DBA & Ph.

UNIVERSITI KEBANGSAAN MALAYSIA

Graduate School of Business
Inspiring futures, nurturing possibilities UK M-
M-GSB
GSB

Doctoral Programmes at
UKM-Graduate School of Business
(UKM-GSB)

Nature of the Doctoral Programmes in UKM-GSB

Because our doctoral programmes are specially designed for the academic, research and consultancy professions, they are intensively
research-driven, and aimed to generate scholarly research that will significantly contribute to the theory and methodology of the Business and
Accounting discipline. Hence, they are rigorous and demanding, assuring mastery of the discipline at an advanced level. The breadth and depth
of the knowledge expected for DBA graduates, for example, are reflective of our commitment to excellence and quality, as well as for relevance
and rigour, with a flexible curriculum offering options to pursue special interest areas within business, management and accounting fields. For
our Ph.D. (thesis) programmes too, the mandatory coursework assures that vital relevant theories, conceptual frameworks, and research skills be
equipped to groom our doctoral students for innovative research at the frontiers of knowledge, within Business specialised discipline(s) of their
choice.

GSB offers two academic programmes at the doctoral level: the Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) with options to major and minor within
the four traditional Business functional areas, and the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) with options for specializations in Accounting/ Finance/
Marketing/ Management (Organizational Behaviour/ Human Resource Management (HRM), Strategy/ Operations). Key differences between
these programmes are highlighted below:-

At a Glance - UKM-GSB’s DBA and Ph.D Programmes

Name of Programme/ Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) Doctor of Philosophy (Accounting)

Degree Doctor of Philosophy (Finance)
Doctor of Philosophy (Management)
Doctor of Philosophy (Marketing)

Type of programme By Coursework and Dissertation By Thesis (with coursework as pre-requisite)

Most suitable career Business Academic, Senior Researcher, Business Business Academic, Senior Researcher, Accounting/
prospects Consultant, senior positions in corporate and Finance/ Management/ Marketing Consultant
public sectors

Priority consideration
for admission
Applicants with the following qualifications:-
MBA (general)/ with other qualifications in
disciplines related to either Economics,
Business and Commerce who do not have any
these research experience
Applicants with Master of Accountancy/ Finance/
Marketing/ Master in specific areas within
Management (e.g. HRM, Operational Research and
Strategy) and other specialized areas within Business
and Management discipline with thesis research
experience

Expected duration up 3.5 to 4 years (10 - 12 semesters) of full - time 3 years (9 semesters) of full-time study;
to theses submission study; 3.5 to 4.5 years (10 - 14 semesters) of part-timestudy
4 to 5 years (12 - 14 semesters) of part-time
study
Competency level Pass all coursework (with minimum ‘B’ grade Pass all coursework (with ‘Pass’ grade)
assessments/ for every course) + Pass Dissertation Proposal Examination
Requirements for + Pass 2 comprehensive Examination Papers + Present Research-in-progress at Doctoral
award of doctoral + Pass Dissertation Proposal Examination Colloquium
+ Present Research-in-progress at Doctoral + Pass Thesis Examination
Colloquium
+ Pass Dissertation Examination

Coursework 38 units comprising 2 Core courses 5 Research Skill courses

Components + 5 Research Skills courses + 3 courses in the Specialization area
+ 5 courses in the Major field
+ 2 courses in the Minor field

Coursework- Choose one Major field and one Minor field Choose one of the following ‘Specialization’ areas:-
Specialization areas from the following :- + Accounting;
+ Accounting + Finance;
+ Finance; + Management (e.g. Organizational Behaviour, HRM,
+ Management (e.g. Organizational Behaviour, Strategy, Operations Managemant);
HRM, Strategy, Operations Management); + Marketing
+ Marketing

Admission + Excellent academic records with good
Requirements Master’s and Bachelor’s Degrees related to
either Economics, Business/ Commerce
discipline
+ Recommendations from 2 Academic
Referees
+ High proficiency in English
+ Excellent academic records with good Master’s
and Bachelor’s Degree relevant to the specialized
area of the Theses
+ Ph.D. theses research proposal in a specialized
area within Business
+ Recommendations from 2 Academic Referees
+ High proficiency in English

