phd finance in europe

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The Finance PhD program at HEC Paris provides students with a rigorous training in financial economics delivered in a vibrant research department. 

Our stimulating research environment allows PhD students to grow as researchers and to obtain jobs in top academic institutions at the end of the thesis.

In the past few years, graduates from the HEC Paris PhD program have been hired as Assistant Professors at London Business School (see Maxime' s research in corporate finance and asset management), Singapore Management University (see Tianhao' s research in  ESG investment, sustainable finance, and asset management),  Columbia University (see Noémie's research in government intervention and corporate behavior ),   the London School of Economics (see Huan’s research in fintech), Wharton (see Sylvain’s research in household finance), Princeton (see  Adrien's research in corporate finance), Harvard Business School (see Boris’ research in financial innovation). See the full academic placement record at the bottom of this page.

Why are HEC Paris PhD graduates so successful on the academic job market?

The first ingredient is the rigorous training. The HEC Paris finance department partners with the economics department at IP Paris to provide students with a solid training in finance + economics + econometrics.

The second ingredient is the excellence of the faculty. Finance professors at HEC Paris publish in top academic finance and economics journals and hold editorial positions in journals such as the Journal of Finance and the Review of Financial Studies.

The third ingredient is the collegiality of the HEC Paris finance group . PhD students have numerous opportunities to interact with faculty and discuss about research. Some of these opportunities happen in organized events: courses, weekly research seminar, pre-seminar workshop, weekly internal seminar, annual PhD workshop, mock job market interviews in the final year of the thesis, and so on (see below for more information on these events).

Research interactions also and perhaps mostly happen informally. If you come to the HEC Paris Finance department, you will find that doors are open and you will probably find professors and students chatting about research at the coffee machine. Students can present their research in the internal research seminar. When faculty or students want to learn about a research field, they set up a reading group inviting interested faculty and students to read papers together and discuss research ideas.

The HEC Paris Finance PhD program is relatively small compared to the size of the faculty. We usually hire two or three PhD students per year and the department has about twenty research faculty. This high faculty-to-student ratio fosters the quality of interactions between student and faculty.  Our connections in top universities around the world allow PhD students to spend  a semester or a year visiting another university.  

Main events

Weekly research seminar: Researchers from other universities present their research. See the schedule . Pre-seminar workshop: Before each research seminar, the PhD students and a different faculty each week meet for a “pre-seminar workshop” to discuss the paper presented at the seminar. It is a great opportunity for students to engage in a discussion about a different research topic every week, to learn from a faculty specialized in this field, and to generate new research ideas.

Weekly internal seminar: A faculty or a PhD student presents preliminary research ideas.

Annual PhD workshop: Every year we invite 30 PhD students from other finance PhD programs in Europe. It is a great opportunity for PhD students to meet with future researchers and colleagues and to create interactions that can generate joint research projects. During this workshop, students from HEC Paris and other schools who are close to completing their PhD present their research in front of the other students and the HEC faculty. Click here

Preparation for the job market: In the final year of the thesis, PhD students apply to academic positions in universities and business schools all over the world. The job market has three main selection stages: based on the research package and recommendation letters in November; interviews in January; seminars and campus visits in January-February. PhD students at HEC Paris are actively prepared for this process. We organize mock interviews and mock job market seminars with the HEC faculty, which allow students to practice in real-life situations.  

Selection of past placements

Our complete placement history in Finance can be found here . 

•    Markus Bak-Hansen, Bank of England , 2024 •    Maxime Bonelli, London Business School , 2023 •    Tianhao Yao, Singapore Management University , 2023 •    Pinardon-Touati Noémie, University of Columbia , 2022 •    Pekka Honkanen, Terry College of Business, University of Georgia , 2020 •    Huan Tang, London School of Economics , 2020 •    Sylvain Catherine, The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania , 2019 •    Thorsten Martin, Bocconi University , 2018 •    Jean-David Sigaux, European Central Bank , 2017 •    Adrien Matray, Princeton University , 2016 •    Olivier Dessaint, Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto , 2015 •    Boris Vallée, Harvard Business School, 2015 •    Jean-Noël Barrot, Sloan School of Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology , 2014  

Average starting salary: 226 000 USD

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Best Universities for Finance in Europe

Updated: February 29, 2024

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Below is a list of best universities in Europe ranked based on their research performance in Finance. A graph of 23.7M citations received by 1.32M academic papers made by 1,190 universities in Europe was used to calculate publications' ratings, which then were adjusted for release dates and added to final scores.

