Ph.D. in Finance and Real Estate program

Basic structure of the program:

• 1st year: take classes, pass 1st-year summer paper requirement
• 2nd year: take classes, finish comprehensive exam & 2nd-year paper
• 3rd, 4th, and 5th years: teach two classes in the three years, finish dissertation

During the first two-to-three years, students enroll in courses selected to provide the foundational 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:

• Financial Theory I
• Financial Theory II
• Corporation Finance
• Investments
• Empirical Asset Pricing
• AI and Machine Learning in Finance
• Financial Markets and Institutions
• Household Finance

In all cases, course titles are illustrative. Emphasis will be on developing research skills, and helping students understand how one selects and refines a research topic. Not all 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 some of the courses, augmenting the educational process by creating synergies within the doctoral student population.

The Department’s weekly Finance 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.

During the summer of their first year, students will compose a research paper, which they will present to the department and graduate committee members in the fall of their second year. At the end of the second year (usually in June), students take a written comprehensive examination covering all of the Finance Ph.D. courses taken during their first two years in the program.

Before the end of the second summer, in April, students must submit a proposal for their second-year paper, which is a research paper on a topic of the student’s choice. By October, the paper must be a complete research document, such as one reads in academic finance journals. Depending on a student’s past experience, it may be appropriate to view this paper as suitable for submission to a journal. However, an acceptable second-year paper need not be publishable. Neither should it be viewed as the first step in selecting a dissertation topic.

An acceptable second-year paper will exposit an interesting finance question, collect appropriate data to test relevant hypotheses (if the paper is empirical, which most are), undertake careful econometric analysis of the data, and interpret the results. The purpose of this exercise is for the student to learn how to identify a researchable topic and execute it. As such, papers replicating or extending existing work are acceptable. Students must present (defend) their second year papers during the first month of the Fall semester. This presentation constitutes the oral examination required by the Graduate School for admission to candidacy, and hence will be evaluated by the student’s supervisory committee.

A background in business, finance, or statistics is not required for admission to the program because these courses can be acquired during the student’s normal course of study. However, if a student enters the program with an inadequate background in mathematics, the deficiency must be overcome as soon as possible. Minimum math statistics and skills include a full year of calculus and at least some study of matrix or linear algebra.

It is preferable to complete at least the calculus course before your first semester in the Ph.D. program.

Major Examinations

In addition to their normal course examinations, Finance and Real Estate doctoral students must pass two major examinations during their tenure in the program. Because the Department admits only well-qualified applicants, attrition from the program is not intended to be very high. Nevertheless, students who fail either examination will probably be asked to leave the program.

During the summer following their second year of course work, students take a written finance comprehensive examination, which covers the finance Ph.D. courses taken during their first and second years.

In addition, the University requires that every doctoral student pass a written and oral comprehensive examination to be admitted to candidacy. In the Finance/Real Estate program, this requirement is fulfilled by writing and presenting a “second-year paper”. During a student’s second year in residence, each student will select a research topic in consultation with their  Supervisory Committee. Then, by the end of October in the student’s third Fall semester, they will submit a substantial, completed second-year paper.

This paper will constitute the written portion of the Comprehensive Examination. The oral portion of the Comprehensive Exam will be satisfied by a public presentation, in which the student presents their research to the Supervisory Committee and interested faculty and students. This presentation, based on a version of the paper that has been approved by the Supervisory Committee, must occur within one month of the final paper’s submission.

The Dissertation

Once the comprehensive exams have been passed, the student develops a dissertation proposal and selects a Dissertation Committee consisting of faculty having special knowledge of the topic to be studied. Upon successfully defending the results of this research, the Ph.D. degree is conferred on the student.

Review the Graduate Student Handbook for details on the requirements of the program.

No students listed at this time. Please check back at a later date.

Blake Jackson
Stuzin Hall 311
352-392-6386
Email | Profile | Homepage

Blake holds a B.S.B.A. in finance from the University of Florida summa cum laude. Before joining the Ph.D. program at UF, he interned at PepsiCo. His current research interests include corporate finance and private equity.

