Why Earn a PhD
As the higher education landscape evolves, universities are expanding leadership and teaching positions beyond the traditional tenure track, creating growing demand for doctorate-level professionals. An Executive PhD is designed for this moment, preparing experienced professionals to step into influential non-tenured positions where advanced scholarship and executive insight are equally essential.
It will also make you a more skilled and confident executive in your current field, facing your company’s challenges with high-quality research approaches empowering you to identify inventive, evidence-based solutions. Or you can branch out as a consultant and guide other businesses to success.
A PhD vs a DBA
Earning a PhD, you'll create new theoretical knowledge, rather than focus on applying existing theories to business problems. Daniels’ EPhD graduates publish research that moves thought forward.
Why the Daniels College of Business
- Perform research in the specialty of your choice--have the flexibility to pursue your passion with your dissertation.
- Learn through a blended format that includes distance learning and two on-campus immersions per quarter.
- Customize your research training with methods as diverse as 1:1 interviews, large language models and artificial intelligence.
- Grow through Daniels’ unique approaches of ethical leadership and real-world, challenge-based learning.
- Work closely with faculty who are top researchers in their fields of expertise.
Qualified PhD Candidates
- Are established business leaders with a master’s degree and at least 10 years of substantial experience*
- Have demonstrated leadership experience necessary to identify and research relevant and timely business issues
- Are high performers with experience integrating research into real-life challenges
- Are driven by intellectual curiosity about complex problem-solving
- Want to approach business issues more systematically, making decisions based on research and data
*Applications that do not meet our minimum requirements will be considered based on tenure, educational history, work experience and previous accolades.
For More Information
Contact us if you have questions, want to discuss your research interests or would like to learn more about the Executive PhD.
Yellow Ribbon Funding
For eligible veterans and their families, Daniels and the University of Denver cover tuition costs over the GI Bill cap, making us a fully funded Yellow Ribbon institution. If you’re 100% GI Bill eligible, then the Yellow Ribbon program will cover the full tuition and fees for the Executive PhD. Read about an active-duty officer who's a current EPhD student.
Support the Exective PhD program
By giving to the Executive PhD program, you invest in research with purpose. Your support empowers executive scholars to tackle complex business challenges, share their insights with thought leaders, and unlock the data needed to drive transformational change.
Bridging the Gap Between Academia and Industry
Student and Alumni News
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Leo Dixon and John Sebesta
Cohorts 5 and 3
Had their paper "AI Adoption in Entrepreneurial Firms: The Influence of Innovativeness, Proactiveness, and Risk-Taking" accepted by the Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences.
Dennis Dunivan, Paula Mann and Dale Collins
Cohort 3
Had their article "Expanding the Empirical Study of Virtual Reality Beyond Empathy to Compassion, Moral Reasoning and Moral Foundations," written with Professor Emeritus Dennis Wittmer, published in Frontiers in Psychology. Read more about their research.
Neil Pollard
Cohort 5
Was one of 20 doctoral students nationally accepted into the 2024 USASBE Doctoral Consortium for Teaching and Learning in Entrepreneurship. Each participant will work with a team on an entreprenurship education project with one of the editors from Entrepreneurship Education & Pedagogy.
Cynthia Arthur
Cohort 4
Had her article “Technological Acquisitions: The Impact of Innovation on Stock Performance,” written with Teaching Associate Professor Irina Khindanova, PhD, accepted for publication in the Journal of Applied Business and Economics.
Perform in-depth research in the specialty of your choice.
Daniels Newsroom
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Daniels Students Advance their Careers through Alumni Advisory Board Endowed Scholarship
Increasing Empathy Through Technology