We don't distinguish between undergraduate and graduate programs nor do we adjust for current majors offered. You can find information about granted degrees on a university page but always double-check with the university website.

1. University of Oxford

For Finance

2. University of Cambridge

3. London School of Economics and Political Science

4. University College London

5. University of Amsterdam

6. Erasmus University Rotterdam

7. University of Manchester

8. Catholic University of Leuven

9. University of Warwick

10. Imperial College London

11. Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich

12. Tilburg University

13. University of Nottingham

14. London Business School

15. University of Groningen

16. University of Edinburgh

17. University of Zurich

18. Goethe University of Frankfurt am Main

19. Aarhus University

20. Delft University of Technology

21. University of Southampton

22. Utrecht University

23. University of Leeds

24. Bocconi University

25. Stockholm University

26. University of Birmingham

27. University of Bologna

28. University of Sheffield

29. Copenhagen Business School

30. King's College London

31. Durham University

32. Lund University

33. Free University Amsterdam

34. University of Copenhagen

35. University of Sussex

36. University of Reading

37. University of Bristol

38. Sapienza University of Rome

39. Lancaster University

40. Technical University of Munich

41. Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne

42. University of Glasgow

43. Ghent University

44. Maastricht University

45. University of Bonn

46. University of Vienna

47. University of Strathclyde

48. University of Padua

49. Pierre and Marie Curie University

50. City, University of London

51. Stockholm School of Economics

52. Cardiff University

53. University of St. Gallen

54. Leiden University

55. Uppsala University

56. Polytechnic University of Milan

57. University of York

58. Newcastle University

59. University of Lisbon

60. Catholic University of Louvain

61. University College Dublin

62. University of Exeter

63. University of Munich

64. University of Hamburg

65. University of Oslo

66. Wageningen University

67. Moscow State University

68. University of Leicester

69. University of East Anglia

70. University of Helsinki

71. Queen Mary University of London

72. RWTH Aachen University

73. University of Bath

74. Loughborough University

75. Norwegian University of Science and Technology

76. University of Mannheim

77. KTH Royal Institute of Technology

78. University of Essex

79. Karlsruhe Institute of Technology

80. Autonomous University of Barcelona

81. University of Liverpool

82. University of Valencia

83. Free University of Brussels

84. University of Cologne

85. Free University of Berlin

86. Eindhoven University of Technology

87. University of London

88. Pompeu Fabra University

89. Humboldt University of Berlin

90. Carlos III University, Madrid

91. Vienna University of Economics and Business

92. University of Twente

93. University of Antwerp

94. University of Gothenburg

95. Radboud University

96. Brunel University London

97. Heidelberg University - Germany

98. Athens University of Economics and Business

99. University of Milan

100. Trinity College Dublin, University of Dublin

Economics subfields in Europe

25 Finance programs found

• Economic Studies

Economic Studies (25)

• Accounting (5)
• Economics (46)
• Finance and Banking (1)
• Finance and Economics (1)
• Financial Analysis (1)
• Financial Management (4)
• Risk Management (2)
• Wealth Management (1)
• Fintech (1)
• Investment (3)
• Statistics (5)
• Taxation (1)
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• United Kingdom (5)
• South Africa (0)
• Czech Republic (3)
• Doctor of Education (0)
• 2 years (3)
• 3 years (9)
• 4+ years (10)
• Full time (20)
• Part time (7)
• English (23)
• Portuguese (4)
• Spanish (1)
• Galician (1)
• Italian (0)
• On-Campus (20)
• Distance Learning (5)
• Blended (1)
• Finance and Banking
• Finance and Economics
• Financial Analysis
• Financial Management
• Risk Management
• Wealth Management

Selinus University of Sciences and Literature

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D) in Financial Management

• London, United Kingdom
• Bologna, Italy

Distance Learning

Taking the thesis for this programme allows you to explore all the research tools, strategies and tactics that are crucial to analyze and improve the financial dimension of any operational decision in a company.

