Doctoral studies. Why?
Why would one consider graduate studies? There can be several reasons. Some students find that themselves interested in pursuing an traditional academic research career. They have some kind an inner desire or interest to push their knowledge to the limit. Some students want to stand out and enhance their market value by getting a PhD. Both objectives are acceptable. However, it is not a decision to taken slightly. Doctoral studies take at least three to four years to complete and one cannot get through them if he or she does not have the qualifications, time and desire to concentrate on the studies.
Those who are still considering their alternatives, one can recommend for example Goldsmith, Komlos, and Gold, The Chicago Guide to Your Academic Career, 2001.
Doctoral studies in Finland
Doctoral studies are currently extremely efficiently organized in Finland due to the new graduate schools and close co-operation between universities. Estimated time to complete a PhD degree is four years. During this time, all courses -- some of which may be taken from other universities in Finland or abroad -- are provided free of charge by the university for enlisted students. Tuition fees are also waived for the most part. More information can be found from here.
PhD Studies in Finance
The number of doctoral students in Finland has increased rapidly during the last decade. Finance is not an exception. The demand for highly skilled and educated financial persons have grown steadily both in the academic world but especially in the companies. This is partly due to the close ties between the finance theory and the practice. Having a doctoral degree really sets you apart from the rest.
The purpose of the financial research can be partly characterized with the economic significance of the financial theory: to promote the efficiency of the financial markets (efficient allocation of resources), to promote the portfolio selection and asset selection, and to promote the performance evaluation. From a student’s point of view, financial studies offer a great chance to study a subject that is concrete and challenging.
Finance is highly regarded academic discipline within the economic sciences (for example, five finance researchers have been awarded with a Nobel price). Finance also offers good post-graduation job opportunities in many areas and organizational levels. For additional information, see Guide to Graduate Studies in Finance: Finnish Perspective.
Doctoral studies @ LUT
As a relative small business administration faculty (approximately 20-30 new finance undergraduate students / year, 220 new business students altogether), doctoral students and professors work closely together and students can be sure that they get help and personal guidance when needed. In many cases, professors and students write research papers together and participate in joint research projects.
Finance offers good resources for its doctoral students. Being a member in the Finnish nationwide the Graduate School of Finance (GSF, formerly GSFFA), our students take the body of their doctoral courses from the GSF. We also have good connections with other universities, companies and financial institutions.
We offer a number of databases to our students (e.g., Datastream, Thomson Banker One including Worldscope, ETLA's economic series). We also subscribe to SSRN. Best graduate students are also entitled to an office room with a PC, stipends for the conferences, and in some cases monthly salary up to four year.
Doctoral program in finance @ LUT
The doctoral program is a four year program consisting of a total of 300 ETCS credits, of which 60 points are reserved for the coursework and 240 points for the research work (i.e., doctoral thesis). The first couple of years the students mainly take doctoral courses organized by the Lappeenranta University of Technology, the Graduate School of Finance, The Finnish doctoral program in business studies, and the European Institute for Advanced Studies in Management (EIASM). The last couple of years students are given time to write their PhD dissertation with at least three essays aimed to international finance journals. Students are also encouraged to present their papers in the seminars and conferences.
Faculty and research @ LUT
English home-page of the Finance discipline at the LUT can be found here. List of LUT's current finance faculty members can be found at the same page. Their areas of specialty can be seen from their publication list or personal web-pages..
PhDs and the Job Market
When one considers his or her post-graduation opportunities, there are in principle two alternatives – an academic career or a career in the industry, i.e., in the “professional world”. Luckily, Ph.D. degree gives good possibilities to choose between either one of them.
Pursuing an academic career in Finland differs somewhat from the USA. Usually there are no clear tenure-track positions available and prospective professor candidates have to work with varying positions until (s)he has produced enough publications for the tenure. However, tenured positions are typically available only after the current holder of the tenure retires or moves elsewhere. However, the Academy of Finland has made available several post-doc positions that allow researchers to pursue their research. But an academic career does not necessarily mean a traditional professor-oriented career. One can also work as a researcher outside the university at a private research facility (e.g., Bank of Finland or the Research Institute of Finnish Economy – ETLA) or research institutes associated with business schools (e.g., LTT Research Ltd.).
Researchers can also consider a career abroad. Financial departments and foreign research units are always interested to hire skilled teachers and researchers. In addition, European Union, World Bank, OECD, International Monetary Fund etc. offer places for highly educated and skilled financial researchers. Typically, a Ph.D. degree is required as a minimum background and depending on the position, a proven track record of publications.
On the other hand, a career as a practitioner is also very common. There is a growing demand for PhDs both in the Finnish and worldwide finance industry. For example, investments banks, asset management companies, pension funds etc. are constantly hiring PhDs for their more advanced positions. Moreover, it is no longer unheard of to see a CEO or a board member with a PhD finance.
Interesting links
Finnish Graduate School of Finance
Social Science Research Network (SSRN): Financial Economics Network (FEN) (comprehensive collection of working papers)
European Finance Association
European Financial Management Association
American Finance Association / Journal of Finance
TURA-database of Finnish foundations offering research grants (in Finnish; access only from LUT)