Haas Ph.D. Program
Curriculum
Finance Curriculum
There are specific requirements for the doctoral program in each field of study. The faculty group can specify how certain departmental requirements are to be met and can add requirements or increase minimum standards. Optional courses may be taken in addition to the required courses, not instead of them. Students must consult with their field advisor to ensure that their choices make a sensible program.
Students are encouraged to take four courses in each semester of the first year. Not all courses might be offered each semester and the list of classes is subject to change.
Summer Session:
Required:
- Econ 204 (Pre-requisite for Econ 201A.)
1ST SEMESTER
Required:
- PHDBA 239A (Discrete-Time Asset Pricing)
- Econ 201A (Economic Theory and Game Theory)
- Econ 240A (Econometrics)
Recommended:
- Math 104 Real Analysis
Other suggested courses:
- Econ 202A (Macroeconomic Theory)
- Stat 200A (Statistics): This class is useful for students that had trouble with the statistics/probability topics in Econ 204
- Stat 204: Summary of Stat 205A and Stat 205B
2ND SEMESTER
Required:
- PHDBA 239B (Continuous-Time Finance)
- Econ 201B (Information Economics and General Equilibrium)
- Econ 240B (Econometrics)
Recommended:
- Stat 251(Stochastic Calculus): an in depth study of the key concepts introduced in continuous-time finance.
Other suggested courses:
- Econ 202B (Macroeconomic Theory)
- Econ 244 (Applied Econometrics)
- Math 105: Second analysis class; covers topology and measure theory; suitable for those who do not take Math 202A/202B, but want some Measure theory
- MFE 230Q (Introduction to Stochastic Calculus): A more applied version of the material in continuous time finance (PHDBA 239B).
- MBA 231 (Corporate Finance): Overview of basic corporate finance and concepts. Useful for students who do not have a good finance background.
- MBA 236A (Futures and Options Markets)
3RD SEMESTER
Required:
- PHDBA 239S (Seminar)
Recommended:
- Econ 234A (Macroeconomic Finance)
- Econ 236B (Aggregate Economics, Applied Macroeconomics): Econometric and computational techniques.
Other suggested courses:
- Math 202A (Measure Theory): For those with a solid background in math/stat who plan to work on theory.
- Stat 205A (Probability Theory and Measure Theory)
- Econ 209A (Theory and Applications of Non-Cooperative Games)
- Econ 220A (Industrial Organization)
- Econ 241B (Maximum likelihood, simulation methods, non-parametric econometrics): Appropriate for students who plan to work on theoretical econometrics
- Econ 280B (International Economics)
4TH SEMESTER
Required:
- PHDBA 239S (Seminar)
- PHDBA 239C (Empirical Finance)
- PHDBA 239Da (Microstructure, 7.5 weeks)
- PHDBA 239Db (Corporate Finance, 7.5 weeks)
Recommended:
- Econ 234C (Financial Decision-Making in Firms): Behavioral/empirical corporate finance
- Econ 209B: Topics course on coordination and asymmetric information in finance and macroeconomics
Other suggested courses:
- Math 202B (Measure Theory)
- Stat 205B (Probability Theory and Measure Theory)
- Econ 206 (Mechanism Design)
- Econ 241A (Theoretical Time Series)
- Econ 280C (International Economics)
- PHDBA 289A (Real Estate): Review the real estate market.
Written Examination
This is given in the summer (mid June) at the end of the second year. The exam consists of two parts written on consecutive days. Each examination day is eight hours and closed book. On the first day, the questions are based on the required finance field courses. On the second day, questions test general finance knowledge and intuition.
Additional Requirements
Students are encouraged to focus on research papers early in the program. During their first summer, students are required to produce a research paper that identifies an open question in the literature and pose a potential solution. Students submit these papers at the end of the summer to the field advisor and present their work in a seminar early in the Fall semester of their second year. During their second summer, after the preliminary examinations, students work toward producing a polished research paper. This is done under the supervision of two faculty members who evaluate the work. Success in independent research is a requirement for satisfactory progress in the program.
Oral examination
Students submit and defend their dissertation proposals in the oral qualifying examination. The objective is to determine whether students have the intellectual capacity and academic preparation to complete the program. Successful completion of prior phases of the program and a well-defined research proposal are required. Typically, oral examinations are held before the beginning of the third year.
Dissertation
A dissertation is the formulation and completion of a major research project and its written presentation. It is the last step in the program. The university has specific guidelines for completing the dissertation. A faculty committee reviews the dissertation as an ongoing process. The committee is chosen by the student and must consist of three or more faculty members, one of whom must be from an outside discipline. When all members are satisfied, they sign off on the dissertation to signify their approval. Then, the student files the work with the University.
