DEGREE PROGRAMS FACULTY & RESEARCH PH.D. STUDENTS SEMINARS & SPEAKERS CONTACT INFORMATION

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Ph.D. in Finance and Real Estate

Curriculum

During the first two-to-three years, students enroll in courses selected to provide the basic theoretical and empirical skills required to undertake research in finance. Course work can be categorized into four areas:

1. A major field of finance and real estate courses.
2. A research foundation, which provides a core of research methodology common to financial and real estate studies.
3. A supporting field (or minor), which allows the student to specialize in a field related to financial research.
4. Breadth, which assures a broad knowledge of other business disciplines.

The breadth and research foundation courses are set by the Department. The supporting and major field courses are determined by the student in consultation with the Supervisory Committee. Major course work consists of at least sixteen credits chooses from the following courses:

Required

Title

Financial Theory I

Financial Theory II

Electives

Title

Corporation Finance

Investments

Derivatives

Financial Markets and Institutions

Empirical Methods in Finance

Financial Research Workshop

Individual Work in Finance

Advanced Research

Individual Work in Insurance and Risk Management

In all cases, course titles are illustrative. Elective courses are intended to be "advanced seminars" in which students are taken to greater depth than was possible in the two required courses. Emphasis will be on developing research skills, and helping students understand how one selects and refines a research topic. Not all elective courses are offered annually. This means that doctoral students will be expected and encouraged to take some classes in their third year. Consequently, students from adjacent classes "mix" in these electives, augmenting the educational process by creating synergy's within the doctoral student population.

The Department's weekly "seminar series" plays a major role in enhancing the student's knowledge and creating an environment conducive to scholarly activity. In this seminar, departmental faculty and leading scholars from other institutions present working papers on their current research interests. All doctoral students are required to attend these seminar meetings.