Can someone spend three to eight years developing doctoral capability… yet officially possess none of it until one afternoon?
The viva doesn’t create a doctor. It recognises one.
So why don’t we recognise the development of doctoral capability along the way?
We’ve become so accustomed to the traditional doctoral journey that we rarely question its design.
Years of intellectual growth, increasingly sophisticated thinking and progressively stronger research capability can all lead to a single moment of formal recognition.
Yet doctoral capability is not acquired overnight.
It is developed over years.
At DoctorateHub GSBM, we believe doctoral education should recognise that reality.
Our Doctorate in Business Administration (DBA) is therefore built around assessed, recognised doctoral-level progression stages. Each stage has clearly defined learning outcomes, delivers meaningful value in its own right, and contributes towards the ultimate outcomes: a written thesis, a passed Viva Voce and an earned doctoral degree.
The first three modules are a good example.
They are not simply the beginning of a doctorate. They are immediately relevant to senior professionals — which is why we call them the Executive Research Accelerator (ERA) phase.
These modules develop the ability to frame complex problems, challenge assumptions, think critically, analyse rigorously and understand systems rather than isolated issues.
In other words: problem-solving, critical analytical thinking and systems thinking at doctoral level.
We don’t believe that should officially count as ZERO.
For some professionals, the Executive Research Accelerator provides exactly the capabilities they need in their organisations.
For others, it becomes the foundation of the complete DBA.
Same learning. Different destinations.
And this is only one of the assumptions we’re challenging.
Nobody teaches doctoral supervision. We do.
Would you assume that a world-class footballer automatically makes a great football coach?
So why do we assume that being an excellent researcher automatically makes someone an excellent doctoral supervisor?
Over the coming weeks, we’ll explore these and other assumptions through Rethinking Doctoral Education.
Questioning assumptions. Challenging conventions. Building doctoral education for today’s world.
#DoctoralEducation #DBA #ExecutiveEducation #CriticalThinking #SystemsThinking #DoctorateHub
