PhD Finance

Global financial markets are facing an era of unprecedented upheaval. Just 10 years ago the world was beginning to recover from the financial crash of 2008, but now world markets must recover from a health pandemic that has driven national economies to the brink of collapse. Now more than ever, the finance sector needs decisive leadership and fresh thinking to navigate the crisis and the “new normal” that will emerge in the post-pandemic era.

Our PhD Finance gives you the opportunity to specialise in a wide range of areas such as:

• financial econometrics
• behavioural finance
• corporate finance
• banking
• international finance
• portfolio and risk management
• commodity markets
• asset pricing
• financing of Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs)

You study at Essex Business School (EBS) at our Colchester Campus. We are the largest department at the University of Essex and one of the most respected finance groups in the UK. We are a business school with an international outlook and our doctoral students join us from all over the world.

The University of Essex is home to a number of cutting-edge financial research centres and institutes, where academics across disciplines and departments come together to collaborate around a common theme, often engaging with external partners at a national and international level. The Essex Finance Centre (EFiC) works with leading financial services firms and public sector organisations, governments and policy institutions to produce work that makes real-world impact across the globe. The Essex Centre for Macro and Financial Econometrics brings together academic and industry expertise from inside and outside the University of Essex to research and help solve important issues in financial markets.

In addition within Essex Business School our Finance Group is one of the largest groups of finance researchers in the UK. Their research has been cited in the Bank of England, the European Central Bank and the Federal Reserve and is relevant to real people’s lives. Members join the group from all over the world, including Greece, Italy, Spain, China, India and Mauritius and bring with them a wealth of knowledge and expertise.

Professor Neil Kellard, Dean of Essex Business School and member of the Finance Group, carries out research which supports developing countries through forecasting commodity prices. By modelling the effects of different causes, such as natural disasters, his research helps to find solutions to ease the impact of price changes for commodities such as energy and food. Professor Jerry Coakley is an active researcher and teaches as part of the group. His research is extremely topical as he studies the rise in crowdfunding and its impact on the way new and fledgling SMEs finance themselves. Many entrepreneurs may find the big banks turn them away or simply charge too much, leading them to turn to the public to help them crowdfund their way to business success.

Essex Business School provides a highly flexible and supportive PhD experience, where your supervisors develop your professional skills and research expertise in your chosen area. You experience a programme of specialised training, focused on the quantitative methods used to explore markets and financial assets. Seminars and events give you the opportunity to engage with academics and industry practitioners from organisations around the world, encouraging reflection on current economic and business issues.

Once a year, our doctoral students have the opportunity to present their work at our PhD conference.

Our expert staff

At Essex Business School, you benefit from world-class supervision and research training conducted by our senior academic staff such as Professor Claudia Girardone . Claudia is a Professor of Banking and Finance at Essex Business School and is also the Director of the Essex Finance Centre (EFiC) and the School’s Director of Research. Professor Girardone has published over 50 articles on various aspects of banking and finance in books and peer-reviewed international journals and is currently on the editorial board of several journals. Her research focuses on banking sector performance and stability, bank corporate governance, the industrial structure of banking and access to finance.

Our department boasts eight research centres across our two campuses. Dr Louise Nash and Director of Postgraduate Research at Essex Business School oversees and leads the provision of our graduate research programmes and ensures that we create an environment where our doctoral students can flourish as researchers in a thriving and mutually supportive PhD community.

Louise is a lecturer in Management and Marketing and completed her PhD Management at Essex. She has extensive management and marketing experience which has influenced her research interests – these focus on interpretative, qualitative studies of the lived experience of work, including: the spatial and temporal rhythms of everyday life; the culture, aesthetics and symbolism of organisational life; gender in the workplace and exploring and developing sensory and embodied methods for researching organisations.

You work with two supervisors during your studies. They provide guidance and support to help you achieve your individual research goals, develop your research topic and create a personalised training plan. You meet with your supervisors at least once a month and are usually required to submit work before for feedback. Twice a year, you have a supervisory board meeting to discuss your progress and agree your plans for the next six months.

As well as supporting you to complete your thesis, your supervisors can help you to plan your career development. Our academics often co-author publications with doctoral students and can help you to develop the transferable skills needed for the jobs market.

Take a look at our staff pages to find out more about our areas of supervision.

Specialist facilities

PhD Finance is based at our Colchester Campus, in the UK’s first zero-carbon business school building, reflecting our commitment to sustainability and business ethics; we are a signatory of the UN Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME).