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Economics and Finance

This programme gives the candidate the opportunity to pursue an in-depth study of both finance and economics. Finance is a conceptual framework that combines corporate finance, investment and financial institutions, showing how companies should be managed in order to increase wealth.

Toulouse School of Management TSM

Doctoral Programme in Management

• Toulouse, France

TSM Doctoral Programme offers five in-depth fields of study, for a curriculum of unusual richness and breadth. Since the programme enrolls only 10 to 20 new Ph.D. students each year, doctoral students thrive in an atmosphere of intellectual rigor and creative collaboration among students and faculty.

Universidade de Aveiro

Doctorate in Accounting

• Aveiro, Portugal

Portuguese, English

The Doctoral Program in Accounting at the University of Aveiro aims to: provide the development of research in the field of Accounting, ensuring a high quality environment of teaching and research, contributing to the training of highly qualified human resources in the area of Accounting;

Doctorate in Business and Economics

The recently created Doctoral Program in Business and Economics of the University of Aveiro, with three branches of specialization - Economics, Management and Finance - responds to the requests of researchers and graduates to continue their doctoral studies in these areas of knowledge, tackling a gap that exists not only in the context of the doctoral programs of the University of Aveiro, but also, due to its differential nature, in the context of the education Programs in these areas in Portugal.

Doctorate in Territory, Risk and Public Policies

English, Portuguese

Vienna Graduate School Of Finance

Ph.D. in Finance

• Vienna, Austria

The Ph.D. program is a 5-year, full-time program that is structured into coursework and research. The aim of the coursework is to equip students with the tools necessary to develop innovative research in finance. VGSF students are fully funded, allowing them to completely focus on their Ph.D.

Imperial College London

• South Kensington, United Kingdom

We believe that rigorous academic analysis can provide practical solutions to complex problems in society. Our fully-funded PhD program provides students with the opportunity to conduct their own research in a world-leading university, finding solutions to key challenges in modern business. As a Business School, we rank first in the UK for research environment and second for management and business students, while Imperial College London ranks first in the UK overall for research (REF 2021). 

University of London, School of Advanced Study

PhD at the Institute of Commonwealth Studies

Full time, Part time

Distance Learning, On-Campus

Undertaking doctoral research allows you to develop in-depth knowledge while making a meaningful contribution to your chosen field. With guidance from our expert supervisors, you'll carry out extensive independent research culminating in a thesis of up to 100,000 words. Broadly speaking the focus of research degrees has increasingly been on the humanities and cognate social sciences, particularly on the subjects of human rights, globalization and development, politics, and Commonwealth history.

Universidade Santiago de Compostela

PhD in Economic Analysis and Business Strategy

• Santiago de Compostela, Spain

Spanish, Galician

The Doctoral Program in Economic Analysis and Business Strategy arises from the commitment of a group of professors from the Faculties of Economic and Business Sciences of the three Universities of the Galician University System (SUG) who intend to join efforts to train researchers capable of publishing their work in Internationally distributed journals specializing in economics and in academic journals featured in the Journal of Citation Report (JCR).

Faculty of Social Sciences, Charles University (FSV UK)

PhD in Economics and Finance

• Prague, Czech Republic

Blended, On-Campus

The Ph.D. program concentrates on economic theory and its applications in economic and financial analyses. The program focuses on the modeling and analyses of economic processes and the behavior of economic agents, using modern microeconomics, macroeconomics, econometrics, econometrics, and finance. The doctoral program aims to prepare highly qualified and trained experts for academia, international organizations, the financial sector as well as other industries.

VSB - Technical University of Ostrava

PhD in Economy and Management

• Ostrava, Czech Republic

PhD in Economy Management in Economy and Management allows by its structure and content focus to link to the knowledge gained from a master's degree. It is a major research-oriented knowledge and skill associated with the study of many subjects that are tied to the functional areas of business systems.

ISCTE Business School – Instituto Universitário de Lisboa

PhD in Finance

• Lisbon, Portugal

The PhD program in Finance at ISCTE is a rigorous program designed to train students to produce high-quality research. The program is suited to students who want to become faculty members at research universities or who want to lead research departments at financial institutions.

