Program Details
City University of Seattle’s Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) is designed for professionals to develop advanced skills in organization interventional thinking, agile business practices, leadership, and critical thinking while developing specialized business knowledge in the area of their choice.
This program offers students the flexibility to choose between online and onsite formats. With online coursework, students are supported through Professor Live Chat and a highly interactive teaching model that includes one hour every other week of live interaction with the professor and classmates via Blackboard Collaborate Ultra.
The DBA is flexible and customizable to meet students’ professional and personal development goals. The specialized concentration provides students the opportunity to hone in on their interest area.
Why Students Earn a Doctorate at CityU:
- High student satisfaction: 92% of doctoral students surveyed are “satisfied” or “highly satisfied” with their overall student experience.
- Regional accreditation: CityU is recognized by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU). for its educational performance, integrity and quality.
- Time to completion: The estimated time to complete CityU’s DBA is between three and four years. Faculty will be supporting students with Professor Live Chat and a highly interactive learning model to ensure student success.
- Program structure: The 91-credit program is offered online and on-site.
Get started today by contacting an advisor.
Program Outcomes
The Doctor of Business Administration will prepare students to:
- Analyze business-related information and assess the current state of an organization;
- Develop effective business strategies that guide organizations to change and adapt to future challenges;
- Evaluate complex organizations and how they can appropriately serve their stakeholders;
- Recognize the social and economic value of responsible business strategies as an ethical business leaders of the future;
- Utilize project-oriented approaches to lead organizations with innovation and vision;
- Conduct data-driven business analyses and interventions founded in accepted research methodologies to improve operational performance; and
- Design and conduct significant and unique research projects that contribute to the knowledge of the business administration field.

Dr. John Elmer
Q&A with Associate Program Director Dr. John Elmer
Q: What is your terminal degree in and where did you get it from?
A: DBA – Argosy University
Q: What do you do for fun?
A: Gardening around the house, or traveling.
Q: What classes do you teach?
A: In the MBA and DBA programs.
Q: Why did you decide to start teaching?
A: It looked like fun – and it is!
Q: Why do you enjoy teaching at CityU?
A: I enjoy the mix of students from so many cultures and the fact that they are eager to learn and apply what they have learned in their careers.
Q: What’s one thing you always tell your students that may or may not relate to your class?
A: If you are not having fun, you are not learning.
Q: What might you tell a student who was thinking of taking one of your classes?
A: The class will be a lot of work, papers to write, discussions to answer, but I do my best to make it interesting and enjoyable.
Q: What is something that you have learned from end-of-course evaluations that you applied later on?
A: Students appreciate comments in the discussion forum. I have learned to check in – and to comment – often each week.

Dr. Paul Gerhardt
Q&A with Dr. Paul Gerhardt, Associate Faculty
Q: What is your terminal degree in and where did you get it from?
A: PhD: Management and Organizational Behaviors with a focus in Leadership from Capella University’s School of Management and Technology
Q: What do you do for fun?
A: Travel, cooking; and family time.
Q: What classes do you teach?
A: DBA 605: Organizational Development Theories and Trends
LDRD 607: Cultural Competence in a Diverse Society
LDRD 609: Leading Organizational Change
LDRD 634: Leading in a Global Environment
LDRD 636: Leading Diverse Teams
LDRD 642: Organizational Design and Culture
LDRD 646: Developing Leaders of the Future
Q: Why did you decide to start teaching?
A: I love sharing what I know with others, while expanding my own mind and skills by working with some of the smartest people of leaders in many industries.
Q: Why do you enjoy teaching at CityU?
A: City University has a wonderfully supportive environment that helps working professionals stretch and grow. Our courses are built to help facilitate the wisdom and experiences of both instructors and the top-quality students who are growth-minded leaders working to be the best they can be. It is truly an honor working with and supporting the amazing students who choose a doctoral program. Our students are the best!
Q: What’s one thing you always tell your students that may or may not relate to your class?
A: We become better leaders by learning from experts. Dig deep into the scholarly literature as much as you can. Stretching is growing. Having an open mind and wanting to see things differently will make you an even better asset to the organizations you work for, especially if you take on the perspective of being open to growth and then being proactive in finding information from the experts and making it your own.
Q: What might you tell a student who was thinking of taking one of your classes?
A: I sincerely care about each student’s success. I teach because I want to help my students grow. If you are willing to work hard and know that anything worth doing is worth doing well, you will leave my classes with a significant “intellectual toolbox” that opens doors for you in your future. I promise!
Q: What is something that you have learned from end-of-course evaluations that you applied later on?
A: Students love my honesty and encouragement. Most students know that I truly care and appreciate the way I stretch them.

