Hi All –

I got accepted in both Henley and Durham DBA programmes this year, however I have trouble in choosing. Durham has a better ranking than Henley/Reading and is more widely recognised. However, are these important characteristics when doing research?



I also connected very well with a potential supervisor in Henley, which might be critical to my success in the programme. The rest of the faculty has internationally renowned professors with relevant experience/background to my final thesis, which might be critical.



At the end of the day, would university rankings make a material difference in my DBA or should I give more gravity to the support network that I'll have?

Thanks in advance!

[Edited by ssjs2000 on Jul 16, 2021]

The only thing that matters are the supervisor and your goals. 

- Is the supervisor interested in your domain and research question, using the same theoretical lens, are they published in great journals and how many doctoral supervision have they completed in the last five years. 
- Do you want to teach full-time in a AACSB-accredited school? If so, take a part-time MhD not a DBA.

Thanks Duncan – I connected very well with my potential supervisor, who's been published in prestigious academic journals. They also bring a more rigorous approach to the domain, which will influence my research too. In one of the conversations, they shared that their current funded project slightly overlaps with my research question, therefore there are loads of opportunities for synergies.

In terms of recognition internationally, say in Asia, doesn't the university's ranking/reputation play role in career advancement, etc.? Are there different perceptions in UK/Europe for example? Thoughts?

[Edited by ssjs2000 on Jul 16, 2021]

In academic circles, all that matters is the quality of the papers that come out of your research. In employment, these are all triple crown schools with a good reputation. 

In academic circles, all that matters is the quality of the papers that come out of your research. In employment, these are all triple crown schools with a good reputation. 

Not unless one university has a bigger network than the other in your target market segment. Henley is an older school, has more alumni and a big base in mainland Europe and Malaysia.

Why dba do you trouble sleeping at night? Lockdown is so bored? You have no other interesting things to do in life? No employers need a dba, some need proper phd and dba is just for glorified middle manager with too little to do 

I tend to agree with Donho's sentiment, but it's really hard to say without knowing more about your goals.