PhD in Finance
The Department of Finance, Real Estate, and Insurance and Risk Management at the Carl H. Lindner College of Business offers a rigorous doctoral program designed to prepare students for successful careers at leading academic institutions. Our world-class faculty, who hold PhDs in finance and economics from prestigious universities, are committed to providing the highest level of mentorship and training.
As a PhD student in our program, you will engage in rigorous coursework and research seminars in finance, economics and quantitative methods during your first two years. This foundational training equips you with the theoretical knowledge and analytical tools essential for conducting high-level research. Following this period, you will embark on original research under the guidance of our experienced faculty, honing the skills necessary for a successful academic career. Our program offers unique opportunities to collaborate with leading scholars in finance, real estate, and insurance and risk management, setting the stage for your future success in academia.
Faculty Research
The department currently has 13 tenured or tenure-track faculty conducting research on a wide range of empirical and theoretical topics:
Finance
- Corporate Finance
- Behavioral Finance
- Market Microstructure
- Financial Institutions
- Asset Management
- Machine Learning and FinTech
Real Estate
- Housing
- Real Estate Economics
- Real Estate Finance and Investment
- Urban Economics
- Public Policy
- Social Innovation
Insurance and Risk Management
- Risk Economics
- Risk Management
- Insurance Markets
- Risk Leadership
- Risk Literacy
- Innovation in Managing Risk
Our faculty publish regularly in prestigious journals including the Journal of Finance, Journal of Financial Economics, Review of Financial Studies, Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Management Science, Real Estate Economics, Journal of Urban Economics, Journal of Risk and Insurance, and Journal of Risk and Uncertainty. As of August 2024, our faculty's research has been cited more than 23,000 times according to Google Scholar.
The department also hosts a regular seminar series featuring leading national and international scholars in finance, real estate and insurance and risk management. These seminars provide a platform for the exchange of ideas and dissemination of cutting-edge knowledge between our faculty and experts from other academic institutions and research organizations.
Curriculum
The curriculum consists of five components: required courses, first-year literature review paper, comprehensive exam, second-year research paper and dissertation.
Students are required to complete courses that build competency in three key areas: quantitative methods, economics and finance. The course requirements are tailored to each student's educational background. Typically, students entering with a master’s degree must complete 48 credit hours, while those without a master’s degree must complete 60 credit hours. The required courses include:
- Introduction to Research and Teaching (3 credit hours)
- Core Statistics (6 credit hours)
- Additional Research Methods (6 credit hours)
- Finance Seminars (18 credit hours)
- Support Area (15 credit hours)
- Business Core (8 credit hours) — for students entering without a business degree
- Additional Electives (up to 12 credit hours) — for students entering without a master’s degree
During their first summer, students are required to complete a literature review paper. They may choose a research topic from a list provided by the finance faculty or propose their own topic, subject to faculty approval. The paper will be evaluated by the finance faculty at the end of the summer. The expectation is that students will demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of both foundational studies and cutting-edge research related to their chosen topic by conducting extensive reading throughout the summer. Additionally, students are strongly encouraged to develop original research ideas based on their literature review. A satisfactory performance on the first-year literature review paper is essential for students to maintain a good standing in the program.
The comprehensive examination is designed to assess a student's in-depth knowledge in finance, economics and quantitative methods. It encompasses four finance seminars: Corporate Finance Theory, Empirical Studies in Corporate Finance, Asset Pricing Theory, and Empirical Studies in Asset Pricing. Typically taken during the second summer, this exam is a crucial milestone for doctoral students, signifying their transition from coursework to full-time thesis research and advancing them to candidacy.
During their second summer, students are expected to develop an independent, original research idea under the guidance of one or more faculty mentors. They will conduct all necessary theoretical and empirical analyses to transform their research question into a complete original paper. By the end of the summer, students must submit a complete paper and present it during the fall semester of their third year. The faculty will evaluate the paper based on the originality and significance of the research idea, the quality of its execution and writing, and the student’s ability to effectively communicate the paper’s concepts and findings during the presentation. Successfully passing the second-year paper is another crucial requirement for advancing to PhD candidacy.
The doctoral dissertation is expected to be a substantial, significant and original contribution to the field of knowledge. It is developed under the guidance of a thesis committee consisting of three or more faculty members, including at least one from outside the finance department, chosen by the candidate in consultation with their thesis advisor. Early in the process, the candidate submits a thesis proposal, which is then presented in a seminar attended by finance faculty and doctoral students. This presentation provides the student with valuable feedback while the research plan is still in its formative stages. Upon completion of the research, a thesis-defense seminar, open to the entire University of Cincinnati academic community, is conducted to evaluate the dissertation.
Placements
Our PhD student placements include:
- Concordia University (Canada)
- Drake University
- Erasmus University (Netherlands)
- Miami University
- Michigan Technological University
- Northern Illinois University
- Oregon State University
- SUNY Buffalo
- University of Akron
- University of Guelph (Canada)
- University of Manitoba (Canada)
- University of Toledo
- University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire
- University of Wisconsin - La Crosse
- Federal Home Loan Bank
- Office of the Comptroller of the Currency
Publications
Selected joint publications of our PhD graduates (in bold) with faculty members (in red):
- Guo, Hui, Qian Lin, and Yu-Jou Pai, 2023, A Tale of Fear and Euphoria in the Stock Market, forthcoming, Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis.
- Guo, Hui, and Buihui Qiu, 2022, Conditional Equity Premium and Aggregate Corporate Investment, Journal of Money, Credit, and Banking.
- Bond, Shaun, Hui Guo, and Changyu Yang, 2022, Systematic Mispricing: Evidence from Real Estate Markets, Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics.
- DeLisle, Jared, Michael Ferguson, Haimanot Kassa, and Gulnara Zaynutdinova, 2021, Hazard Stocks and Expected Returns, Journal of Banking and Finance.
- Qiu, Buhui, and Steve Slezak, 2019, The Equilibrium Relationships between Performance-Based Pay, Performance, and the Commission and Detection of Fraudulent Misreporting, The Accounting Review.
- Bond, Shaun, Yu-Jou Pai, Peng Wang, and Suyan Zheng, 2019, The Impact of Dividend Reinvestment Plans on Firm Payout ChoicesEvidence from Real Estate Investment Trusts, Real Estate Economics.
- Chichernea, Doina C., Haimanot Kassa, and Steve Slezak, 2019, Lottery Preferences and the Idiosyncratic Volatility Puzzle, European Financial Management.
- Guo, Hui, and Buhui Qiu, 2016, A Better Measure of Institutional Informed Trading, Contemporary Accounting Research.
- Bond, Shaun, and Avis Devine, 2016, Incentivizing Green Single-Family Construction: Identifying Effective Government Policies and Their Features, Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics.
- Bond, Shaun, and Avis Devine, 2016, Certification Matters: Is Green Talk Cheap Talk? Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics.
- Chichernea, Doina C., Michael Ferguson, and Haimanot Kassa, 2015, Idiosyncratic Risk, Investor Base and Returns, Financial Management.
- Guo, Hui, Michael Ferguson, and Haimanot Kassa, 2014, On the Relation between EGARCH Idiosyncratic Volatility and Expected Stock Returns, Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis.
- Guo, Hui, and Buhui Qiu, 2014, Options-implied variance and future stock returns, Journal of Banking & Finance.