Doctoral study in PhD in Finance follows master's degrees at the Faculty of Economics, especially those in Finance or Finance and Accounting. However, any other master's degree is sufficient to enter doctoral study in Finance. The doctoral studies at the Faculty of Economics, VSB-Technical University of Ostrava, should take 4 years according to the student's personal study plan.

Horizons University

PhD in Financial Management

• Paris, France

This program aims at producing graduates with advanced research and analytical skills, capable of bringing their managerial and entrepreneurial skills to leading contemporary organizations.

Popular degree type

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PhD Programs in Economic Studies Finance

By earning a Master in Business Administration (MBA) with an emphasis on finance, graduates gain specialized knowledge and skills within the financial sector, which may help them to find a highly skilled career. Students may be able to obtain an MBA in Finance in about two years’ time.

In all, there are over 4000 Higher Education Institutions in Europe offering a wide range of courses at Bachelor, Masters and Doctorate level. With more and more of these organizations offering English as the language of education for at least some of their degree programs, universities in Europe are now of higher quality than ever before. Universities in Europe offer a friendly welcome to foreign students and to give a course of knowledge that meets their profession needs in today’s global demand.

Requirements for the PhD program often involve the student having already obtained a Master’s degree. Additionally, a thesis or dissertation primarily consisting of original academic research must be submitted. In some countries, this work may even need to be defended in front of a panel.

This PhD specialisation provides candidates with an in-depth and intensive training programme at the cutting edge of both theoretical and empirical research in Finance.

PhD specialisation in Finance

The PhD specialisation in Finance prepares candidates for careers in world leading academic institutions, research-oriented international and national organisations, and the industry. Job market candidates from the department have found employment at premier universities including London Business School, Tilburg University, University of Melbourne, NOVA University Lisbon, Norwegian School of Economics (NHH), Central University of Finance and Economics (CUFE) and National Chengchi University (NCCU). Local placements in Norway include Boston Consulting Group, Financial Supervisory Authority, and Storebrand. We encourage candidates with solid quantitative and analytical skills, and a strong background in disciplines such as Finance, Economics, Statistics, and Mathematics to apply.

The four-year study programme leading to a PhD degree is designed to allow you to conduct in-depth research. In addition, it is comprised by a course component, seminars, PhD committees, pre-doctoral defence, and lastly, dissertation and final defence. 25% of the time is reserved for teaching.

Distinguishing features of the specialisation

The four-year programme offers rigorous training for candidates with strong analytical skills and intellectual curiosity. It follows a standard structure in place at all comparable programmes around the world. The first year is devoted to course work that covers all the major fields in Finance and core topics in Economics relevant for a Finance PhD. BI faculty mainly teaches these courses. The candidates can also take specialised courses and participate in doctoral workshops through the Nordic Finance Network.

The second year of the programme sees candidates transitioning to research work that continues through to the end of the programme. Candidates will work towards the doctoral dissertation that is typically a collection of three research articles. Research work is done in close co-operation with the supervisor and other faculty members from the department. Projects joint with faculty members often involve collaborators from other research institutions. Candidates also participate in weekly research seminars with international scholars and present their research work at departmental workshops. The research environment is supportive and PhD candidates take actively part in all the social life at the department.

Meet Renata Silva de Almeida who shares her experience as a PhD candidate

Professor paul ehling discusses the advantages of being a phd candidate at bi, fully funded scholarships.

All PhD candidates receive financial support when accepted into the programme. The candidates are hired as full-time employees on an initial four-year contract. Continuation of the support through the four years of the programme is dependent on good standing and regular progress towards completing the programme’s requirements. PhD candidates are entitled to full parental leave and health insurance, and are part of the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund. The workplace is BI Norwegian Business School at its main campus in Oslo.

What you can expect

The four-year study programme leading to a PhD degree is designed to allow you to conduct in-depth research. In addition, it is comprised of a course component, seminars, PhD committees, pre-doctoral defence, and lastly, dissertation and final defence. 25% of the time is reserved for teaching.

Entry requirements

How to apply, course plan.

Here you will find an overview of the courses included in the programme and when they are offered.

A PhD from BI can be a gateway to prestigious placements at universities around the world. Below are examples of positions obtained by recent graduates of BI's PhD programme.

