Research Information

Research Themes

• Asset Pricing and Financial markets

Researchers consider volatility analysis, market efficiency and liquidity, asset pricing and systematic risk, and market structures. Research is carried out by applying advanced financial econometric modelling to specialised datasets.

• Financial History

Research is focused on the long-run evolution and development of banking, banking crises, bubbles, and financial markets. This group are part of a wider interdisciplinary research centre who in partnership with Trinity College Dublin has secured €3.8m to establish a new All-Ireland Centre of Excellence in the field.

• Computational finance

Research interests include regulation and risk analytics, open research analytics and financial machine learning.

• Household finance, housing and pensions

Researchers consider housing markets, equity release, financial literacy and retirement planning. Research relies on sophisticated quantitative methods.

Career Prospects

Introduction

The School has a proven track-record of placing its PhD graduates in tenure-track research and teaching posts at top universities in the UK and elsewhere.

Learning Outcomes

A research degree offers students an opportunity to foster their capacity for independent research and critical thought. It also allows students to explore an area of interest and so understand and solve theoretical and practical problems within the field. A PhD is almost always a formal requirement for an academic post.

Course structure

There is no specific course content as such. You are expected to carry out your research under the guidance of your supervisor. You are expected to take research training modules that are identified by your supervisor and supported by the School.

Over the course of study you can attend postgraduate skills training organised by the Graduate School.

To complete with a doctoral qualification you will be required to submit a thesis of approx 80,000 words and you will be required to attend a viva voce [oral examination] with an external and internal examiner to defend your thesis.

A PhD programme runs for 3-4 years full-time or 6-8 years part-time. Students can apply for a writing up year should it be required.

The PhD is open to both full and part time candidates and is often a useful preparation for a career within academia or consultancy.

Full time students are often attracted to research degree programmes because they offer an opportunity to pursue in some depth an area of academic interest.

If you meet the Entry Requirements, the next step is to check whether we can supervise research in your chosen area. We only take students to whom we can offer expert research supervision from one of our academic staff. Therefore, your research question needs to engage with the research interests of one of our staff.

Application Process :

Please review the eligibility criteria on the webpages. If you believe that you meet these criteria then follow the steps below:

Select ONE potential supervisor from our list of Academic Staff (https://www.qub.ac.uk/schools/QueensManagementSchool/People/AcademicStaff/#finance) and send an email containing:

• a brief CV (1-2 pages maximum)

• a concise statement that you are interested in studying for a PhD, stating when you would start, and how you would plan to fund the research

• a brief statement of the research question or interest, and how you think the question could be investigated

For full-time study and application for a scholarship/award; please be aware that awards are only available to full time students. Candidates wishing to apply for scholarships available within the School must apply for full-time study at the same time.

Assessment

Assessment processes for the Research Degree differ from taught degrees. Students will be expected to present drafts of their work at regular intervals to their supervisor who will provide written and oral feedback; a formal assessment process takes place annually.

This Annual Progress Review requires students to present their work in writing and orally to a panel of academics from within the School. Successful completion of this process will allow students to register for the next academic year.

The final assessment of the doctoral degree is both oral and written. Students will submit their thesis to an internal and external examining team who will review the written thesis before inviting the student to orally defend their work at a Viva Voce.

Feedback

Supervisors will offer feedback on draft work at regular intervals throughout the period of registration on the degree.

Facilities

Full time PhD students will have access to a shared office space and access to a desk with personal computer and internet access.

Learning and Teaching

This is a research degree.

The School has a proven track-record of placing its PhD graduates in tenure-track research and teaching posts at top universities in the UK and elsewhere.