Doctor of Philosophy in Finance

Isenberg's PhD in Finance is a rigorous and supportive full-time program that prepares students for careers in academia and industry. Students will deepen their understanding of finance theory as well as empirical finance and will conduct independent research based on their interests. Working one-on-one with faculty, students will develop research for publication in leading academic journals. Students also teach at Isenberg to obtain teaching experience.
Students generally complete a PhD in Finance within four years. Students must take 45 credits of coursework, which includes classes in theory and research methods, research electives and minor classes. Students must pass both a core and comprehensive examination, and must write two summer papers. During the final years, students research, write and defend a dissertation and teach at Isenberg.

All applicants are expected to be graduates of an accredited American college or university or a foreign institution determined to be equivalent, and to have achieved acceptable grade point averages in all prior undergraduate and graduate studies. Applicants must submit scores on either the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) or the Graduate Records Examination (GRE). The following prerequisites should be met upon application, or shortly after entry, to the PhD Program: Mathematics and Statistics: Working knowledge of differential and integral calculus, matrix algebra, probability, sampling, estimation, hypothesis testing, experimental design, and regression. Economics: Intermediate level knowledge of microeconomics and macroeconomics. Business Administration: Introductory level knowledge of the following areas: accounting, finance, marketing, business policy, operations management, public policy toward business, and business law. Students entering the program may have acquired the knowledge by formal course work, self-study, or work experience. Some students with otherwise strong credentials are admitted without meeting all of these prerequisites. Such students usually make up their deficiencies by taking more courses than students who meet the requirements upon entry. Applicants with a recently awarded MBA degree are normally considered to have met these entrance requirements. TOEFL - 100 IELTS - 8 100 for the TOEFL and 8 for the IETLS. As well as high speaking scores, generally above 26 for the TOEFL and 8 for the IELTS.