Dr. Michael Thomas
Q&A with Dr. Michael Thomas, Associate Faculty Member
Q: What is your terminal degree in and where did you get it from?
A: My education career has been quite varied. I received a BA in Anthropology (Archaeology) from the University of Texas, then a Masters and PhD from Washington State University in Pullman. At the masters level, I specialized in the languages and cultures of Island Southeast Asia. In my doctoral dissertation, I developed a new analytical method for describing languages so that computers could process them more easily. This was the foundation for my professional career in Information Technology.
Q: Where have you worked in the past? What did you do there?
A: I founded a software company that developed Artificial Intelligence programs for government and commercial customers. After selling the company, I worked for the Northrop Grumman Corporation and for Lockheed Martin as a developer of advanced information technology products. My last position was as a chief technologist for the US government in Washington DC.
Q: In what part of the country do you live?
A: I’ve lived all over the United States and in Indonesia. I grew up in Texas and spent many years in New York City and Washington DC. After retiring in 2016 I moved to Seattle, where I now live.
Q: What do you do for fun?
A: I love to sail and hike, which makes Seattle ideal. I am a volunteer at the Seattle Center for Wooden Boats where I teach sailing and help maintain historical boats.
Q: What classes do you teach?
A: In the DBA program I teach Organizational Culture; in the MBA program I teach Technology Management, Business Strategy, Project Management, and Managing a Business; I have also taught Business Strategy at the Undergraduate level.
Q: Why did you decide to start teaching?
A: I have always enjoyed teaching and mentoring young professionals. I feel a sense of accomplishment by passing on the things I have learned throughout my career.
Q: What is one thing you always tell your students?
A: Never be afraid to make a mistake or try something new. You have to get out of your comfort zone to learn anything worthwhile.
Q: What would you tell a student who is thinking of taking one of your classes?
A: At the graduate level, the burden is on you to do more than quote the experts. You have to become the expert. When you leave the class, I expect you to know more than I do about your chosen topic.
Q: What is something you have learned from the students in your classes?
A: Nothing is more important than positive reinforcement for their accomplishments, and that feedback is essential to provide guidance.
Q: What do you think is the benefit of students enrolling in the CityU DBA program?
A: Growth, maturity, and the foundation the student needs to manage a business successfully.

Dr. Laura Williamson
Q&A with Dr. Laura Williamson, Associate Dean
Q: What is your terminal degree in and where did you get it from?
A: EdD from Nova Southeastern University.
Q: What do you do for fun?
A: Stand-up paddleboard, go to movies, love my friends and family.
Q: What classes do you teach?
A: I serve as a dissertation chair. I love supporting doctoral students to create new knowledge, both for themselves and for the greater community.
Q: Why did you decide to start teaching?
A: Teaching is a way of being, not a job. I love to always be learning and in the industry of learning.
Q: Why do you enjoy teaching at CityU?
A: The variety of students and subject matter.
Q: What's one thing you always tell your students that may or may not relate to your class?
A: I always remind them completing their degree is about learning, not just checking off a box. It will require daily engagement and reflection. Completing an MBA is a beginning, not an end.
Q: Any fond CityU memories that you can share?
A: There are so many. I have worked with and talked countless students out of quitting. Life has a way of conspiring to get in the way of our plans. Students enroll in a degree program and are seemingly immediately faced with family, work, time, and/or financial challenges as they try to find a balance among varied demands. The key is to stick with it no matter what. To give it a bit of time each day and be engaged with the process.
Q: What is something you've learned from end-of-course evaluations that you applied later on?
A: Yes. I've learned to never assume just because an assignment is clear to me, it is clear to students.