PhD in Business Administration

PhD in Business Administration - Finance

The PhD. degree in Business is a research oriented academic degree. Accordingly, the program for Finance majors has a strong research component. The objectives of the program are:

• To provide the candidate with in-depth knowledge of the field of Finance with emphasis on sub areas of corporate finance, investment, and financial institutions and markets
• To provide the candidate with exposure to theories and models relevant to the study of issues and problems   in contemporary finance
• To develop the candidate's ability to integrate financial knowledge into a logical framework to separate the myths from the facts that have a research foundation, and to communicate the results in a scholarly and practical fashion
• To provide the candidate with a sound conceptual understanding of a set of research tools (e.g. econometrics, research designs and methodology, programming, simulation, etc) and technical knowledge in their applications and limitations
• To develop the candidate's skills in conducting scholarly research and in the communication of the results to an academic and practitioner audience  and
• To assist the candidate in the development of skills in classroom instruction and teaching effectiveness.

 FINANCE CONCENTRATION REQUIREMENTS

The PhD. degree in Business Administration at Florida International University is designed to admit individual candidates with bachelor degrees in any discipline. For those candidates not possessing a baccalaureate or master's degree in business, a tutorial program or certain course prerequisites may be required by the student's Area Coordinator.

All students are required to complete a minimum of 16 courses. Those concentrating in Finance must take six courses or seminars in Finance (as described below), a two-course sequence in advanced economic theory, and a two-course sequence in either advanced econometrics or an equivalent sequence of courses in advanced statistics. With the advice and consent of the departmental PhD. committee, students also select other supporting coursework. The first year of study is regarded as "Tier I" in the PhD. program, and successful completion of this year of study is a prerequisite for enrollment in some of the more advanced courses.

You are expected to maintain a GPA of 3.5 or better in the six departmental courses that comprise the Finance concentration. In addition, you are expected to maintain a GPA of 3.3 or better in all of you coursework.

A Sample Course of Study

The sample program of study below describes the schedule for a typical student. Variations may be allowed for some students, and, of course, the requirements may change at the discretion of the PhD. Committee.

If need be, one or more courses will be offered in Fall of third year.

Finance Courses*

FIN 7536 - Seminar in Futures Markets
FIN 7527 - Seminar in Investments
FIN 7606 - International Corporate Finance
FIN 7807 - Seminar in Corporate Finance
FIN 7808 - Financial Theory I
FIN 7809 - Financial Theory II
FIN 7810 - Financial Theory III
FIN 7811 - Financial Markets and Institutions
FIN 7812 - Seminar in Options and Contingent Claims
FIN 7816  - Seminar in Portfolio Theory
FIN 7818 – Foundations of Financial Models
FIN 7845 -  Statistical Methods in Finance I
FIN 7846 - Statistical Methods in Finance II
FIN 7855 - Financial Economics I
FIN 7856 - Financial Economics II

FIN 7906 – Independent Study
FIN 7916 - Doctoral Research Project in Business
FIN 7936 – Finance Doctoral Seminar
FIN 7980 - Doctoral Dissertation in Business Administration
FIN 7981 - Dissertation Preparation

*Many of the courses listed here are available only if there will be a sufficient number of doctoral students enrolled in the course.

Research Projects

You are required to complete research projects during the summer semesters following your first and second years in the program. One faculty member will serve as an advisor for all research projects in a given summer.

The primary objective of the first summer research project is to enhance your skills in using computer programs for research. You are expected to undertake a research project that will require you to use computers in order to complete it. To this end, you are expected to replicate some previously-tested hypothesis using new data or to engage in some other meaningful computer-based project.

The second summer research project, in contrast, requires you to develop an original research hypothesis. This hypothesis should be developed well in advance of the second summer semester so you will have enough time to execute the project during the summer semester.

For both summer projects, you must submit a written paper and make a presentation to the faculty. Ideally, these papers should be of sufficient quality to merit submission to a conference or a journal.

You must satisfy all university and college dissertation requirements.

For Information

For more information about the Finance Concentration, please contact:

Dr. Suchismita Mishra
Associate Professor and PhD Program Coordinator,
Department of Finance
College of Business Administration
11200 SW 8th Street, Ryder Business Building
Florida International University, Miami , FL 33199-0001
Phone (305) 348-4282 
Email: mishras@fiu.edu