The PhD Finance curriculum encompasses economics and financial theory, econometrics, and empirical methods. The objective is to develop a broad understanding of current research findings in finance, with an in-depth knowledge of the latest analytical techniques. The program prepares the PhD candidate for an academic career and offers him or her the skill set needed to make valuable contributions to various fields of financial economics.
A typical sequence of study includes classes in microeconomics, econometrics, stochastic processes, macroeconomics, and asset pricing theory. In addition, we offer opportunities for workshops, seminars, and electives.
Electives may include graduate classes in economics, mathematics, engineering, and management. The student may select advanced MBA-level classes in finance and accounting as electives in addition to graduate courses in economics, mathematics, and law. The PhD Program is a year-round experience: finance workshops, special PhD seminars, and research activities occur throughout the summer as well as the normal academic year.
On average, fellowship students work as research or teaching assistants for twelve hours per week. In the first year of the program, fellows work as research assistants to a Finance faculty member or in the Financial Markets Research Center (FMRC). In the second or third year, they have the opportunity to work as teaching assistants in MBA-level finance courses. PhD students are encouraged to gain further teaching experience in the latter half of their program studies by teaching courses at Vanderbilt and other nearby universities.
The Owen School maintains an active weekly workshop series at which outstanding finance scholars from around the world present their research. The FMRC sponsors an annual conference and maintains an extensive body of machine-readable financial data, including the CRSP, Compustat, IBES, TORC, TAC, ISSM, and many more specialized databases. We also subscribe to a number of online databases including Bloomberg, LEXIS, and Dow Jones.
