PhD in Finance vs Economics vs Business Economics

[shootermcgavin7]

Originally Posted by Bayern

So how should I go about choosing schools in these concentrations?

Schools inside the top 10 are good at everything. If you get admission to one of these, go.

Schools inside the top 50 tend to place at research schools in the top 100. Most of them have different departmental cultures and different specialties, so choose the school that fits your interests and personality.

Keep in mind that most programs admit 2-3 students per year, so you might not have a broad range of choices like you might in an econ program.

[desimba]

Originally Posted by Bayern

I thought I will post this in a new thread, but as a discussion has already started here, I will post my question here. How do you really choose the finance phd and business economics schools? As we know, the rankings vary a lot, and from the department's website it is not very easy to understand their specializations from amateur eyes. So how should I go about choosing schools in these concentrations?

Yes while there are no good rankings of PhD programs, as a first-approximation, it would be reasonable to look at the rankings of their MBA programs and get an approximate idea of the rank of the PhD programs. Also look at the rankings of the Economics departments to get a sense of the rankings of their business schools. This approach will often give you results that don't match the rankings of the business schools (e.g. Princeton which is frequently ranked #1 in Econ does not have a business school!) but can be an additional source of information.

Ultimately, though you have to look through the websites of individual faculty members and see the topics that they publish on; the calibre of the journals they publish in (e.g. within finance, Journal of Finance & Journal of Financial Economics are among the most prestigious; faculty members can give you an idea of which journals are most prestigious in any field) and then decide for yourself, where you think you have a good fit.

And for a small sub set of schools that you are REALLY interested in, reach out to doctoral students and faculty members and set up telephonic conversations. If your profile looks interesting to them, they will indeed set up time to talk with you.

As you might have guessed, it is a time-consuming process and there is a trade-off between the number of schools for which you can do an in-depth research versus the type of research method you use (quick look at rankings vs. looking at every professor's publication record vs. speaking with faculty members & present doctoral students)

[Bayern]

Thanks a lot shootermcgavin7 and desimba. One last question (hopefully!), if I have not takeny finance classes, but just math and econ, and also no work experience, how is that going to affect my finance or business school admissions chances? Do they expect us to have some exposure to finance?

I know I want to do asset pricing, but will the interview process be difficult for me? I mean, is it likely that they will really press on why i want to do a finance phd? Thanks.

[shootermcgavin7]

Originally Posted by desimba

Yes while there are no good rankings of PhD programs

There are a few that rank research output of Finance department.....it is a good approximation.

Doesn't capture a lot of things about the department, but it is the best metric I've seen.

[shootermcgavin7]

Originally Posted by Bayern

One last question (hopefully!), if I have not takeny finance classes, but just math and econ, and also no work experience, how is that going to affect my finance or business school admissions chances? Do they expect us to have some exposure to finance?

It would be easy to catch up (90% of everything through 1st year MBA are different variations of NPV), but you may want to at least take an undergrad Corp Finance somewhere to gain some exposure.

You'll be really busy in your first year, and having to take time to learn it then will be a pain.

[desimba]

Originally Posted by Bayern

Thanks a lot shootermcgavin7 and desimba. One last question (hopefully!), if I have not takeny finance classes, but just math and econ, and also no work experience, how is that going to affect my finance or business school admissions chances? Do they expect us to have some exposure to finance?

I know I want to do asset pricing, but will the interview process be difficult for me? I mean, is it likely that they will really press on why i want to do a finance phd? Thanks.

It is usually not important for you to have taken Finance courses before joining the program. That is something you can pick up when you join the program. The vast majority of students have a background similar to yours, i.e. good training in econ & math but little to no formal training in finance. As far as work experience is concerned, usually it is pretty irrelevant unless you have held a RA with a professor or had a research analyst type position at the Fed, which are usually not very common.

Finally in terms of the interview process, your lack of depth should not be an issue. Nevertheless if you feel today that asset pricing is what you would like to work on, there should be some good cogent reasons what exactly it is about asset pricing that attracts you to it and why you feel like spending the next 5 years of life (at least) studying that.

[Bayern]

Thanks a lot desimba and shootermcgavin7!! You guys were extremely helpful

[shootermcgavin7]

Originally Posted by desimba

It is usually not important for you to have taken Finance courses before joining the program.

I kind of disagree with this.

As you mentioned, EVERYONE has the math background. We're trained to view everything ceteris paribus....if you have two profiles that are equal, except that Application One has had a few finance courses, whereas Applicant Two has not..........................................who will be admitted?


I think it is useful to at least have some very basic background in finance. As I mentioned, the concept is so simple that it is very simple to pick up.

If the OP is still in school, it is a very, very easy A.

[desimba]

Would anyone who is in a finance program currently care to comment on this?

[shootermcgavin7]

Originally Posted by desimba

Would anyone who is in a finance program currently care to comment on this?

On what? I'd be happy to.