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Finance Concentration

Overview

This program is designed for students seeking training in the most advanced issues, both theoretical and applied, in the field of finance.

Admission Procedures

Applicants should have at least a bachelor's degree. Admission is based on grade point average, graduate examination test score (GRE or GMAT), letters of reference (at least three), business and professional experience (if applicable), a written statement of personal objectives and compatibility with faculty research activities. Applications for admission should be addressed to the UT Dallas Admissions Office.

Degree Requirements

Students must complete at least 90 semester hours of approved graduate work before a degree may be conferred. Credit may be granted for courses taken elsewhere.

Prerequisites

Prerequisites include: calculus (two semesters), matrix algebra, computer programming, probability and statistics. Deficiencies may be remedied by taking courses recommended by the student's Ph.D. advisor.

Master's-Level Courses (12 hours)

Students entering the program without an MBA or equivalent must complete a minimum of four courses typically required of MBA students to provide them knowledge required of professional managers. In certain instances, a higher-level course approved by the finance Ph.D. advisor may be substituted for an MBA-level course. However, if a student enters the program with a prior business degree, the Ph.D. advisor may require him to take additional courses in mathematical sciences to address any deficiencies in this area.

Advanced Master's-Level Course (3 hours)

FIN 6370 Theory of Finance and its Applications

Research Methods Core (30 hours)

  1. OPRE 6330 Probability and Stochastic Processes

  2. STAT 5352 Math Statistics

  3. MECO 6320 Introduction to Econometrics

  4. MECO 6345 Advanced Managerial Economics

  5. OPRE 7320 Optimization

  6. OPRE 6311 Game Theory

  7. MECO 7320 Advanced Econometrics

  8. MAS 8V00 Data Analysis and Software

  9. Advanced Quantitative Analysis: Any two mathematics, statistics or econometrics courses approved by the Ph.D. advisor

Doctor Seminars (12 hours)

Finance theory core (FIN 7330 Asset Pricing Theory and FIN 7340 Theory of Corporate Finance)

Finance empirical core (FIN 7310 Seminar in Contemporary Finance — topic: empirical asset pricing and topic: empirical corporate finance)

Additional Coursework (21 hours)

Electives from accounting, computer science, economics, finance, mathematics, statistics or other fields

Specific courses must be approved by the finance Ph.D. advisor; however, students must take MAS 8V00 (Teaching Practicum) as part of these hours.

Research Papers

Students are expected to write a research paper under the supervision of or in collaboration with School of Management faculty during their first and second summer of work at UT Dallas.

Written Qualifying Examinations

After students complete the research core and finance theory core courses, they must sit for a written qualifying examination on finance, which they must pass before admission for candidacy for the doctorate degree.

Dissertation

The dissertation is written under the supervision of the dissertation committee. The student must identify a committee and a chairperson within one semester following successful completion of the written qualifying examination. Students must present and pass their dissertation proposal before they can proceed to their final oral defense. Twelve to 24 semester hours may be granted for the dissertation toward the minimum 90-hour requirement for the degree. At a time mutually agreeable to the candidate and the dissertation committee, the candidate must orally defend the dissertation to the committee.