Doctor of Professional Studies, Executive Doctoral Program, DPS

Create Attractive Options

• Earn your doctorate in three to five years
• Advance in senior management
• Initiate a consulting practice or launch an academic career

Why Pace's Doctoral Program

Pace University is the best place for you to earn a doctorate in business. Founded in 1972, this original doctoral program for executives combines outstanding faculty, accomplished students, prominent graduates, rigorous curriculum, innovative pedagogy, a stimulating environment, intensive relationships, flexible scheduling, a convenient location, and AACSB accreditation.

Students in the program are leaders who seek a comprehensive understanding of business and its environment. Overall, doctoral degree candidates maintain full-time employment while pursuing their education—they are professionals who desire more powerful tools to analyze complex problems and executives who are considering a transition to consulting or academic careers. The educational climate of this doctoral program enriches your learning by forming and energizing cohorts of candidates who complete most of their courses together.

What is an Executive Doctor of Professional Studies Program

The doctoral program uniquely fulfills the educational needs of active business professionals by:

Balancing breadth and depth. The program includes four foundation courses to examine emerging concepts in finance and economics, management, marketing, and international business and five concentration courses to develop your expertise in a selected discipline.

Integrating research and problem solving. Through four research courses, this program enhances your capacity to attack exigent business problems in bold new ways by employing systematic analytical methods and research techniques.

Merging theory and practice. The doctoral program emphasizes established and emerging theory that has proven potential for identifying, structuring, and solving business problems. You collaborate with seasoned professionals and accomplished faculty to advance business knowledge and improve practice.

Blending classroom and online learning. By incorporating the advantages of both collocated contemporaneous instruction and asynchronous distributed learning, this program delivers an effective and efficient doctoral education. Seminars continue your learning beyond the classroom.

Doctoral Program Curriculum

The curriculum consists of 57 credits of advanced graduate coursework beyond the MBA, 12 credits of which apply to the dissertation. There are three distinct areas of study: Finance, Management, and Marketing. All coursework, except the dissertation, should be completed in the first three years of the program.

Foundation Seminars (PDF): Four doctoral foundation seminars (12 credits) explore the broad conceptual foundations of business and management. The seminars promote intense class discussions that hone the intellectual and analytical capabilities of candidates. In the process, these seminars instill academic discipline and standards necessary for students to complete the program.

Methodology Seminars (PDF): Four research methodology seminars (12 credits) develop research skills needed to conduct empirical research. In these courses, you learn how to evaluate a broad range of business and academic research, how to design research projects and use research techniques, and how to analyze data using a variety of statistical techniques.

Publishing Tutorials (PDF): Two publishing tutorials (6 credits) provide you with opportunities to conduct and publish original research under the supervision of a qualified faculty member.

Doctoral Concentrations: Each doctoral candidate completes five courses (15 credits) in a concentration. Each concentration consists of two doctoral concentration seminars and three advanced electives. Prior masters-level coursework, together with professional experience, forms a solid foundation for your concentration. The faculty advisor for each concentration helps you select concentration electives that contribute to your academic and professional development. Students select one of the following three: Finance Concentration (PDF), Management Concentration (PDF), Marketing Concentration (PDF).

Doctoral Dissertation: You register for four dissertation seminars (12 credits) while completing your dissertation. A committee, consisting of two full-time Pace faculty members and one individual from outside Pace University, mentors your progress and approves your dissertation contents. All members of a dissertation committee must have an earned doctoral degree.

Who Should Apply

The doctoral program seeks applicants who have significant career achievement, potential, superior academic performance, and promise. Qualified applicants must have at least ten years of professional experience and a master's degree from an accredited institution.

If you qualify, please consider applying to our program. You can complete the online portion of the application in less than five minutes by entering some factual information below:

Apply now online

Attached to a return email we will send you Part B, which is an MS Word document, and instructions for completing the application. These instructions refer to additional documents which are available here:

Application Materials and Admissions Process

Learn More

• Program Sequence
• Convenient Schedule
• Monthly Calendar (PDF)
• Tuition and Fees
• Frequently Asked Questions

Career Path of Doctoral Program Graduates

• Tenure-track professorship
• Clinical professorship
• Academic administration
• Consulting
• Continuation in pre-existing career path

Career Background of Students in the DPS Program

• Accounting Manager
• Analyst
• Attorney
• Chief Executive Officer
• Controller
• CPA
• Director of Business Development
• District Manager
• Executive Vice President
• Financial Controller
• Group Research Director
• Manager of Marketing
• Managing Partner
• National Sales Manager
• President
• Production Director
• Senior Planning Manager
• Senior Vice President
• Vice President

Where are DPS Graduates Employed

• African Market Institute
• AllianzBristol-Myers Squibb
• Clinton Housing Development
• Consolidated Edison
• Exxon-Mobil
• Fairleigh Dickinson University
• Fordham University
• Goldman Sachs
• Hachette Filipacchi
• Hewlett-Packard
• Hofstra University
• HBO
• IBM
• JP Morgan Chase
• Madison Square Garden
• MasterCard International
• Madison Biotech
• Merrill Lynch
• Morgan Stanley
• Pfizer
• PwC
• Purdue Pharma
• Scholastic
• St Agnes Hospital
• Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs
• Time Warner
• Union Bank of Switzerland

"This is a program that can help you achieve your goals in the workplace or in academia. The professors are terrific. They have tremendous backgrounds—PhDs from leading universities—but more than that, because they're active in the New York business community, they understand the working world, and because they're in this program, they work with professionals, and they know how to get the best out of you." —Stephen Bear '12, Career Coach, Stephen Bear Consulting LLC