Kennesaw State Adds New Doctorate Of Business Administration And Dance Major

March 19, 2008 - PRLog -- Kennesaw State University’s Michael J. Coles College of Business will start offering an innovative Doctor of Business Administration (D.B.A.) degree this summer‚ the first at a University System of Georgia institution. Also‚ a new undergraduate major in dance will be offered by the College of the Arts.

Both new degrees were approved today by the state’s Board of Regents at its monthly meeting.

“With these new degrees‚ Kennesaw State is addressing the needs of our community. The doctorate in business provides a visionary solution to emerging global challenges and opportunities‚” said President Daniel S. Papp. “The dance major will help us to continue attracting qualified undergraduates to our campus.”

Going beyond an M.B.A.

The D.B.A. is the university’s second doctoral degree program and solidifies KSU’s stature as a comprehensive institution‚ now granting almost 20 master’s degrees. KSU started offering the Doctor of Education in Leadership for Learning (Ed.D.) in January 2007. The D.B.A. and Ed.D. are targeted to working professionals.

There is huge demand for the new business doctorate‚ which combines theory with applied business concepts‚ said Tim Mescon‚ dean of the Coles College of Business. With a scarcity of people with business doctorates and increasing demand for their services‚ doctoral salaries have gone through the roof‚ he added. Few business schools in the United States offer a D.B.A.

“The launch of this program is a direct reflection of the high quality of faculty and academic programs in the Coles College‚ along with the tremendous market shortage of doctorally qualified business faculty‚” Mescon said.

Kennesaw State is the first school in the University System of Georgia to offer a D.B.A.‚ Mescon said. Unlike a traditional‚ full−time research degree like the Ph.D.‚ the D.B.A. is targeted to working mid−career professionals with an M.B.A. who want to enhance their careers or move into academia. The program‚ designed to be completed in three years‚ is a natural extension of Coles’ top−ranked Executive M.B.A. Program.

Many business schools are not increasing their number of doctorates. “It is wonderful that accredited schools like Kennesaw State are creating new and innovative programs‚” said Dan LeClair‚ vice−president and chief knowledge officer of the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB)‚ the largest organization that accredits business schools. “In the U.S. there are few‚ if any‚ accredited doctorate degree programs for working professionals.”

Tuition for the D.B.A. is about $24‚000 a year.

KSU steps into dance

Kennesaw State will also enhance its undergraduate offerings with a Bachelor of Arts with a major in dance‚ becoming one of a handful of schools in the University System of Georgia to offer the program. The dance major strengthens the College of the Arts’ offerings‚ which now include theatre and performance studies‚ music‚ and visual arts.

The dance major evolved from a minor that proved popular when introduced almost three years ago. The dance program now has 143 dance minors‚ five adjunct faculty‚ a 30−member strong pre−professional dance company and an array of dance course offerings that include technique classes in modern‚ ballet‚ jazz‚ tap‚ African and ballroom dance‚ said Ivan Pulinkala‚ director of dance in the College of the Arts.

The new dance major helps fill the void for college dance programs in the state. Many students studying dance in high school or in dance studios end up leaving Georgia to pursue an undergraduate degree in dance at other universities‚ due to the state’s lack of programs‚ Pulinkala explained.

“The dance program at Kennesaw State University has grown very quickly‚ not just in numbers but in national recognition‚” said Joseph D. Meeks‚ dean of the College of the Arts. “After the dance minor was launched in 2005‚ it soon became clear that our students and our community were hungry for a collegiate−level dance program. By creating a major in dance‚ we are adding another vibrant and significant discipline to our stellar arts programs.”

The KSU Dance Company recently won the regional American College Dance Festival‚ triumphing over 33 other dance programs in the southeast region. It has been invited to perform at the National College Dance Festival in New York City in June 2008.

KSU currently offers 45 undergraduate majors. The College of the Arts will start accepting applications for the new dance major next fall.

For more information‚ call Aixa M. Pascual at 678-797-2549 or apascual@kennesaw.edu.

Further information about other actions taken by the Regents at the board's March meeting is available online at http://www.usg.edu.

Find out more about the Coles College of Business at http://coles.kennesaw.edu.

More about the College of the Arts is available at http://www.kennesaw.edu/arts.

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A member of the 35-unit University System of Georgia, Kennesaw State University is a comprehensive‚ residential institution with a growing student population of more than 20‚000 from 132 countries. The third-largest university in Georgia‚ Kennesaw State offers more than 60 graduate and undergraduate degrees‚ including new doctorates in education and business.

Website: www.kennesaw.edu