Program Overview
Introduction to the Finance Ph.D. Program
The Texas McCombs Finance doctoral program offers students the opportunity to learn from and collaborate with faculty who are leading the field, and graduate with the tools to shape the future of finance in an academic career.
Program Overview
The program assumes that students have taken advanced courses to establish a reasonable mathematical, statistics, and economics background. Adequate computer programming skills are necessary for coursework. Prospective applicants are required to hold a four-year bachelor’s degree (does not need to be a degree in finance) or equivalent before starting the program.
Application Deadline
The application deadline for the Finance Doctoral Program is December 15. Applications will be accepted until February 15, but cannot guarantee applications submitted/completed after the December 15 deadline will still be considered for admission.
Why Choose the Finance Ph.D. Program at Texas McCombs?
Our faculty are not only intellectual leaders — they are also highly devoted to our Ph.D. students. Faculty frequently co-author with current and former students, teaching them the skills to successfully publish and helping jump-start their publishing careers. We hold a weekly Ph.D. research seminar for Ph.D. students where students present their ongoing work to faculty and discuss prominent avenues for research.
Faculty and Research
We have some of the most influential faculty in the profession with important leadership and editorial positions. Our faculty includes:
- Dr. Sheridan Titman
- Dr. John Griffin
- Dr. William Fuchs
- Dr. Laura Starks
- Dr. Clemens Sialm
- Dr. Robert Parrino
Faculty Profiles
Each faculty member has a unique profile, including their editorial and officer positions. For example:
- Dr. Sheridan Titman is the Editor of the Review of Financial Studies and has held various officer positions, including Vice President and President of the Western Finance Association.
- Dr. John Griffin is the Associate Editor of the Review of Financial Studies and has held officer positions, including President of the Western Finance Association.
Job Market Candidates
Our current job market candidates include:
- Tommy Brown
- Kevin Mei
- Steven Urry
- Eric Vance
Recent Graduates and Placements
Our recent graduates have been placed at various institutions, including:
- Georgetown University
- Carnegie Melon University
- Baylor University
- Citadel Securities
- University of Rochester
- Analysis Group
- Brex
- Southern Methodist University
- The New York Fed
- Chinese University of Hong Kong
- McGill University
- University of Southern California
- Colorado State University
- City University of Hong Kong
- Ohio State University
- Cornerstone Research
- University of Minnesota
- Nanyang Technological University
- University of Houston
- Norwegian Business School
Current Ph.D. Students
Our current Ph.D. students include:
- Yihao Chen
- John Garrett
- Haojing Han
- Hyun Pyung Kim
- Minjoo Kim
- Jaeyong Lee
- Seung Chul (Eric) Lee
- Prateek Mahajan
- Jesus Pena Manrique
- Conor McKinley
- Kevin Mei
- Donal O’Cofaigh
- Max Sacher
- Tucker Strow
- Minji Suh
- Zirui Wang
- Xinran Zhang
- Yiyuan Zhang
- William T. Zheng
Featured Finance Research
Our faculty and students are involved in various research projects, including:
- Spurned CEOs May Become Activist Shareholders: Campaigns by former executives are relatively common and successful.
- Lowering Commissions Can Slow Home Sales: Real estate agents steer buyers away from properties that pay less than local going rates.
- Want to be acquired? Advertise: Companies that do more advertising attract more potential buyers and higher prices.