Predominant language English. Theses and assignments can be English. Theses and assignments can be written in
in class interactions written in either English or the Malay language either English or the Malay language

Class times Classes held during office hours, evening/ Classes held during office hours, evenings/ weekends
weekends

Doctoral Research Fields

GSB will draw expertise for research supervision focusing on, but will not be limited
to, the following fields:-

Accounting (includes Auditing, Financial Accounting, Corporate Governance,

Auditing, Accounting Information Systems and Taxation)

Finance (includes Money and Capital Markets, Banking, Corporate/ International

Finance and Investment)

Management of Organisations (includes Organisational Behaviour, Human

Resource Management, Strategy, Operations Research, Quality Management
and Management of Technological Innovation)

Marketing (includes Services Marketing, Customer Behaviour, International

Marketing, Product Innovation and Hospitality Marketing)

Doctoral level Cousework

For the DBA programme:-
2 Core courses (Advanced Organisational Management & Macroeconomics)
5 Research Skills courses
5 courses in the Major field
2 courses in the Minor field.

Candidates choose one area to be their Major field and another to be their Minor
field, out of the four business functional areas of Accounting, Finance, Management
(Organizational Behaviourm/ HRM/ Strategy/ Operations) and Marketing.

For the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) programme:-

5 Research Skills courses
3 courses in one Specialization area
 The 5 “Research Skills” courses common for Major/ Minor Fields/ Specialization Areas
the DBA and Ph.D programmes are as
Courses offered within the Major/ Minor fields for DBA and Special-
follows:- ization area courses for Ph.D., grouped under Accounting, Finance,
Management and Marketing, are as follows:-
ZCZF8032 Literature Review
ZCZF8042 Conceptual Design
ZCZF8052 Qualitative Methodology
ZCZF8062 Research Methods for Business FINANCE
ZCZC8313 Financial Theory
ZCZC8323 Applied Econometrics
ZCZC8333 Advanced Investment
ACCOUNTING ZCZC8343 Money and Capital Markets
ZCZA8113 History and Philosophy of Accounting Theory ZCZC8353 Doctoral Seminar in Finance
ZCZA8123 Advanced Corporate Reporting ZCZC8373 Financial Economics
ZCZA8133 Strategic Management Accounting ZCZC8363 Independent Study Project in Finance*
ZCZA8143 Accountability and Corporate Gorvernance
ZCZA8153 Issues in Auditing Research
ZCZA8163 Doctoral Seminar in Accounting Information MANAGEMENT (Organisational Behaviour / HRM / Strategy / Operations)
ZCZA8173 Doctoral Seminar in Taxation ZCZB8513 Organisational Theory and Design
ZCZA8183 Independent Study Project in Accounting ZCZB8523 Organisational Analysis
ZCZB8533 Managing Employee Attitude & Behaviour
MARKETING ZCZB8543 Managing Human Resource
ZCZB8553 Strategies in Management
ZCZD8713 Doctoral Seminar in Marketing Theory and Thought ZCZB8563 Advanced Operations Management
ZCZD8723 Customer Behaviour Theory and Research ZCZB8573 Industrial Relations
ZCZD8733 Advanced Marketing Research ZCZB8583 Doctoral Seminar in Organisational Behaviour (pre-requisite:
ZCZD8743 Product Policy and Strategy Managing Employee Attitude & Behaviour)
ZCZD8753 Services Theory and Strategy ZCZB8593 Doctoral Seminar in Human Resource Management (pre-
ZCZD8763 International Marketing Theory and Research requisite: Managing Human Resource)
ZCZD8773 Hospitality Marketing Theory and Research ZCZB8603 Doctoral Seminar in Strategic Management (pre-requisite:
ZCZD8783 Independent Study Project in Marketing* Strategies in Management)
ZCZB8613 Doctoral Seminar in Operations Management (pre-requisite:
Advanced Operations Management)
ZCZB8623 Independent Study Project in Management*

