Coursework

Finance students are typically required to complete the following courses. Students need permission of the Ph.D. coordinator to omit any of these courses from their degree plan.

  • Seminar in Financial Management I (FINA 8338): Financial Economics
  • Econometrics I (FINA 8397)
  • Seminar in Investments (FINA 8368)
  • Seminar in Options and Futures (FINA 8397)
  • Seminar in Financial Management II (FINA 8339): Corporate Finance
  • Applied Research in Finance (FINA 8397)
  • Empirical Methods in Finance (FINA 8373)
  • Finance Research Colloquium (FINA 8397)

The grades earned in the Ph.D. finance core and field courses must satisfy the college's grade point average requirements.

Students may register for courses in other schools and departments in consultation with the student’s Advisory Committee and the Ph.D. Program Coordinator. Examples of these courses are:

  • Quantitative Economic Analysis ECON 6331
  • Workshop in Research Methods I ECON 6390
  • Applied Econometrics ECON 6394
  • Econometrics I ECON 7331
  • Microeconomic Theory II ECON 7342
  • Game Theory and Economic Behavior ECON 7349
  • Computational Economics ECON 7362
  • Experimental Economics ECON 7364
  • Industrial Organization ECON 7376
  • Time Series Analysis ECON 7393
  • International Monetary ECON 7398
  • Microeconomic Theory III ECON 8342
  • Econometrics II ECON 8331
  • Probability Model and Its Applications DISC 7350
  • Forecasting Models DISC 7351
  • Non-Parametric Statistics DISC 7352
  • Statistical Methods in Research DISC 7358
  • Multivariate Analysis DISC 8366
  • Time Series Analysis DISC 8368
  • Introduction to Stochastic Processes DISC 8370
  • Dynamic Programming DISC 8373
  • Mathematics of Financial Derivatives DISC 8397
  • Linear Regression DISC 8397
  • Theory of Matrices MATH 6304
  • Theory of Functions of a Real Variable MATH 6320-6321
  • Differential Equations MATH 6324-6325
  • Partial Differential Equations MATH 6326-6327
  • Applicable Analysis MATH 6360-6361
  • Optimization and Variational Methods MATH 6366-6367
  • Numerical Analysis MATH 6370-6371
  • Numerical Ordinary Differential Equations MATH 6372
  • Numerical Partial Differential Equations MATH 6374
  • Numerical Linear Algebra MATH 6376
  • Mathematical Probability MATH 6380-6381
  • Probability Models and Mathematical Statistics MATH 6382-6383
  • Non-parametric Statistics MATH 6387
  • Statistical Inference and Multivariate Analysis MATH 6388-6389
  • Functional Analysis MATH 7320-7321
  • Selected Topics in Applied Mathematics MATH 7394
  • Selected Topics in Numerical Analysis MATH 7396
  • Selected Topics in Probability MATH 7397
  • Introduction to Numerical Analysis COSC 6303
  • Data Structures and Algorithms COSC 6320
  • Analysis of Algorithms - Mathematical Techniques COSC 6325
  • Numerical Analysis COSC 6364

Any course in which a grade of B - or below has been earned will not count as hours toward satisfying this research requirement.

The Bauer College of Business requires every Ph.D. student to file a degree plan during the first year of the Ph.D. program. Remember that you can change the degree plan later, as often as you want. Students are required to complete at least 21 credits of Finance Ph.D. classes. The remainder of the credits for the degree are completed by taking courses in supporting fields, independent study and dissertation credits.

Typical Timeline of Finance Coursework and Requirements
  1st Year 2nd Year 3rd Year
Fall
  • Econometrics I
  • Fin Mgmt I
  • Price Theory I
  • Empirical Methods
  • Fin Mgmt II
  • Elective
  • Supporting Field Courses & Electives
  • Research Colloquium
  • Empirical Paper Presentation
Spring
  • Econometrics II
  • Investments
  • Derivatives
  • Empirical Paper Seminar
  • Elective
  • Elective
  • Supporting Field Courses & Electives
  • Research Colloquium
  • Prepare for Dissertation Proposal
Summer
  • Comprehensive Exam
  • Summer Project
  • Empirical Paper
  • Dissertation Proposal