Olin’s doctoral program in Finance emphasizes rigorous analytical training and prepares students to pursue careers in research and teaching at leading academic institutions across the globe. Our students have a strong quantitative background, most typically undergraduate training in economics, mathematics, engineering or any other quantitative discipline.
Our research-active faculty members are easily accessible to students. In fact, collaboration is encouraged early on in the program, with faculty/student joint research resulting in faculty/student co-authored papers published in important journals. Much of the research is based on economic models to address problems such as the allocation of capital, risk and rewards in the economy. Empirical work widely uses the tools of econometrics – the application of statistics to economics.
Program Overview
Earning a doctorate takes four to five years of full-time study, split between taking courses and writing the dissertation. You will work closely with a faculty adviser, either tenured or tenure-track, who will guide you through the doctoral requirements.
Year 1
Required economics courses
Required statistics courses
Required finance courses
Qualifying core exam
Complete a summer paper
Year 2
Required finance courses
Elective/area of interest courses
Comprehensive finance exam
Complete and present original research paper
Year 3
Transition to full-time dissertation research
Submit dissertation proposal by end of year (or early in Year 4)
Years 4 & 5
Submit dissertation proposal early in the year (or by end of Year 3)
Complete and defend dissertation
- Doctoral students are expected to become involved in research immediately. In addition, you’re required to:
- Attend research seminars in finance as long as you are enrolled full time.
- Attend all finance workshops and "brown bag" seminars.
- Interact with faculty members to learn the types of problems being addressed.
- Foster successful research collaboration with faculty members and fellow doctoral students.
Degree Requirements
The Finance doctoral program requires a minimum of 72 graduate credit hours of course work. Up to 24 units of approved graduate work may be transferred from relevant graduate courses at other schools or universities.
These required courses must be passed with a grade of B or better:
Economics
Microeconomics I
Microeconomics II
Econometrics or Statistics
Quantitative Methods in Economics
Introduction to Econometrics
Random Variables & Stochastic Process
Finance
Introduction to Asset Pricing
Continuous Time Finance
Information Economics & Corporate Finance Theory
Topics in Corporate Finance
Research in Finance
In addition, you must meet the following degree requirements:
- Demonstrate a thorough working knowledge of mathematics, statistics, econometrics and microeconomics.
- Pass the qualifying core exam administered in June of Year 1 with at least a Ph.D. pass.
- Complete a first-year summer paper, replicating and extending the results of a published research paper.
- Pass the comprehensive finance examination administered in the beginning of the summer (Year 2).
- Complete and present a second-year research paper representing original research, written under the guidance of a faculty adviser. The second-year paper should be presented in the finance workshop at the end of the second-year summer and receive at least a Ph.D. pass.
- Participate in doctoral seminars and workshops in your major field of study throughout the program.
- Deliver successful oral presentations of a written dissertation proposal and defense of a doctoral dissertation. The faculty must approve the topic and methodology in advance. While the second-year paper can be co-authored with a faculty member, the dissertation needs to include at least one solo paper.
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