Passing the Coursework Research Supervision

DBA’s need to achieve a minimum grade of B for every course taken and a
cumulative grade point average (C.G.P.A.). of at least 3.0 (out of 4.0) to remain
in the programme. Since courses are pre-requisites to support thesis
research, Ph.D. (thesis) students will get a ‘Pass’ / ’Fail’ grade for each course
taken. Ph.D. students also need to pass all required courses to be eligible to
advance to the thesis research stage.
*The Independent Study Project :
This project aims to provide practical field experience in testing the
feasibility of the student’s Doctoral thesis/ dissertation Proposal, before the
Proposal can be presented for examination. Here, the student works with an
active researcher on his/her project. He/ She has to present this project’s
empirical findings for evaluation. This work is expected to yield a publishable
paper. This course is compulsory for both DBA and Ph.D. students to
complete their DBA Major/Ph.D. Specialization area course requirement. It
will be taken in the last semester to complete their coursework. All Research
Skills courses and other required courses in the student’s Major or
“Specialisation area” need to be passed before undertaking this project.
The DBA Comprehensive Exam is taken after the student has completed all
course requirements in the DBA programme. Essentially, this examination
tests whether a candidate has acquired the minimum level competency for
independent research at the Doctoral level. Specifically, it tests a student’s
ability to reflect upon, integrate and synthesize knowledge across the
various courses taken within each of the Major and Minor fields. This
examination comprises two papers, with Paper 1 covering the Major area
and Paper 2 covering the Minor area. Passing both papers will qualify the
candidate to proceed to the dissertation stage.
Once Ph.D. (theses) students have passed all required
courses, and DBA’s have passed their comprehensive exams,
they begin to consult a prospective supervisor, on their
Proposal and a supervisory committee. A Supervisory
Committee comprising a Chair and at least two other
members will then be formally appointed by the Dean of
GSB, to guide, advise, monitor and assess the student’s work
throughout the dissertation/ theses research and writing
phase. The dissertation/ theses Proposal has to be formally
presented and examined for approval, before the candidate
qualifies to proceed to the dissertation/ theses research.
Before submitting their theses/ dissertation for examina-
tion, candidates are expected to present their research-in-
progress. as well as participate actively in GSB’s Doctoral
Colloquium.
Theses Examination
The Doctoral degree is conferred after the candidate has fully
satisfied the requirements of the theses/ dissertation
examination committee. This involves assessment by at least
one external examiner (whose appointment is approved by
the UKM Senate). Besides the candidate’s supervisory
committee, an independent assessor also examines the
candidate’s research at the dissertation/ thesis Proposal
stage, as well as at the final dissertation/ theses submission
stage.
Eligibility for Admission
For admission into the DBA programme, applicants of advantage will be those
with proven excellent academic records with good Master’s and Bachelor’s
Degrees in fields related to Economics, Business and Commerce, such as
general MBA, Master of Economics, M.A. Public Administration. (They are
generally applicants without thesis experience in the Business discipline).
For admission into the Ph.D. (thesis) programme, mastery in the specialized
area within Business / Management / Accounting at the Master’s level that is
relevant to the intended specialized field of study, will be considered
favourably (e.g. Those with Master of Marketing applying to conduct Ph.D.
research in the Marketing discipline, will have an advantage). Applicants need
to write a Ph.D. proposal (1,500-2,000 words) in the intended specialized area
of theses. This has to be furnished in the application package, as it is a key
consideration in the selection decision for admission into the Ph.D. (thesis)
programmes. This research proposal brief should include the following
sections: ‘problem statement’, ‘literature review and conceptual framework’,
‘proposed methodology’, ‘managerial implications’ and ‘key references’.
Candidates with theses research experience will have a special advantage to be
considered for admission into the Ph.D. (thesis) programme.
Recommendations from at least two academic referees (persons who have
taught the candidates)with their signatures on the prescribed forms.
Recipients of scholarship awards and candi dates with study leave and/ or
those working in educational institutions, will be given priority consideration
for admission.
Program Learning Outcomes of the D.B.A. and Doctor of
Philosophy (Accounting/ Finance/ Management/
Marketing)
English Language Requirement for
Admission
Foreign applicants whose native language is not English, and
local applicants intending to write their theses in the English
language, should demonstrate a strong command of the
English language, with either TOEFL score of minimum 550
(paper based)/ 213 (computer based), or IELTS - band 6.0 (or its
equivalent). Having passed UKM’s test of English language
competency programme at a high proficiency level equiva-
lent to these scores, can also be considered.
Applicants whose Master’s education used English as the
language of instruction should provide evidence of this in the
application for admission.
Admission Procedure
All applications need to use only the prescribed forms
either accessible from GSB’s website at
http://gsb.ukm.my, or office, and the completed forms
are to be mailed directly to GSB’s office. Certified
supporting documents with detailed academic
transcripts (including grades of all courses taken), have
to accompany the completed application material.
All applications (including candidates’ credentials) are
assessed on individual merit by GSB’s Graduate
Committee, in the decision to offer places for
admission.
Candidates will be admitted into the programme for
studies commencing in July (first semester) and March
(third semester) each year.

