates in management worldwide are offered in North America
• 33 percent are offered in Europe
• 16 percent are offered in Asia/Pacific
• 4 percent are offered in Africa
• 1 percent are offered in the Carribean
• 1 are offered in Latin America

Program length of doctorates in busines administration

• 45 percent of the programs can be studied in less than 3 years; in reality, the students may take longer - but the respective institutions say at least that the programs are designed such that the degree can be achieved in less than 4 years
• 43 percent of the programs take 4 years
• 12 percent take more than 4 years

Partnership or lincensed programs

19 institutions offer DBA programs from other universities. They provide the professors or infrastructure, for instance, and the students don't need to travel to a different country regularly where the institution is based that grants the degree.