Boyuan Li
Stuzin Hall 311
352-392-6386
Email | Profile

Boyuan received a B.A. in Mathematics-Economics from Reed College (2018) and an M.A. in Economics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (2020). His current research interests include corporate finance, entrepreneurial finance, and innovation.

Pancy Li
Stuzin Hall 303A
352-392-5056
Email | Profile

Pancy is a fifth-year PhD student at the University of Florida. Her research areas are empirical corporate finance. Her research has been published in Strategic Management Journal and Critical Finance Review. Pancy received her PhD and master’s degrees from Tsinghua University and her bachelor’s degree from Hunan University.

2024

Jing Lu
Dissertation Chair: Chris James
Dissertation Title: Essays on Financial Markets
Initial Placement: Lecturer, University of New South Wales

Sami M. Khawar
Dissertation Chair: Mark Flannery
Dissertation Title: The Long and Short of U.S. Bank Regulations: From the Great Depression to the 2023 Bank Failures
Initial Placement: Postdoctoral Fellow, National University of Singapore

2023

Minmo Gahng
Dissertation Chair: Jay Ritter
Dissertation Title: Essays on Financial Economics
Initial Placement: Assistant Professor, Cornell University

Matthew Son
Dissertation Chair: Mahendrarajah Nimalendran
Dissertation Title: Essay on Big Data and Machine Learning in Finance
Initial Placement: Assistant Professor, University of South Florida

Cathy Zhang
Dissertation Chair: Mark Flannery
Dissertation Title: Essays in Mortgage Origination Fees
Initial Placement: Post Doctoral Associate, University of Florida

2022

Changhyun Ahn
Dissertation Chair: Joel Houston
Dissertation Title: Essays in Political Economy and Corporate Finance
Initial Placement: Research Assistant Professor of Finance, Chinese University of Hong Kong

Mustafa Emin
Dissertation Chair: Chris James
Dissertation Title: Institutional Investors and Private Debt
Initial Placement: Visiting Assistant Professor, Tulane University
Current Position: Assistant Professor, University of Alabama

Da Tian
Dissertation Chair: Jay Ritter
Dissertation Title: Essays in Financial Economics
Initial Placement: Assistant Professor, Nankai University (Tianjin, China)

Manvendra Tiwari
Dissertation Chair: Mark Flannery
Dissertation Title: Essays on Bank Opacity
Initial Placement: Assistant Professor, Saint Mary’s College in California

2021

Nicholas DeRoberits
Dissertation Chair: Andy Naranjo
Dissertation Title: Valuation Without Cash Flows: What are Cryptoasset Fundamentals
Initial Placement: Senior Software Engineer, Carbon Health Technologies

2020

Junho Oh
Dissertation Chair: Mark Flannery
Dissertation Title: Price Discovery in the Private Bond Market
Initial Placement: Research Assistant Professor, Hong Kong Polytechnic University.
Current Placement: Hankuk University of Foreign Studies (Seoul, South Korea)

Svetlana Petrova
Dissertation Chair: Andy Naranjo
Dissertation Title: Essays in FinTech: Cybersecurity Breaches, Corporate Responses, and Investment Behavior
Initial Placement: Assistant Professor in Finance, University of New Hampshire

2019

Derek Shan
Dissertation Chair: Joel Houston (co-chair) and Jay Ritter (co-chair) 2019
Dissertation Title: Essays in Financial Economics
Initial Placement: Assistant Professor, Fordham University
Current Placement: Assistant Professor, China Europe International Business School (CEIBS)

Guner Velioglu
Dissertation Chair: Chris James
Dissertation Title: Essays in Financial Economics and Private Information
Initial Placement: Assistant Professor of Finance, Loyola University Chicago

Amir Yousefi
Dissertation Co-Chairs: Mark Flannery and Mahendrarajah Nimalendran
Dissertation Title: Essays in Finance: “The Effects of Exchange Traded Funds on Corporate Decisions”
Initial Placement: Data Scientist, Facebook

