Doctoral Program in Finance

The Department of Banking and Finance at the University of Zurich (UZH) aims at promoting young talents. It offers excellent research opportunities and doctoral training to advance the next generation of leading researchers, teachers and practitioners. The goal of the doctoral program in finance is to produce independent young researchers who can obtain academic jobs in the best universities, central banks, and international organizations as well as leading positions in the financial services industry.
Doctoral training at the Department of Banking and Finance includes a set of first year doctoral courses taught (in English) by internationally renowned scholars at UZH where students become familiar with state-of-the-art research methods. Besides providing a solid foundation in economics and econometrics, this doctoral course work covers asset pricing, banking, corporate finance and quantitative finance.
In addition, students attend advanced field courses and seminars while being attached to different research groups within the Department of Banking and Finance. A specific feature is a close attachment between graduate students and advisors and a strong team spirit among students. Students may also benefit in various ways from the well-established national collaboration among finance departments in CH through the Swiss Finance Institute. Moreover, many students spend part of their study visiting other leading international institutions in Europe and in the US.
Currently, there exist three different avenues towards the PhD in Finance degree from UZH, depending on your personal qualifications and interests:
Track A: Traditional doctorate in finance;
Track B: Structured doctoral program in finance, for holders of a Master's degree;
Track C: Structured fast-track doctoral program in finance, for outstanding Bachelor's degree graduates.
The doctoral program at the Department of Banking and Finance offers the ideal framework for successful and inspiring PhD studies in finance.