Finance
- Master of Science in Finance
- Doctor of Philosophy
Facilities for Graduate Work
Faculty members and graduate students in finance are involved in the work of several research centers: the AIM Investment Center; the Center for Energy Finance Education and Research (CEFER); the Hicks, Muse, Tate & Furst Center for Private Equity Finance; and the Real Estate Finance and Investment Center. The McCombs School contains additional research centers that support graduate work in the McCombs School, as well as the school’s physical facilities and computing systems.
Areas of Study
The graduate program in finance gives students opportunities for specialized study in behavioral finance, corporate finance, investments, financial intermediaries, international finance, and real estate.
Graduate Studies Committee
The following faculty members served on the Graduate Studies Committee in the spring semester 2006–2007.
- Andres Almazan
- Aydogan Alti
- Keith C. Brown
- Lorenzo Garlappi
- George W. Gau
- John M. Griffin
- Ilan Guedj
- Beverly L. Hadaway
- Bing Han
- Jay C. Hartzell
- Jennifer Huang
- Alok Kumar
- Stephen P. Magee
- Robert Parrino
- Ramesh K. S. Rao
- Ehud I. Ronn
- Lewis J. Spellman
- Laura T. Starks
- Paul C. Tetlock
- Sheridan Titman
Admission Requirements
Admission to the program is extremely competitive. The admission decision is based on the applicant’s academic record, test scores, personal statement, résumé, and letters of recommendation.
Students must enter the program in a fall semester.
Degree Requirements
Master of Science in Finance
The Master of Science in Finance is offered only to students who are enrolled in the doctoral program in finance. This degree is offered in three options: with thesis, with report, and without thesis or report. The thesis option requires at least thirty semester hours of credit; the report option, at least thirty-three hours; and the option without thesis or report, at least thirty-six hours. All coursework must be logically related, and the student’s entire program must be approved by the student’s primary adviser and the graduate adviser. The Graduate Studies Committee’s approval is not required.
Doctor of Philosophy
The core of the program is a set of courses required of all students. The core is supplemented with special courses and electives. Students are required to study one minor field in addition to finance; typically, they choose economics, statistics, or mathematics, all of which provide skills important to financial research.
A required element of the student’s development as a scholar is the completion of first- and second-year summer papers. The quality of these two papers is a factor in judging the student’s progress in the program. Students must take a comprehensive examination at the end of their second year. They then undertake dissertation research.
Students normally complete coursework, research, and the dissertation in four or five years.
For More Information
Campus address: College of Business Administration Building (CBA) 6.222, phone (512) 471-5668, fax (512) 471-5073; campus mail code: B6600
Mailing address: The University of Texas at Austin, Graduate Program, Department of Finance, 1 University Station B6600, Austin TX 78712
E-mail: finphd@mail.utexas.edu