2018

Jae Yung Kim
Dissertation Chair: Jay Ritter
Dissertation Title: “Essays in Financial Economics”
Initial Placement: Tulane University
Current Position: Assistant Professor of Finance, University of Exeter

2017

Max Dolinsky
Dissertation Chair: Andy Naranjo
Dissertation Title: “Essays on Firm Financial Policies: Measuring Industry Peer Effects and International Evidence on Firm Responses to Economic Policy Uncertainty”
Initial Placement: Central Michigan University
Current Position: Clinical Assistant Professor, University of Florida

Qie (Ellie) Yin
Dissertation Chair: Jay R. Ritter
Dissertation Title: “The Speed of Adjustment to the Target Market Value Leverage is Slower Than You Think”
Initial Placement: The Hong Kong Baptist University
Current Position: The Hong Kong Baptist University

Aaron Brauner
Dissertation Chair: Andy Naranjo
Dissertation Title: “Essays in International Corporate Capital Structure”
Initial Placement: State University of New York at Albany
Current Position: State University of New York at Albany

Charles Costello
Dissertation Chair: Christopher James
Dissertation Title: “Essays in Financial Economics”
Initial Placement: Cornerstone Research, Boston
Current Position: Cornerstone Research, Boston

2016

Yong (Jimmy) Jin
Dissertation Co-Chairs: Jay R. Ritter and Mahendrarajah Nimalendran
Dissertation Title: “Essays on Portfolio Theory and Application”
Initial Placement: The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
Current Position: The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

Rong (Diana) Shao
Dissertation Chair: Jay R. Ritter
Dissertation Title: “Closed-End Fund IPOs: Sold Not Bought”
Initial Placement: Oregon State University [2]
Current Position: Data Scientist, Facebook

2015

Yan Lu
Dissertation Chair: Mahendrarajah Nimalendran
Dissertation Title: “Essays in Alternative Investments”
Initial Placement: Assistant Professor, University of Central Florida [2]
Current Position: Associate Professor, University of Central Florida [2]

2014

Dominique Carlo Badoer
Dissertation Chair: Christopher James
Dissertation Title: “Essays in Debt Structure and Maturity Structure”
Initial Placement: University of Missouri [1]
Current Position: University of Illinois at Chicago

Leming Lin
Dissertation Chair: Jay Ritter and Mark Flannery
Dissertation Title: “Essays in Banking and Corporate Finance”
Initial Placement: University of Pittsburgh [1]
Current Position: Associate Professor, University of Pittsburgh [1]

Atanas Mihov
Dissertation Chair: Mark Flannery and Andy Naranjo
Dissertation Title: “Essays in Financial Economics”
Initial Placement: Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond
Current Position: University of Kansas

Stace Sirmans
Dissertation Chair: Andy Naranjo
Dissertation Title: “Credit Risk Effects in Corporate Finance & Investments”
Initial Placement: University of Arkansas [2]
Current Position: Auburn University

Matt Souther
Dissertation Chair: Mike Ryngaert
Dissertation Title: “Essays in Corporate Governance”
Initial Placement: University of Missouri [1]
Current Position: University of South Carolina

2013

Sabuhi Sardarli
Dissertation Chair: Andy Naranjo and Michael Ryngaert
Dissertation Title: “Essays in Retirement Plans and Mutual Funds”
Initial Placement: Kansas State
Current Position: Associate Professor, Kansas State

2012

Thomas Doellman
Dissertation Chair: Michael Ryngaert
Dissertation Title: “Two Essays in Corporate Finance”
Initial Placement: Saint Louis University
Current Position: Saint Louis University

Aaron Gubin
Dissertation Chair: Mark Flannery and Joel Houston
Dissertation Title: “What Decomposing Market-to-Book Ratios Can Tell Us About Firm Pricing and Safety”
Initial Placement: East Carolina University
Current Position: SigFig.com

Atay Kizilaslan
Dissertation Chair: Christopher James
Dissertation Title: “Asset Specificity, Industry Driven Recovery risk and Loan Pricing”
Initial Placement: Cornerstone Research, New York
Current Position: Cornerstone Research, New York