Department of Finance

The Department of Finance is ranked 10th in Europe, and 2nd in the Nordic countries, based on top-finance publications 2013-2017 (U of Texas Dallas rankings). BI hosted the European Finance Association (EFA) Annual Meeting in 2016 and in 1996. The department is committed to research at the highest international level and faculty members currently represent about 20 different nationalities. Faculty come from some of the world’s best institutions such as University of Chicago, Wharton, UCLA, Ohio State University, Carnegie Mellon, University of Southern California, London Business School, and London School of Economics.

Faculty members publish their research regularly in the top Finance and Economics journals. These publications have appeared in Journal of Finance, Review of Financial Studies, Journal Financial Economics, American Economic Review, Econometrica, Journal of Political Economy, and Review of Economic Studies. The strong commitment to research has earned the department a top-10 rank in Europe based on research output in top-tier academic Finance journals.

The department runs an international weekly research seminar series in which academics from the world’s best research institutions present their work. These seminars and other visits by international researchers give PhD candidates an excellent opportunity to reflect and receive feedback on their own research. The department also regularly organises conferences and workshops.

The department has access to all the commonly used international databases. Many faculty members also work with unique Norwegian micro data on firms and individuals obtained from official registers. The department hosts the Centre for Asset Pricing Research (CAPR) and the Centre for Corporate Governance Research (CCGR). These centres sponsor and support faculty research groups, conferences, and seminars.

• Read more about the Department of Finance

Paul Ehling

Professor - Department of Finance

PhD alumna in Finance

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• PhD program in Finance

Our PhD program in Finance is a fully-funded 4-year program which aims to give students an in-depth knowledge of finance in both theoretical and operational terms in order to prepare them for successful careers in academia, policy institutions, or the financial industry. The program is opened to students completing or holding a master’s degree, or holding a bachelor’s degree. Candidates joining after a bachelor’s degree must complete the first year of our finance master before starting the program and can be funded during that additional year.

The program’s curriculum is structured in two phases: (1) a one-year course which trains students for their future research work (2) a 3-year doctoral training period during which students conduct their research project and write and defend their PhD thesis.

• Phase 1 is completed in the 2nd year of our finance master’s program. During that phase, students draw on courses from the Research-in-Finance track of the Finance master of Dauphine-PSL, and they start working towards their research project. For bachelor’s graduates, this first phase is extended to include the 1st year of the master.
• Phase 2 corresponds to the French doctorate degree. During that phase, students are mentored to gain state-of-the-arts research methods, write academic papers, present at academic conferences, and prepare for the academic job market. This second phase can be extended by one to two years conditional on approval by the PSL doctoral school.

For more information on the program, refer to this document .

Phase 1 | Finance Master – Track 104 Research in Finance

The " Research-in-Finance track ” of the Finance master offers fundamental and advanced courses in all fields of finance: corporate finance, financial markets, investments, derivatives, financial modeling and computer programming for finance, banking and financial intermediation, mathematical finance, asset pricing. A wide range of elective courses allow students to specialize on specific topics such as financial analysis, business valuation, international finance, private equity, behavioral finance, machine learning in finance, quantitative finance etc.

PhD program students get research-oriented training with courses in econometrics and research methodology, as well as pre-doctoral courses in corporate finance, asset pricing, and market microstructure with both theoretical and empirical approaches. They are supervised by academic researchers of DRM Finance - our research team in finance - to conduct their research master thesis and they are offered multiple internship opportunities.

They can also enrich their training by a summer school in data sciences.

Phase 2 | Doctoral studies

During their doctoral years, students will benefit from the following programs:

• Academic research practice courses taught by international experts;
• A cycle of doctoral lectures taught by leading academics in their research fields;
• PSL interdisciplinary courses : PSL is a strongly interdisciplinary university with special courses that cut across our disciplinary graduate programs and are open to all graduate students;
• The research seminar series of DRM Finance ;
• The Annual Dauphine Finance PhD Workshop that allows PhD students to interact and network with other young researchers from all over the world;
• Travelling grants to promote research visits in foreign universities. 

PhD candidates placement

Our recent PhD graduates have started academic careers in leading universities and business schools, or have become researchers in public institutions such as the ECB or the IMF. More details can be found at this link .

Resources for prospective students

Contact: [email protected]

- Applications: from February 27 to April 3, 2024 (12am) - Auditions: April 24/25, 2024

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