Degree Requirements
The courses listed below represent the minimum course requirements for the Ph.D. in finance. Students are encouraged to take additional electives in areas such as real estate, insurance, research methods, financial engineering or other topics which will further their research interests. The required 48 credit hours may be partitioned as follows.
Finance major field courses (24 hours)
- FI 512 Money and Capital Markets
- FI 515 Quantitative Investment Analysis
- FI 601 Financial Management Theory
- FI 602 Advanced Finance Theory
- FI 610 Seminar in Financial Management
- FI 614 Seminar in Investments
- FI 624 Seminar in Financial Markets
- FI Elective
Economics minor courses (12 hours)
- EC 610 Advanced Microeconomic Theory
- Either EC 611 Advanced Macroeconomic Theory or EC 660 Game Theory
- EC 570 Mathematical Economics
- EC Elective
Quantitative Methods courses (12 hours)
-
The student must select four quantitative electives with approval of the graduate advisor.
Completion of the above curriculum satisfies the Graduate School and C&BA course requirements and automatically earns the student a minor in economics. The economics program does not require a written exam for those students who pass their minor coursework with a "B" or better.
In scheduling electives, students should keep in mind that electives should complement the intended finance concentration area. Students must write a dissertation in a specific topic and are advised to take all electives relevant to that topic.
Many of the courses require a fair degree of mathematical proficiency. For the student with limited (or rusty) mathematical training, we suggest that MA 125, MA 126, or MA 227 be completed. Likewise, students with deficient background in economics, statistics, or accounting should consider taking courses prior to commencing the program. Often, these courses are available during the summer.
Course Loads, Sequencing, and Time Required for Completion of the Degree
A full-time graduate load for a student with a half-time assistantship is 3 courses per semester. The table below shows a suggested schedule for such students.
| Fall | Spring | |
|---|---|---|
| First Year |
|
|
| Second Year |
|
|
| Third Year |
|
|
| Fourth Year |
|
|
*FI 602 and the three finance seminars FI 610, FI 614, and FI 624 are taught in rotating semesters over two years. The actual course sequence will depend upon the year of admission.
†A minimum of 24 hours of dissertation research is required by the Graduate School for a Ph.D. A student must register for at least 3 hours of FI 699 each fall and spring semester until the dissertation is completed even if the 24-hour requirement has been met.
Students that are not on half-time assistantships may elect to register for four courses per semester during the first year. If so, then they should move forward required courses such as a finance, statistics, or an economics elective into the first year.
Students take the Preliminary Qualifying Exams in August following their first year; i.e., during the break between the second summer session and the fall semester. During the spring of the second year, and throughout the third year, the student develops a research program by preparing manuscripts for seminar courses, proposals and papers for conferences, and pursues independent research on potential dissertation topics.
Following completion of the the second year of classwork, the student is eligible to complete the Comprehensive Exam. It is recommended that the student complete the Comprehensive Exam as early as possible. This allows time for completing and defending a dissertation proposal as early as possible. After passing the Comprehensive Exam, the student focuses on the dissertation and research presentations or publications.
Scholastic Requirements
Students must maintain satisfactory progress, as enumerated below, or they may be asked to withdraw from the program.
- If a student's cumulative grade average falls below 3.0, or if the student earns a "D" or "F" in a graduate course, the student may be asked to withdraw from the program.
- If a student's grade average in their finance major field courses falls below 3.0, or if the student earns three demerit points, the student automatically will be dismissed from the program. A grade of "C" earns one demerit point, a "D" earns two demerit points, and an "F" earns three demerit points. The student may petition the Department Program Committee to grant an exception to the dismissal policy; the Program Committee decides whether extenuating circumstances warrant the exception.
Course Waivers
In some circumstances, beginning students already may possess sufficient training so that their interests would be served better by waiving a required course and instead taking another graduate finance course. These waivers require permission of the instructor generally teaching the course to be waived and the graduate advisor. Waiving a course does not alter the total number of required courses nor other aspects of the program.
Participation at Department Seminars
A requirement for assistantship renewal is that students attend the department research seminars. These seminars offer the opportunity to hear top researchers from across the nation and, on occasion, from overseas. Attendance at the seminars provides students with insight about research objectives, manuscripts, presentation style, etc. Students are encouraged to prepare manuscripts for presentation at the departmental brown-bag. Quite often, students that have manuscripts accepted for presentation at regional or national conferences use the brown-bag series as a practice session. The department strongly encourages students to develop research manuscripts for presentation at conferences. Participation at conferences is beneficial for the student's professional interests (financing for conference expenses may be available; see "Financial Aid" section.)