Xiaoding Liu
Dissertation Chair: Jay Ritter
Dissertation Title: “Essays in Corporate Finance”
Initial Placement: University of Oregon [1]
Current Position: Texas A&M University

Ani Manakyan Mathers
Dissertation Chair: Christopher James
Dissertation Title: “Strategic Credit Line Usage and Performance”
Initial Placement: Salisbury University, Maryland
Current Position: Salisbury University, Maryland

Xiaohong (Sara) Wang
Dissertation Chair: Mark J. Flannery
Dissertation Title: “Three Essays on Intermediary Lending”
Initial Placement: Northeastern Illinois University
Current Position: Northeastern Illinois University

2011

Benjamin Scheick
Dissertation Chair: David Ling and Andy Naranjo
Dissertation Title: “Investor Sentiment, Credit Availability, Information Dissemination, and Asset Price Movements”
Initial Placement: University of Georgia [2]
Current Position: Villanova University

Brian Walkup
Dissertation Chair: Michael Ryngaert
Dissertation Title: “Two Essays in Finance”
Initial Placement: University of Tulsa
Current Position: Rollins College

2009

Jennifer Itzkowitz
Dissertation Chair: Joel Houston and Andy Naranjo
Initial Placement: Seton Hall
Current Position: Seton Hall

Brandon Lockhart
Dissertation Chair: Mark Flannery
Initial Placement: University of Nebraska [2]
Current Position: Clemson University

Ozde Oztekin
Dissertation Chair: Mark Flannery
Initial Placement: University of Kansas [1]
Current Position: Florida International University

2008

Alice Bonaime
Dissertation Chair: Michael Ryngaert
Initial Placement: University of Kentucky [2]
Current Position: Associate Professor, University of Arizona [1]

Cem Demiroglu
Dissertation Chair: Chris James
Initial Placement: Koc University (Turkey)
Current Position: Koc University (Turkey)

Xiaohui Gao
Dissertation Chair: Jay Ritter
Initial Placement: University of Hong Kong
Current Position: Temple University

Laura Gonzalez-Alana
Dissertation Chair: Chris James
Initial Placement: Fordham University [2]
Current Position: California State University, Long Beach

2007

Tom Barkley
Dissertation Chair: Mahendrarajah Nimalendran and Andy Naranjo
Initial Placement: Syracuse University [2]
Current Position: Syracuse University [2]

Yunchun (Wendy) Hu
Dissertation Chair: Jay Ritter
Initial Placement: Zebra Capital
Current Position: Senior Researcher, Institute for Private Capital – Kenan Institute, UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School

Hugh Marble III
Dissertation Chair: David Brown
Initial Placement: University of Vermont [2]
Current Position: The College of William & Mary

Yvonne Reinertson
Dissertation Chair: Andy Naranjo
Initial Placement: Director, Strategic Capital Research, LLC
Current Position: Director, Strategic Capital Research, LLC

2006

Kristine Hankins
Dissertation Chair: Mark Flannery
Dissertation Title: “Two Essays on Corporate Finance”
Initial Placement: University of Kentucky [2]
Current Position: University of Kentucky [2]

Ozgur (Ozzie) Ince
Dissertation Chair: Jay Ritter
Dissertation Title: “The Partial Adjustment of IPO Offer Prices Is Not Due to Dynamic Acquisition”
Initial Placement: Virginia Tech [2]
Current Position: University of South Carolina [2]

Milena Petrova
Dissertation Chair: David Ling
Dissertation Title: “Do Buyer and Seller Motivations Affect Transaction Prices in Commercial Real Estate? Evidence from Tax-Deferred Exchanges and Other Conditions of Sale”
Initial Placement: Syracuse University [2]
Current Position: Syracuse University [2]

2005

Qing (Grace) Hao
Dissertation Chair: Jay Ritter
Dissertation Title: “Laddering in IPOs”
Initial Placement: University of Missouri at Columbia [1]
Current Position: University of Texas – Arlington

2004

Elvan Aktas
Dissertation Chair: Mark Flannery
Dissertation Title: “Essays in financial economics”
Initial Placement: Florida Atlantic University
Current Position: Professor, Valdosta State

