Coordinator for Finance: Prof. Murali Jagannathan
The primary goal of the Ph.D. program is to train our students to become high-quality academic researchers in finance. A significant part of the program requirements involve pursuing and presenting original research, even during the first years of study. Below, you will find a more complete description of typical course schedules and paper requirements.
Our current finance faculty members conduct empirical research that can be classified under two broad areas: Corporate Finance and Investments. Topics of research interest include Capital Structure, Payout Policy, Corporate Governance, Voting, Treasury Auctions, Mutual Funds, Hedge Funds, Short-Selling, and Empirical Asset Pricing. The faculty have published articles in leading journals, such as the Journal of Finance, Journal of Financial Economics, Review of Financial Studies, Journal of Political Economy, Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Financial Management, Journal of Banking and Finance, Journal of Business, Journal of Money Credit and Banking, Management Science, Journal of Future Markets, and the Journal of Empirical Finance.
Prior to arrival, incoming finance Ph.D. students receive a syllabus to read on (a) MBA level finance topics: corporate finance, derivatives, investments, and fixed income, and (b) Introduction to research methods. A "Background Qualifying Exam" based on this material is administered as part of Fin 600 – Theory of Finance course.
Background Qualifying Exam
1. Micro Economics field exam
2. Finance Qualifying Exam
Form dissertation committee, and defend the proposal by the end of summer.
Focus on gaining teaching experience. Have the job application packet ready by end of summer.
Complete the dissertation, and be ready to graduate by the end of the fourth year.
1. At the present time, SOM provides funding support for a maximum of four years, subject to making satisfactory progress. This funding support requires recipients to work as a teaching/research assistant or teach courses, for 20 hours every week. SOM policy does not permit funding recipients to take on any other work (paid or otherwise), unless approved by the finance Ph.D. coordinator, the SOM Ph.D. program director, and the SOM Dean. This includes fall, spring, and summer of every year. Failure to abide by these rules may result in dismissal from the Ph.D. program. Additional SOM and Binghamton University Graduate School guidelines may apply.
2. Satisfactory completion of the items in bold letters within the time frame is required for a student to be considered making satisfactory progress and hence is required for continuation in the program.
3. Background Qualifying Exam: Students have two chances to take the exam and get a passing grade by the end of first summer.
4. First Year Paper: Present to faculty by the end of first summer. The paper should have original work and not merely replicate prior work.
5. Micro Economics field exam: Administered by the Economics Department
6. Finance Qualifying Exam: Includes both a written test and the Second Year Paper. The exam will be administered at the end of the second year. Students have a second chances to take the exam and get a passing grade (independently pass both the written test and the Second Year Paper) by the fall semester of the third year.
7. Second Year Paper: Present a completed paper to faculty. This paper is part of the finance comprehensive exam and must be "journal ready" (i.e, be of a quality that can be submitted to a journal).
UPINDER DHILLON, Ph.D., Louisiana State University; Dean and Koffman Scholar
Research interests: Corporate finance, investments, real estate finance
MURALI JAGANNATHAN, Ph.D., Virginia Tech; Associate Professor;
Research interests: Corporate finance
DENNIS LASSER, Ph.D., Indiana University; Associate Professor;
Research interests: Derivative assets, market microstructure, pricing, efficiency
Y.C. LOON, Ph.D., Georgia State University; Assistant Professor;
Research interests: Market microstructure, corporate finance, mutual funds, hedge funds
ANDREW LYNCH, Ph.D., University of Missouri; Assistant Professor;
Research interests: Empirical asset pricing, mutual funds, short selling, liquidity
TONGSHU MA, Ph.D., University of Minnesota; Associate Professor;
Research interests: Equities
KRISTIAN RYDQVIST, Ph.D., Stockholm School of Economics; Professor;
Research interests: Equities, fixed income
