The Professional Doctorate: Its Relativity to the Ph.D. and Relevance for the Knowledge Economy

Abstract

The Professional Doctorate (ProfDoc) is attracting increasing attention because of its perceived greater than the Doctor of Philosophy's (PhD's) focus on meeting the needs of the knowledge economy. The paper examines the nature of the ProfDoc vis-a-vis the PhD and identifies signifi- cant characteristics of the ProfDoc, especially in respect of relevance and perfonnativity. It then analyses these characteristics in the context of the professional Doctorate in Business Administra- tion (DBA) in Infonnation Systems (IS) at an Australian university. An ethnographic approach is used to examine the internal (university) and external (student) environments of the DBA(IS). Recommendations are made to increase its effectiveness for the knowledge economy, including moving to a greater student and industry centred approach. Finally, conclusions are drawn to de- temiine its relevance to the knowledge economy.