Rick Borghesi
Dissertation Chair: Joel Houston and Andy Naranjo
Dissertation Title: “Essays in corporate diversification, market efficiency, and allocation of scarce resources”
Initial Placement: Texas State University
Current Position: Professor, University of South Florida

Rongbing Huang
Dissertation Chair: Jay Ritter
Dissertation Title: “Testing the windows-of-opportunity theory of capital structure”
Initial Placement: Kennesaw State University
Current Position: Full Professor, Kennesaw State University

Stas Nikolova
Dissertation Chair: Mark Flannery
Dissertation Title: “Two Essays in Financial Economics: Firm Risk Reflected in Security Prices”
Initial Placement: George Mason University
Current Position: University of Nebraska

Ralph Scholten
Dissertation Chair: Michael Ryngaert
Dissertation Title: “The Impact of the Changes in the Takeover Market on Managerial Entrenchment”
Initial Placement: Cornerstone Research
Current Position: Compass Lexecon

Glenn Williams
Dissertation Chair: Miles Livingston
Dissertation Title: “Drexel Burnham Lambert, Underwriting Fees, and Market Power”
Initial Placement: Florida Atlantic University
Current Position: University of Nebraska

2002

John Banko
Dissertation Chair: David Brown
Dissertation Title: Three essays in corporate bond contract design and valuation: “Putable debt in agency theory”, “The directionality of credit spreads revisited”, “Serial correlation in U.S. corporate bond excess returns”
Initial Placement: Northern Illinois University [2]
Current Position: Senior Lecturer, University of Florida [1]

Donghang Zhang
Dissertation Chair: Jay Ritter
Dissertation Title: “Why do underwriters allocate extra shares when they expect to buy them back?”
Initial Placement: University of South Carolina [2]
Current Position: Associate Professor, University of South Carolina

Lei Zhou
Dissertation Chair: Miles Livingston
Dissertation Title: Two essays fixed income securities: “The impact of Rule 144A debt offerings upon bond yields and underwriter fees”, “Bond ratings and private information”
Initial Placement: Miami University (Ohio)
Current Position: Jones Diedrich Mennie Endowed Prof. of Finance, Northern Illinois University [2]

2001

Kasturi Rangan
Dissertation Chair: Mark Flannery
Dissertation Title: “The changing face of bank capital structure (1986-1998): Regulators vs. markets”
Initial Placement: Case Western Reserve [1]
Current Position: Vice President and General Manager, ITT Corporation

2000

Larry Fauver
Dissertation Chair: Joel Houston and Andy Naranjo
Dissertation Title: “Firm value, diversification and derivatives usage”
Initial Placement: University of Miami [2]
Current Position: James F. Smith, Jr. Professor in Financial Institutions, Ray & Joan Myatt Faculty Research Fellow, Associate Professor, University of Tennessee [2]

Hui Yang
Dissertation Chair: Bob Radcliffe and Andy Naranjo
Dissertation Title: “Transactions costs, investor mobility, and fund manager turnover”
Initial Placement: Kansas State University [2]

1999

Hsuan-Chi Chen
Dissertation Chair: Jay Ritter
Dissertation Title: “Two Essays on Underwriter Compensation for Initial Public Offerings”
Initial Placement: Fujen University in Taiwan
Current Position: Full Professor at University of New Mexico [2]

Bart Danielson
Dissertation Chair: Mark Flannery
Dissertation Title: “Why Do Option Introductions Depress Stock Prices? Heterogeneous Beliefs, Market Maker Hedging and Short Sales”
Initial Placement: DePaul University
Current Position: Associate Professor at North Carolina State University [2]

C. Edward (Ted) Fee
Dissertation Chair: Chris James
Dissertation Title: “Financial Contracting in Closely Held Firms: Evidence from the Media and Entertainment Industries”
Initial Placement: Michigan State University [1]
Current Position: Chaired Professor at Tulane University [1]