At the doctoral level, these degree programmes at GSB will further advance
knowledge, skills and competencies previously acquired at Master's level. The Tuition Fees (RM)
skills enhanced will enable graduates to undertake their own original research Fees are due at the time of registration
at the frontier of knowledge. Graduates of these doctoral programmes will
Program DBA/ Ph.D full time
exhibit the following competencies:-
Local International
1. Possess social skills and ethical values conforming to professional academic
Registration fees 2,250 2,700
standards.
University fees 4,720 5,664
2. Demonstrate mastery of a broad and in-depth knowledge of the theory and Tuition fees *35,880 **43,056
empirical literature of the Management/ Accounting/ Finance/ Marketing
discipline that will extend and create new knowledge, as well as develop Library Fees 900 1,080
new insights in these disciplines. Alumni fees 100 120
Convocation fees 150 180
3. Able to evaluate and synthesize scholarly literature to generate research that
will significantly contribute to new knowledge in Management/ Accounting/ Grand total 44,000 52,800
Finance/ Marketing.
Note: * Tuition Fees For Local students [RM520 x 69 units]
4. Acquired conceptual, methodological and analytical skills to conceptualize, ** Tuition Fees For International students [RM624 x 69 units]
design, undertake and report their own original research that transcends
knowledge frontiers and yield new innovations in the field of Management/
Accounting/ Finance/ Marketing. Fees Structure

5. Able to diagnose complex Management/ Accounting/ Finance/ Marketing Program DBA full time Ph.D full time
problems that prevail in organizations, in the country or across countries, Local International Local International
and competent in seeking solutions to such problems in these disciplines.
Semester 1 7,190 8,628 6,150 7,380
6. Able to effectively communicate with peers, with the academic community Semester 2 4,940 5,919 6,050 7,260
and the public, in the Management/ Accounting/ Finance/Marketing
discipline, through coherent writing and effective verbal communications. Semester 3 3,900 4,671 5,530 6,636
Semester 4 3,890 4,671 4,530 5,436
7. Understand the impact of current international developments on local Semester 5 3,890 4,681 4,530 5,436
Management/ Accounting/ Finance/ Marketing practice, and able to think Semester 6 3,890 4,681 4,010 4,812
and take action in a global and multi-cultural setting. Semester 7 3,890 4,681 4,010 4,812
8. Has potential in leading research in the Management/ Accounting/ Finance/ Semester 8 3,890 4,681 4,010 4,812
Marketing discipline and demonstrate teamwork skills. Semester 9 3,890 4,681 5,180 6,216
Semester 10 4,630 5,506
9. Proficient in generating and managing information and demonstrate
life-long learning skills. Total 44,000 52,800 44,000 52,800