The University of North Alabama is developing two doctoral programs: Executive Doctor of Business Administration in the College of Business and Ph.D. in Exercise Science in the College of Education and Human Sciences.

These programs will launch in fall 2020, pending all requisite approvals.

“Both programs capitalize upon strong, credentialed faculty in both areas with extensive records of scholarly productivity; strong market demand; a record of quality graduate programs in both academic colleges; and sufficient resources to launch and support the programs,” said Bryan Rachal, director of communications and marketing at UNA.

The EDBA is a doctorate geared towards practitioners in the business world.

“The addition of these two doctoral programs does not mark a significant change to the mission of the University, which will continue to be a teaching-centered institution focused on faculty-student interaction,” Rachal said.

The EDBA will be a low-residency, cohort-based program that integrates significant online components and will take three years to complete.

“The overwhelming majority of graduates will utilize the degree to progress in the corporate world, rather than pursuing careers in academia,” Rachal said.

The Ph.D. in Exercise Science is a more traditional, research based degree that will allow graduates to forge careers in and outside of academia.

“The decision to launch both programs is the result of extensive market research, faculty feedback and support and shrewd financial planning over a number of years” Rachal said.

Rachal said the university is experiencing an increased demand for its online degree programs, particularly at the graduate level and will continue to prioritize and develop them accordingly.

“Our online MBA program continues to be a showcase program for the University, with sustained and continued growth,” said Dr. Ross Alexander, UNA vice president for academic affairs and provost. “It is by far the largest MBA program in the state with over 805 students.

UNA has one of the top MBA programs in the State of Alabama, ranking third in number of MBA graduates per year in the State, according to una.edu. UNA’s MBA program allows individuals to earn a MBA for $16,150 from a nationally ranked program.

“We are experiencing steady growth in a number of other programs as well, including the BBA in Professional Management, M.S. in Criminal Justice and M.Ed., to name a few,” Alexander said.

UNA’s online master of science in mathematics degree program is a fully online, innovative approach to graduate level mathematics. All students take a core of five 3-credit courses, including courses in algebra and analysis. Students can choose from concentration or elective courses in pure mathematics, mathematics teaching, or various STEM concentrations.

UNA has a partnership with the University of Alabama to bring its Doctorate of Education in instructional leadership to the UNA campus.

“We diligently strive to fit both the needs of our students and the changing global marketplace and that’s accomplished with diverse programmatic options,” Alexander said. “It is our responsibility to offer degrees that position graduates for success in an array of fields, whether they choose to forge careers locally, regionally or internationally.”

Recent additions to its portfolio of graduate, online degree programs include: M.S. in Mathematics, Master of Accountancy and the Family Nurse Practitioner track in the MSN program.

In fall 2018, six students earned certificates in the graduate program in the mathematics department.

The online graduate program in nursing included 108 certificates in total for nursing leadership, nursing teaching-learning and nursing unclassified in fall 2018.

Twenty-three students earned certificates in fall 2018 from the graduate program of accounting and business law.