You have access to excellent research facilities, such as:

• a Bloomberg virtual trading floor
• access to databases such as Bloomberg, Compustat, Passport GMID, Bankscope and Datastream
• e-book finance and business packages to support part-time and distance learning (including Ebrary, NetLibrary, Oxford Scholarship Online, Palgrave Connect and SpringerLink)
• PC access and a quiet place for conducting research in our PhD study area
• space to meet with students for our Graduate Teaching Assistant (GTA) in our GTA pods
• final year students receive office space to encourage successful thesis completion
• group-working space in our stunning winter garden
• Bonds café with adjacent sun terrace
• study skills support for postgraduate students

Our Bloomberg virtual trading floor facility features 12 Bloomberg Terminals with access to the Bloomberg financial and real-time data feed. This state-of-the-art, hands-on facility is particularly useful to finance students. It gives you the opportunity to learn essential portfolio management skills using the same tools used by traders and business analysts worldwide and also helps you to learn how to model financial data in a practical setting based on the live financial markets.

Our Colchester building is less than a ten- minute walk from the University library and the Silberrad Student Centre.

Across the road from our building, buses take you to Colchester town centre and train station, where you can take trains directly to London. London Stansted airport is just over an hour away, providing connections to mainland Europe.

Your future

Our PhD programmes are designed to foster the business leaders and researchers of the future who use creativity, innovation and ethical awareness to meet the many challenges facing the international business world.

Our doctoral graduates have secured roles in academia at some of the best international universities, as well as organisations in the public and private sectors. Recent examples include careers with:

• RBS
• PwC
• Bristol University
• University of Southampton
• University of St Andrews
• Xiamen University
• South China University

Our University Student Development Careers Services are on hand to provide careers advice and help you make the most of your Essex experience. You will also have access to CV workshops, one-to-one advice and career resources.

“My PhD has helped me to develop both academic and practical business skills through an internship at asset management company Invesco. The University’s library provides instant access to databases and journals and my supervisors are knowledgeable and supportive. Whenever I’ve had a question, I’ve found the School’s Student Services Team friendly and helpful.”

Nima Zarrabi, PhD in Finance

UK entry requirements

You will need a good Masters degree, or equivalent, in a related subject. A well developed research proposal is also essential.

You will normally be required to attend an interview/Skype interview for acceptance, and acceptance is subject to research expertise in the department.

International & EU entry requirements

English language requirements

If English is not your first language, then we will require you to have IELTS 6.5 with a minimum of 5.5 in each component

Course structure

A research degree doesn’t have a taught structure, giving you the chance to investigate your chosen topic in real depth and reach a profound understanding. In communicating that understanding, through a thesis or other means, you have a rare opportunity to generate knowledge. A research degree allows you to develop new high-level skills, enhance your professional development and build new networks. It can open doors to many careers.

We understand that deciding where and what to study is a very important decision for you. We’ll make all reasonable efforts to provide you with the courses, services and facilities as described on our website and in line with your contract with us. However, if we need to make material changes, for example due to significant disruption, we’ll let our applicants and students know as soon as possible.

Assessment

PhD Finance follows a ‘three paper’ thesis, where you produce three research articles, framed by an introduction and conclusion. Your supervisors will support you to submit these papers to conferences and for publication in international journals, so you can begin to build your international research portfolio well before graduation. You benefit from strong industry links with organisations such as Invesco Perpetual and HSBC. Many of our students have gained internships with international banking institutions and have collaborated with local organisations as part of their PhD.

You begin your studies by meeting with your supervisors and undertaking an intensive induction programme. You attend advanced research methods training and undertake compulsory modules tailored to your individual research needs.

Throughout your PhD, you have regular meetings with your supervisors. You are often asked to write up your ideas or reading notes to help establish good writing practices. By the end of your first year of research, you should have a solid understanding of the key debates in your field and have defined your research questions, outlining your original contribution to knowledge. Our finance students are also expected to have made substantial progress on their first research paper. Those studying via the integrated PhD route (or 1+3) will have completed an additional year to obtain a Masters before beginning their research.

In your second year, you are likely to finalise the design of your own research project and either collect primary data, or access and analyse large scale datasets. You may also make progress on your second research paper. You receive regular feedback on your ideas and findings from your supervisors and are encouraged to develop your own research ideas independently during this year. If you are undertaking fieldwork in another location, your supervisors will still be in touch via email or Skype.

In your final year, you continue to analyse your own research data and further refine your original contribution to knowledge. You will collate your work into a approximately 50-80k words thesis. Our finance students are also expected to make substantial progress on their third research paper.

You may attend a number of conferences in your final year to test out your research findings and thesis on an international stage. Your attendance may be funded by Essex Business School. As well as advising on how to prepare your thesis for examination, your supervisors can advise on future career plans in academia or industry.

Dissertation

Creating a 50-80k word thesis is a significant task. To help you finalise your PhD and produce high quality doctoral research, we have a number of support mechanisms.

You undertake a progress board every six months, where you, your supervisors and an independent chair mark your progress and set objectives for the next period. You are also encouraged to take part in peer group debates and discussions.

Our full-time doctorates are 36 month programmes. At the end of this time, you may be allowed up to 12 months to finish writing up your PhD.

Once you have submitted your thesis, you will be asked to attend a viva voce examination with examiners from within and outside of the University. A viva voce examination usually takes place within three months of submission of thesis.