Shawn Thomas
Dissertation Chair: Michael Ryngaert
Dissertation Title: “Firm Diversification and Asymmetric Information”
Initial Placement: University of Pittsburgh [1]
Current Position: Professor at University of Pittsburgh [1]

Richard Warr
Dissertation Chair: Jay Ritter
Dissertation Title: “The Decline of Inflation and the Bull Market of 1982 to 1997”
Initial Placement: Kansas State University [2]
Current Position: Professor at North Carolina State [2]

1998

Dave Harrison
Dissertation Chair: Chris James
Dissertation Title: “The Role of Lender Identity in Low-Income Lending”
Initial Placement: University of Vermont [2]
Current Position: Professor & Howard Phillips Eminent Scholar Chair in Real Estate, University of Central Florida [2]

1997

Jeff Jewel
Dissertation Chair: Miles Livingston
Dissertation Title: “The Role of Third Rating Agencies in the Market for Public Debt: Is Fitch Different from Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s”
Initial Placement: Lipscomb University
Current Position: Professor, Lipscomb University

Wei-Lin Liu
Dissertation Chair: David Brown
Dissertation Title: “Three Essays in Financial Economics and Law”
Initial Placement: Pace University
Current Position: Professor at Fudan University (China)

1996

David Marcus
Dissertation Chair: Chris James
Dissertation Title: “Effects of Capital Regulation and Information Asymmetries on Bank Lending”
Initial Placement: Cornerstone Research
Current Position: Vice President at Cornerstone Research

Sorin Sorescu
Dissertation Chair: Mark Flannery
Dissertation Title: “The price effect of option introductions: 1973-1992”
Initial Placement: University of Houston [2]
Current Position: Professor at Texas A&M University [1]

1995

Karin Roland
Dissertation Chair: Mark Flannery
Dissertation Title: “Profit Persistence in Large U.S. Bank Holding Companies”
Initial Placement: Office of the Comptroller of the Currency
Current Position: Dept Head and Professor of Finance, Valdosta State University

1994

Richard Borgman
Dissertation Chair: Mark Flannery
Dissertation Title: “Asset-Backed Securities: The Determinants of Yield Spreads”
Initial Placement: University of Maine [2]
Current Position: Professor at University of Maine [2]

Vinay Datar
Dissertation Chair: Bob Radcliffe
Dissertation Title: “Two essays on liquidity and its effect on market value”
Initial Placement: Seattle University
Current Position: Professor at Seattle University

Jon Garfinkel
Dissertation Chair: Chris James
Dissertation Title: “The Importance of Post Event Insider Trading: Evidence from Earnings Announcements”
Initial Placement: Loyola University Chicago [2]
Current Position: Henry B. Tippie Research Professor of Finance, The University of Iowa [1]

1993

Matt Billett
Dissertation Chair: Mark Flannery
Dissertation Title: “Leverage and the Takeover Market”
Initial Placement: FDIC
Current Position: Professor and Richard E. Jacobs Chair in Finance, Indiana University

Craig Bythewood
Dissertation Chair: Mark Flannery
Dissertation Title: “Risk Based Capital Standards and its Impact on the Market for Bank Control”
Initial Placement: Florida A&M University
Current Position: Florida Southern College

Steven R. Cox
Dissertation Chair: Chris James
Dissertation Title: “The Market Value of Voting Power and Dividends”
Initial Placement: Indiana University Kokomo
Current Position: Professor of Finance, Indiana University

Ivy Locke
Dissertation Chair: Miles Livingston
Dissertation Title: “The Effect of Securitization on the Conventional Mortgage Spread”
Initial Placement: Florida State University [2]
Current Position: Vice President for Business and Finance at Southeast Missouri State University

Eddie O’Neal
Dissertation Chair: Mark Flannery
Dissertation Title: “Why Electric Utility Stocks are Sensitive to Interest Rates”
Initial Placement: University of New Hampshire [2]
Current Position: Securities Litigation & Consulting Group

Footnotes:

1. Membership in the Association of American Universities (top 62 leading research universities in the U.S. and Canada).
2. A Carnegie Research I University (top 115 research universities in the U.S.). All U.S. AAU schools are Carnegie Research I schools.