The Doctor of Business Administration (commonly abbreviated as D.B.A., DBA, DrBA, or BusD) is a research doctorate awarded on the basis of advanced study, examinations, project work and research in business administration. The D.B.A. is a terminal degree in business administration.Along with the Ph.D. or D.Phil., it represents the highest academic qualification in business administration, and is typically required to gain employment as a full-time, tenure-track university professor or postdoctoral researcher in the field. As with other earned doctorates, individuals with the degree are awarded the academic title doctor, which is often represented via the English honorific “Dr.” or the post-nominal letters “DBA” or “PhD”.

D.B.A. candidates submit a significant project, typically referred to as a thesis or dissertation, consisting of a body of original academic research that is in principle worthy of publication in a peer-reviewed journal.Candidates must defend this work before a panel of expert examiners called a thesis, dissertation, or doctoral committee.

In the United States, the Doctor of Business Administration is recognized by the National Science Foundation (NSF) as a research degree. The D.B.A. is also considered by both the United States Department of Education and the National Science Foundation to be equivalent to the more commonly awarded Ph.D.