• Applicants must have a master’s degree in business or management-related area and the following courses with a grade of B or better: Managerial Finance, Managerial Economics, and one semester of graduate statistics.
• Applicants must have completed an undergraduate degree from a regionally accredited institution and maintained an overall grade point average of 2.75 on a 4.00 scale.

Students with transcripts from universities outside the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, New Zealand, Australia, and Canada (except for the Quebec Province) must take and pass English proficiency testing.

Saint Mary’s accepts:

• Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) with a minimum score of 72
• International English Language Testing System (IELTS) with a minimum score of 6.0
• International Test of English Proficiency (ITEP) with a minimum score of 4.0 or Pearson Test of English with a score of 51
• Duolingo with a minimum score of 100.

Your application must include the following items:

1. A completed application form
2. An official transcript(s) issued to Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota from the institution posting the applicant’s completed bachelor’s, master’s degrees and other relevant transcripts documenting program prerequisites and potential transfer credits. (An official transcript is one that is sent to the university by the credit-granting institution.)
   • Transcripts from countries other than the U.S. must be evaluated on a course by course basis by a university accepted evaluation service, such as World Education Services, Educational Credential Evaluators, Educational Perspectives, One Earth International Credential Evaluators or any approved member of the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES.org) and be deemed equivalent to accredited U.S. university standards.
   • Official Transcripts should be sent to Office of Admission
     • Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota
       2500 Park Avenue
       Minneapolis, MN 55404
     • Or electronically: tcadmission@smumn.edu
3.  All applicants must submit an essay that includes:
   • brief description of the applicant’s background, training, and experience; and
   • statement indicating the career goals of the applicant and their reasons for seeking admission to the program; and
   • description of the areas the applicant considers to be their strengths and areas in which the applicant wishes to develop greater strengths and abilities; and
   • personal information the applicant wishes to share.
4. Two letters of recommendation that verify professional and/or volunteer experience and academic ability.
5. A current résumé listing educational background and work experience.

• Fall: July 15

• Fall 2025: September 2

You can expect to be notified about your acceptance approximately two weeks following your application completion date.

The DBA degree is designed to allow you to transition into a leadership position within your professional area of expertise or expand your professional profile and opportunities. This program focuses on real-world organizational and business problems, combining original and secondary research for you to explore, examine, and address complex issues in business. 

Traditionally, the Ph.D. degree is primarily research-focused for those planning to pursue a career as a faculty member in higher education or as a career researcher at a research center.

Upon graduation from the Doctor of Business Administration program, you’ll receive the credential of doctorate or doctoral degree. You’ll be referred to as a Doctor of Business Administration, and your signature line can include DBA. after your name.

We encourage you to focus on areas of research that most interest you! Our faculty come from a wide range of business professional backgrounds to mirror that of our students.

Examples:

• Food Insecurity Amongst Ethnic Minorities
• What is the Experience of BIPOC and Immigrant Parents Raising a Child Diagnosed with Neurodevelopmental and Related Disorders Living in Minnesota?
• Financial Impact of Student Loan on Black Borrowers in the United States
• Educational Values Ecosystem Services and Its Impact on Carbon Footprint. A Study in Peru
• Can Entrepreneurship Promote Economic Development? A Case Study of the Entrepreneurial Experience of College Graduates in Ghana

After determining your chair and committee members, you’ll work with your chair on determining your research question and methodology before moving into the Proposal Development course.