The Ph.D. program in Business Administration with a specialization in finance is a research-oriented program designed to prepare students for careers in academics and business. The coursework in the Ph.D. program is designed to be an intensive course of study in both the theory and empirical application of finance. The course of study includes a combination of classroom instruction, seminars, and work with the Finance faculty. In addition to coursework, students are required to pass written and oral comprehensive examinations, write a high quality dissertation and pass a final oral examination. The Ph.D. finance specialization is lock-step with a class admitted every other year. Students are not normally admitted in off years but will be considered in special cases.
Admission Requirements
- Students beginning the lock-step program need a minimum of one year of calculus and one semester of probability and statistics. We recommend that students have three semesters of calculus, one semester of linear algebra and a probability and statistics course.
- Must submit Official GMAT Score. Applicants are expected to have a minimum score in the 80th percentile (approximately 650) for admission.
- Applicants whose first language is not English and who have not received a previous degree from English speaking Institution must submit a Test of Spoken English (TOEFL). Applicants should attain a minimum score of 550 – paper or 80 – IBT.
- Additional qualifications may be required, particularly for prospective teaching assistants. International students accepted into the program will be required to attend the Institute of International Teaching Assistants in the summer prior to the start of their program.
- Students must begin the application process with the UNL Office of Graduate Studies. Instructions regarding transcripts, letters, etc. can be found there. All applications materials must be received by April 1, 2009.
Note to International Students
It is recommended that you start your application process at least one year prior to the date you would like to be admitted. You must also be aware of the additional requirements that you need to meet in order to be admitted to the College of Business Administration.
The Office of International Affairs provides orientation, counseling and advising to international students, and serves as the official liaison between your sponsoring agency and the United States government. Staff members are also available to help you make contacts on campus and in the Lincoln community.
Assistantships
All full-time doctoral students are funded with a departmental teaching or research assistantship, university fellowship, or external assistance. Full-time students are provided with office space, computer resources and departmental office support. The assistantship includes a competitive stipend, health benefits and teaching and research opportunities for the expected four years of study. Students are normally assigned as research assistants the first year of the program. Teaching duties normally start in the second year of the program. Part-time students are admitted only under special circumstances.
Program Requirements
Coursework
The lock-step curriculum requirements are as follows:
| The total hours required by the Graduate College |
90 |
| Minimum hours of coursework required by Finance Department |
54 |
| Required hours of Finance Seminars |
15 |
| Required hours of Econometrics |
9 |
| Required hours of Probability and Statistics (graduate level) |
3 |
| Required hours of Economic Theory |
6 |
| Required hours of Accounting Seminars |
3 |
| Required hours of Research and Teaching Methods |
3 |
| Required supporting elective hours |
15 |
Admitted students are expected to have completed coursework in mutivariate calculus, linear algebra and probability and statistics at a sufficient level to immediately enroll in graduate level economics and statistics courses. Courses are expected to be completed in the following sequence:
Year 1
- Semester 1:
- FINA 961 Advanced Theory of Finance
- ECON 973 Advanced Microeconomic Theory I
- STAT 880 Mathematical Statistics
- FINA 996 Research Methods and Teaching Skills
- Semester 2:
- FINA 969 Seminar in Corporate Finance
- ECON 957 Econometrics I
- ECON 983 Advanced Microeconomic Theory II
- Elective – 3 hours
- Summer
- Qualifying Exam
Year 2
- Semester 1:
- FINA 966 Seminar in Investments
- ECON 958 Econometrics II
- Elective: ECON 852 -Teaching Methods, Strongly Recommended
- Semester 2:
- FINA 968 Seminar in Information Economics
- ECON 959 Econometrics III
- Elective – 3 hours
- Summer
- Comprehensive Exam
Year 3
- Semester 1:
- ACCT 991 Seminar in Capital Market Research
- Electives – 3 hours
- Semester 2:
- FINA 999 Directed Study – Publishable research paper
- Elective – 3 hours
- Summer
- Dissertation Proposal
Year 4
- Dissertation
Students with prior graduate study experience may transfer in elective hours and probability and statistics coursework.
