MPhil/PhD in Finance and Management

Program Overview

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Key information

Duration: 3 years full time or 6 years part-time Attendance mode: Full-time or part-time Location: On campus Fees:

• Home (full-time): £4,860 per year
• International (full-time): £23,390 per year

Course overview

Graduate students in the Research Degrees: Finance and Management PhD programme of the School of Finance and Management study towards the University of London PhD.

To be considered for the PhD programme in finance or management students must already have completed a good Masters degree in a relevant discipline and been awarded high grades. They must also submit an initial research proposal that demonstrates aptitude for academic research.

The full-time PhD programme normally requires three years of study in London.

Research topics

The School of Finance and Management PhD programme provides supervision in a number of fields within finance and management. We concentrate on topics in fields which are actively being researched by faculty members.

Currently the five principal areas are:

• Corporate governance
• Finance
• Law
• Public policy and management
• Regulation (in developed and developing countries) and sustainable development and agribusiness

Research environment

For information on the School's research interests and supervision possibilities please see our School's academic staff profiles.

Scholarships

There are a small number of competitive research scholarships within the Faculty that provide remission of tuition fees at the UK/EU rate and/or a maintenance allowance. Graduate teaching positions are sometimes available for qualified students.

Referees and references

If you have been in education in the past three years, we will require references from your most recent post-graduate place of study. We normally require two academic references from senior or established faculty members who are in a position to comment on your research potential.

If you have been out of education for three years or more we will normally require at least one academic reference. We can also consider references from an earlier time or from your current place of work but only where these provide relevant recommendations to the course of study you are applying for. References from family members or friends are not acceptable.

Structure

Students in the PhD programme study advanced courses and carry out research for their thesis. They work closely with their supervisor from the School of Finance and Management and also with other faculty members and PhD students.

Year 1

The first year of the programme involves research training seminars and advanced courses. At the same time, students work with their supervisor to develop a detailed research proposal, undertake the first stages of research and write some draft sections to outline the main arguments of the thesis.

Bloomsbury Postgraduate Skills Network

SOAS is also part of the Bloomsbury Postgraduate Skills Network sharing training opportunities with UCL, the Institute of Education, and LSE. SOAS students may apply for research funding to attend conferences and special courses.

Students are required to present their work and to participate in the PhD Seminar programme throughout the year. In addition to student presentations the PhD seminar also includes “Key Contributions to Management and Finance”, a forum where departmental staff reprise a frontier article that offers essential insights into different advanced research areas.

PhD students are also expected to attend departmental research seminars.

After about eight months of full time study the students progress is assessed by an upgrade committee and successful students go on to year two.

Year 2

In their second year full time students carry out detailed research which usually includes gathering and processing data. Some research for this purpose may be carried out overseas if required. During the year students write draft chapters of their thesis and discuss them with their supervisor.

Year 3

Full time students for the PhD would complete their research and write a final draft or near final draft of the thesis.

Year 4

Any work at this stage normally involves redrafting chapters of the thesis to achieve the standards of publications. The examination must normally be completed in this year. Examination is by assessment of the thesis and an oral examination (viva voce) concerning the thesis and the research upon which it is based.

Part-time study

Students wishing to pursue part-time study are welcome to apply but will need to demonstrate that they have the commitment and resources to pursue their studies over the longer-time frame that this mode requires.

A part-present option is also available whereby students who are in employed by work-places that offer a supportive environment may take the last two years of the full-time programme by distance learning. This mode is being trialled for a small number of students in and further information will be posted here later.

Important notice

The information on the website reflects the intended programme structure against the given academic session. The modules are indicative options of the content students can expect and are/have been previously taught as part of these programmes.

However, this information is published a long time in advance of enrolment and module content and availability is subject to change.

Teaching and learning

SOAS is committed to providing support for research students. All full time first year students attend lectures for one SOAS research methods course and one other masters-level course following discussion with the lead supervisor. A range of additional development and training courses are available.

Employment

Graduates from the School of Finance and Management leave SOAS with a coherent and solid knowledge of management and finance, with skills in statistics and computing, critical reasoning and analytical thinking.

Recent graduates have been hired by:

• Christian Aid
• Dagong Global
• Deloitte
• Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
• Elbus Group
• Financial Times
• FM Capital Partners
• HM Treasury
• Houlihan Lokey
• Huaxia Bank, China
• IDB (Islamic Development Bank)
• Investec
• J.P. Morgan Asset Management
• KPMG
• Lloyds Banking Group
• Santander
• UBS
• University of Oxford
• White & Case LLP
• World Food Programme

Scholarships

• Tibawi Trust Award
• Elisabeth Croll Scholarship for fieldwork in China
• JRC Fuwaku Scholarship
• SOAS Research Studentships - School of Arts
• The Centre for Global Finance (CGF) scholarship
• Felix Scholarships
• Sasakawa Studentships
• SOAS Research Studentships
• Meiji Jingu Japanese Studies Research Scholarships
• The Centre for Global Finance (CGF) AXA Chair Scholarship 2025/26

Staff

• Professor Reinhard Bachmann
  • Professor of International Management
  • Reinhard Bachmann’s research focuses on issues of Stratetegic Management, Organizational Analysis and Comparative Management.