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Doctoral Program

Finance Area Ph.D. Coordinator

Professor Tyler Shumway
Stephen M. Ross School of Business
  at the University of Michigan
701 Tappan Street
Ann Arbor, Micigan, 48109
Email: shumway@umich.edu
www.umich.edu/~shumway

About the Finance Area Program

The Ross School of Business Ph.D. program in Finance is one of the top programs in the country. The school has a large, active, and collegial finance faculty with diverse research interests. The faculty devotes significant resources to the Ph.D. program, recognizing that having a top Ph.D. program is critical to maintain an outstanding research environment.

The main objective of the program is to produce well-trained researchers who can be placed in the top academic finance departments in the country. The faculty's research interests include corporate finance, asset pricing, market microstructure, behavioral finance, mutual fund performance and structure, financial intermediation, and international finance. Since research quality is the faculty's primary concern, the department continues to admit only three to five students each year. The relatively small number of students ensures quality interaction with the faculty.

The finance department sponsors two seminars per week, and Ph.D. students are active participants in both seminars. To become proficient in the art of research, students produce a literature review during their first summer and a research paper during their second summer. They present their work in departmental seminars during the academic year. Students are also assigned to work for faculty members as research assistants. There are many opportunities for collaboration among students and between students and faculty.

Students complete most of the course work for the Ph.D. during the first two years of the program. Because doctoral-level classes in microeconomic theory, mathematical economics, statistics and finance are among the first-year requirements, strong prior preparation is essential. Courses during the second year comprise at least six electives (typically in math, economics, econometrics, or financial engineering) in addition to two Ph.D.-level finance courses, one each semester. Students take two more doctoral seminars in finance during the third year. For the remainder of the program, they typically take one course per term in an area related to their research.

Exams covering finance and related areas typically take place at the end of the second year. Students advance to candidacy by passing the exams and completing the two required research papers. The remainder of the program is devoted to the dissertation.

Additional Information and Applications

Additional information about the finance Ph.D. program, including information about applying to the program, is available at the Ross School of Business Ph.D. program website at http://www.bus.umich.edu/Admissions/Phd/.  Questions can also be addressed to the area coordinator listed above.