Finance Ph.D.

Program Overview

During their course of study, students will receive specialized instruction in the broad areas of corporate finance, investments, and financial institutions. The conceptual knowledge and methodological skills necessary to perform high-level research will be further strengthened through individualized apprenticeships with faculty.

Faculty Research Interests and Highlights

The faculty are actively engaged in research across a broad array of topics, including banking, corporate boards, exchange-traded funds, FinTech, financial literacy, local financing, mutual funds, network finance, payday lending, political connections, and private foundations. The faculty have, in recent years, published in top journals including Journal of Finance and Journal of Financial Economics. Our program emphasizes active research collaboration with faculty from day one and seeks to identify and develop productive faculty-student partnerships.

The department maintains a robust seminar series, which provides students with the opportunity to meet with and learn from top scholars at other universities. The department, in coordination with the University, has also consistently funded students to travel to academic conferences to present their own research.

Program Structure

The goal of the program is to prepare students for a productive, successful academic career. An intense focus is placed on developing strong research skills and projects. During the first two years of the program, students take a required series of seminars that cover key areas including corporate finance, investments, and financial institutions. Other courses are tailored toward students’ individual needs and interests (e.g., microeconomics, econometrics, accounting, and statistics). Throughout that time, students are also actively working on novel research projects under the supervision of department professors. At the end of their first two years, students present a research project and take both a written and an oral comprehensive exam. The goals during the subsequent three years are to continue building a strong research agenda and to develop proficiency as a classroom instructor. During this period, students propose and defend their doctoral thesis, and, in their fifth year, enter the academic job market.

Program Outcomes

The department emphasizes close collaboration between faculty and students. Professors in the department have co-authored more than 60 articles with current and former students over the last 20 years, including articles in top journals such as Journal of Financial Economics and Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis. Our former students have also published well independently of our faculty, with publications in top journals including Review of Financial Studies.

Over the past two decades, graduates of the program have consistently obtained tenure-track positions, and, given sufficient time, have consistently obtained tenure. Recent placements include Bryant University, the University of Tulsa, and Wake Forest University.