Applications will be accepted beginning October 2008 for admission to the PhD
program in Fall 2009
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, a research tool, seminars,
independent studies, and work with the Finance faculty. In addition to coursework,
students are required to pass written and oral comprehensive examinations, write
an acceptable dissertation and pass a final oral examination.
Core Requirements
Ph.D. students in Finance are required to demonstrate a mastery of the core areas
by passing comprehensive examinations in corporate finance and investments. These
two areas are complementary and useful in other areas of Finance such as banking
and insurance. Ph.D. 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.
Mathematics
Students need a good background in calculus, statistics, and linear algebra. A deficiency
in this area must be rectified as soon as possible after starting the program. Modern
Finance is highly quantitative, and students are encouraged to fully develop their
quantitative skills.
Economic Theory
Ph.D. students are required to take Economics 973 (Micro-economics) and complete
it with a grade of B or better. Economics 983 and 984 (Advanced Microeconomic and
Macroeconomic Theory) are highly recommended.
Econometrics
Students must fulfill the minimum econometrics requirement by completing Econometrics
957 and 958 with a grade of B or better in each course. (A separate handout explaining
how to prepare for econometrics course(s) is available from the Economics Department
Graduate Office). Normally students are also expected to take Econometrics 959 (Econometrics
Seminar) with a B grade or better. Taking a field in econometrics is encouraged.
Coursework
Ph.D. students in Finance are required to take three major areas of concentration
in Finance, and one outside the area of Finance.
Annual Review
Each student must undergo an annual review to determine their progress. The review
is conducted with each student by a faculty committee.
Supervisory Committee
A student who has achieved full graduate status has demonstrated ability in the
fundamental subject matter of his\her major field and professional promise, has
selected the areas of concentration, and has found a faculty member in the Finance
Department to guide their research may request the Departments Graduate Committee
to recommend to the Graduate College the appointment of a supervisory committee.
The Graduate Committee shall recommend the appointment of the supervisory committee
for a doctoral student when he\she has successfully completed the finance theory
requirement, economics theory, and the econometrics requirement.
In special circumstances a student may petition the Graduate Committee to form a
supervisory committee before completing the above requirements.
The Supervisory Committee of a Ph.D. student will usually meet within three weeks
after its formation to approve a program of studies. A student must file a program
of study before completing more than half of his/her program.
Comprehensive Examinations
When a students course work is substantially completed and he\she has satisfied
all core requirements and has passed the first-year Finance Theory Qualifying Examination,
he\she will be expected to undergo comprehensive written examinations in his\her
areas of specialization (majors and minors).
All Ph.D. students in the Finance program must pass the corporate finance and investments
comprehensive examinations. In some instances, the investments area may be replaced
by another area with the approval of the students committee.
Ph.D. students in Finance are eligible to take comprehensive examinations in an
area only after the successful completion of all core courses in that area. A Ph.D.
student in Finance must remove incompletes in the relevant area before taking written
comprehensive examinations. Comprehensive examinations are scheduled twice a year,
January and July.
If a student fails all or a portion of his\her comprehensive written examinations,
he\she may be given a second opportunity, no earlier than at the next regularly
scheduled comprehensive examinations.
After a successful defense of the topic, 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.
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.
Doctoral Dissertation
The doctoral dissertation involves a substantial research project and indicates
evidence of the candidates ability to carry on independent, original research in
his\her field. It, accordingly, reflects the candidates 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 search for suitable topics in his\her
courses, seminars, and research assignments and 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 rea sonable 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 appropri ate 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 dis sertation research. The submission of samples of their writing
during the initial stages of the doctor al program will enable their advisers to
assist in acquiring such a facility.
