Program Overview

Doctoral Programme in Finance

The Doctoral Programme in Finance at Aalto University School of Business is intended for candidates of excellent academic background and intellectual ambition who are motivated in producing research at the highest international level and pursuing careers in the academic and business world.

Structure of the Programme

The 4-year Aalto Finance doctoral programme resembles the US-style programme. One and a half years at the beginning of the studies are devoted mostly to intensive course work that is followed by research for the doctoral dissertation. Aalto Finance doctoral students follow the course curriculum of the Graduate School of Finance (GSF), the national doctoral programme in Finance. GSF offers yearly 5-7 core doctoral Finance courses. In addition, students take Economics doctoral courses offered by the Helsinki GSE.

Course Curriculum

The local courses are complemented by intensive Finance doctoral courses organized within the Nordic Finance Network (NFN), which is a collaborative Nordic network for research and doctoral training among the Finance departments in the Nordic countries. All teaching in the doctoral programme is in English and there are no tuition fees.

Applications

New students will be accepted once a year. The application period will open on December 11, 2025, and the deadline for applications is January 8, 2026.

Funding

At Aalto University School of Business, there are no tuition fees for the doctoral programme, and the School guarantees funding for the first two years for successful doctoral candidates. From the third year onwards, the studies are funded through research projects, grants from foundations, and the support from the finance department, the School, or a combination of these. All Finance doctoral students have been able to obtain continuous funding throughout their PhD studies, subject to good performance.

Alumni Testimonials

• Yijie Li, Quantitative Risk Analyst at UBS, graduated in 2021: "The coursework of the finance PhD programme at Aalto is balanced and well-designed. It helps students set up a sound theoretical foundation for a broad set of research topics including asset pricing, corporate finance, behavioral finance, etc. at an early stage."
• Mikael Paaso, Assistant Professor at Erasmus University Rotterdam, graduated in 2019: "The PhD programme at Aalto was an extremely enjoyable and rewarding experience. Everything from the coursework to the seminars was well organized, but most importantly, the programme really allows you to interact closely with the faculty, visiting faculty, and other PhD students."

Placement Record

The placement record of Aalto Finance PhDs is excellent, with academic placements including Frankfurt School of Finance and Management, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, ESCP Paris, Ohio State University, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, University of Miami, Imperial College Business School, Luxembourg School of Finance, Catholic University of Lisbon, and London Business School.