Approved Supporting Elective Courses
- FINA 812 Life and Health Insurance
- FINA 833 Enterprise Risk Management
- FINA 850 Multinational Financial Analysis
- FINA 855 Capital Markets
- FINA 863 Portfolio Management
- FINA 865 Bank Management
- FINA 867 Options, Futures and Derivative Securities
- FINA 882 Real Estate Finance
- ACCT 916 Seminar in Contemporary Accounting Theory
- ACCT 992 Seminar in Behavioral Accounting Research
- ACCT 996 Directed Readings
- ECON 871 Public Finance
- ECON 971 Public Expenditure, Taxation and Fiscal Incidence
- ECON 974 Advanced Macroeconomic Theory I
- ECON 983 Advanced Microeconomic Theory II
- ECON 984 Advanced Macroeconomic Theory II
- STAT 884 Applied Stochastic Models
Other courses may be taken with the permission of the Graduate Adviser.
Areas of Concentration
- Banking
- Corporate Finance
- Insurance
- International Finance
- Investments
- Real Estate
Annual Review
Each student must undergo an annual review to determine their progress. The review is conducted with each student by a faculty committee.
Qualifying Exam
First year students are required to take a Qualifying Examination in financial theory after completion of the first year. Students who fail this exam will be terminated from the program. Second year students are required to demonstrate a mastery of the core areas by passing a comprehensive examination.
Program of Study
Students must file a program of study in their first year of study which requires the appointment of a Supervisory Committee. Upon completion of the comprehensive examination, a student may consult with the Graduate Chair to make changes to their committee. Students are encouraged to work with faculty on research projects that lead to publishable papers.
Comprehensive Examinations
All Ph.D. students in the finance program must take the comprehensive examination at the end of their second year of study. If a student fails the comprehensive written examination, he/she will be given a second opportunity at the next regularly scheduled comprehensive examination.
After a successful completion of the comprehensive exam and all coursework, the student must submit the Application for Admission to Candidacy for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy to the Graduate College. Candidacy for the Ph.D. degree commences as of the date of completion of the oral defense of the dissertation topic.
Doctoral Dissertation
Every Ph.D. student must submit a tentative outline of their dissertation to the Supervisory Committee and defend the proposed topic and methodology before the committee as a condition of approval of the topic.
The doctoral dissertation involves a substantial research project and indicates evidence of the candidate’s ability to carry on independent, original research in his/her field. Accordingly, it reflects the candidate’s mastery of the appropriate scientific tools and to engage in fruitful research in the future.
The question, problem or hypothesis under investigation should be well defined and delimited so that it is manageable with the resources available. The dissertation should be a well-organized, tightly –written manuscript suitable for publication as a monograph or series of publishable papers.
The following suggestions are offered to students regarding the dissertation:
- The student should begin thinking about possible dissertation topics early in his/her doctoral studies and should commit to a research subject well before the completion of formal course work. The student should seek suggestions from professors in the area of his/her interest.
- The student should select a dissertation project which is manageable with respect to: (1) library resources, (2) data available or obtainable at reasonable cost, (3) methodology, and (4) time (i.e., one year of full-time work). After the initial stages of research the candidate may find it necessary to reduce the scope of his/her project to meet the manageability criteria.
- The dissertation area should be explored sufficiently to determine if the topic is feasible and to make certain that it has not been explored before or is not currently under active investigation.
- A tentative outline should be developed early, but it should be kept flexible to permit changes.
- The student should follow the rules of an appropriate style manual in the dissertation submitted to the adviser for evaluation. The Graduate College has an approved list of style manuals.
- International students may need to develop facility in writing scientific English before they begin dissertation research. The submission of samples of their writing during the initial stages of the doctoral program will enable their advisers to assist in acquiring such a facility.
Addition Information
For additional information concerning the Finance Ph.D. program contact:
Dr. Thomas Zorn
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Finance Department
CBA 231
Lincoln, NE 68588-0490
Phone: (402) 472-6049
Fax: (402) 472-5104
Email: 
