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PhD

About the Finance Area Program

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. Doctoral students in finance at the Stephen M. Ross School of Business have access to 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 relatively small number of students ensures quality interaction with the faculty. Faculty research interests include the advantages of floor trading versus electronic trading; innovation and divestment; financial intermediation systems in emerging economies; the organization of mutual funds; and the role systematic irrationality plays in the behavior of financial markets, a new area of exploration in finance.

Courses

Students complete most of the course work for the Ph.D. during the first two years of the program. Because doctoral-level classes in micro-economic 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 and econometrics) 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.

Research

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.

 

Preliminary Examination and Candidacy

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 research papers. The remainder of the program is devoted to the dissertation.

Current PhD Students
 

   First Year

   Taylor Begley
   Jason Kotter
   Matthew Linn

   Second Year

   Stefanos Delikouras
   Seokwoo Lee
   Seungjoon Oh
   Daniel Weagley

   Third Year

   Shinwoo Kang
   Di Li
   Maciej Szefler

   Fourth Year

   Alex Hsu
   Gi Hyun Kim
   Chen Xue

   Fifth Year

   Celim Yildizhan
   Min Zhu

Prospective Students

Dear Prospective Ph.D. Student,

Welcome to the finance area at the Ross School of Business.  The interests of our faculty span most areas of finance and have helped shape a dynamic Ph.D. program.

A highlight of our program is close mentoring by faculty and a tight-knit peer group of students, as evidenced by the numerous joint papers written over the years by faculty with students and by student with each other.  Many of our students have, during their PhDs, written papers that subsequently were published in the best journals in finance, including the Journal of Finance and the Review of Financial Studies.

Our placement record over the last several years has been very strong, with students being placed at institutions such as the University of Chicago, the University of British Columbia, the University of Texas, and Washington University.

We look forward to receiving your application.  We consider seriously all parts of the application, including your previous academic record, your test scores, your recommendations, and your essays.

Please contact me if you have any questions about our program.

Uday Rajan

Associate Professor of Finance

PhD Coordinator, Finance Area

Stephen M. Ross School of Business

University of Michigan

Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1234

Tel: 734.764.2310

Email:  urajan@umich.edu

http://webuser.bus.umich.edu/urajan/

 

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