Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Banking & Finance

About the Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Banking & Finance

UNSW’s Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Banking & Finance will prepare you to become a globally focused and socially engaged research leader. You’ll join a cohort of high-achieving research students and benefit from interdisciplinary engagement with your cohort. This is your opportunity to become integrated into the UNSW Business School’s community of scholars.

You’ll first undertake rigorous coursework covering topics such as corporate finance, corporate governance, asset pricing and microeconomic analysis. As part of the program, you’ll also be involved in research projects from an early stage. This research training will equip you with the skills required to identify, analyse and solve problems in the field.

You’ll then pursue full-time research under the supervision of high-profile UNSW academics, culminating in a doctoral thesis. There will also be exciting opportunities to develop your teaching portfolio.

Your PhD thesis will showcase your research skills and enable you to make an original contribution to knowledge in your field.

PhD program structure

Year One: Master of Pre-Doctoral Business Studies

The first year of study is designed to provide a rigorous foundation to conduct independent research. You’ll learn a range of methodologies and build your communication and presentation skills.

Your first year of coursework study will cover fundamental research methods. You’ll also start developing key research skills such as identifying, framing, presenting, and writing academic contributions. You’ll work as a research assistant on faculty research projects and start working on your own research as your skills develop.

The first year will help you identify your potential thesis supervisor for the PhD component of the program. Upon successful completion of the first year, you’ll be awarded a Master of Pre-Doctoral Business Studies. A brief overview of the first year is presented below. Please visit the UNSW Handbook for full course structure details.

Term 1

• Program Core Course: COMM8100
• Stream Core Courses: ECON7001 + ECON7004

Term 2

• Program Core Course: COMM8102
• Stream Core Courses: FINS5576 + FINS5595 + Research Assistance Work

Term 3

• Program Core Course: COMM8103
• Stream Core Courses: FINS5580 + FINS5581

Year Two: Specialised Coursework & Identification of Thesis Topic

During the second year, you’ll continue in the Banking & Finance stream with a further year of advanced coursework.

You’ll take up to eight additional research courses, with an opportunity to take at least one subject outside of your specialised discipline.

Those courses include the following:

Term 1: FINS5577 + FINS5579 + FINS5593

Term 2: FINS5574 + FINS5591

Term 3: FINS5590 + FINS5596 + Elective

Your second year is also when you’ll identify your thesis topic with your supervisor. You’ll engage in literature review and research design and present your research proposal to the School at the end of the year.

Years Three – Four: Original Research & Your Doctoral Thesis

The final two years of the program are focused on conducting full-time research and completing your doctoral thesis. This is your opportunity to address some of the biggest challenges in Banking & Finance and make a significant contribution to knowledge in the field. Your research will offer new critical thinking and withstand critical analysis from expert researchers in the area.