Key information
About the PhD in Finance programme
On the PhD in Finance programme, you have the opportunity to join a thriving and international faculty.
Benefits
The faculty comprises over 50 scholars conducting state-of-the-art research in all key areas of finance and it is located within the City of London, the world's most prominent financial centre. No other PhD programme in Finance gives you such access to the City of London.
The unique and direct access to leading figures from the real world of finance enables us to blend the latest theory and thinking with the latest real-world experience and developments within the PhD in Finance.
Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2021
The Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2021 rated Bayes 5th in the UK for Business and Management research. In total, 92% of our research was rated as world-leading (4*) or internationally excellent (3*) – up from 84% in REF 2014.
Research Areas
Our research covers all the core areas of finance, including:
- Asset Pricing
- Banking and FinTech
- Commodity, Shipping Finance and Risk Management
- Corporate Finance
- Corporate Governance and ESG
- Finance and the Real Economy
- Financial Econometrics
- International Finance
- Market Microstructure
- Mathematical Finance
As such, our Finance PhD students carry out research in a wide variety of areas and receive feedback from an outstanding array of scholars, all of them at the forefront of the academic debate. The faculty fosters an engaging approach to research where collaborations across areas are encouraged.
We encourage you to learn more about the programme’s faculty or previous students’ achievements by visiting the links below.
We take pride in producing research of the highest academic standard, and our research is published routinely in the top finance journals.
Programme structure
The Finance PhD is usually a four year programme. You are registered on the MPhil degree for the first two years during which you will follow a programme of taught courses and prepare your first research paper.
Year 1 - Theory and Methods
In the first year you will attend a comprehensive set of courses designed to train you in the theory and methods necessary to conduct high quality finance research. These courses are academically rigorous and you will be examined in each of them. Upon successful completion of all first year courses you will progress to year two.
First term:
Courses:
- Financial Econometrics
- Corporate Finance Theory
- Topics in Finance
Second term:
Courses
- Asset Pricing
- Empirical Corporate Finance
- Topics in Banking
Third term:
- Research Project
- Faculty workshop & seminars
Year 2 - Research and Teaching Skills
Your research training continues in this second year with workshops focused on developing specific skills such as academic writing, advanced level reading groups where we delve deeply into key current research papers, and courses introducing you to the practice of learning, teaching and assessment.
Alongside this, you will commence research in your chosen topics and the year culminates with the defense of your first research paper before a transfer panel committee. After the successful defense of your transfer panel paper you will move onto the final two years of the PhD programme.
First term:
Workshops
- Literature reviews
- Reading groups
- Learning, teaching and assessment
Second term:
Workshops
- Academic writing
- Reading groups
- Advanced seminars
Third term:
- Faculty workshop & seminars
Year 3 - Professional and Career Skills
You complete your remaining research papers in years three and four, and will defend your work in the viva voce exam soon after completion of your thesis. Training continues in the final two years but the focus shifts towards preparing you for an academic career.
You will attend workshops designed to help you to publish your work and to introduce you to the academic job market.
First term:
Workshops:
- Reviewing and publishing
- Advanced seminars
Second term:
Workshops:
- The job market
- Advanced seminars
Third term:
- Faculty workshop & seminars
Year 4
In the final year we devote a lot of time to both viva and job market preparation with the aim of you successfully defending your thesis and taking up academic positions in leading business schools or universities, or research jobs in policy institutions.
First term:
- Career talks
Second term:
- Job market preparation
Third term:
- Viva preparation
Fees and Funding
UK (Home) Students
- Full-time: £4,880 per year
Non UK (Overseas) / EU Students
- Full-time: £12,250 per year
