Dissertation-Only DBA in Supply Chain Management

[sanantone]

Seems like students take 3 courses about the subject matter, then 2 research-related courses, then start dissertation.

They're not subject matter courses. They had to break down the credits that way for financial aid purposes and also because the American higher education system is designed around credit hours. Within the earlier courses, you'll take the CITI certification courses, which just about every doctoral program requires when working with human subjects. You'll also go through a self-paced academic writing course offered through a third-party vendor. You'll explore which topics you want to research; based on your topics of interest, they'll match you up with a chair. 

Once a topic is selected, you'll fill out an ARB form to have it approved. Then, you'll fill out the IRB form. Once approved by the IRB, you'll start working on the dissertation proposal. After that's approved, you can start your research for the dissertation.