Swiss Finance Institute PhD Program in Finance : SFI PhD Program in Finance : Swiss Finance Institute PhD Program in Finance The Swiss Finance Institute PhD in Finance The program’s curriculum is structured in is one of the largest and most competitive two phases: programs in the world • The first features specific PhD level courses The program promotes the pursuit of academic covering advanced financial theory and financial excellence by providing an intellectual environment research techniques. and a curriculum comparable with the top PhD • The second is devoted to the writing of a doctoral programs in the world. The PhD program operates at thesis. Swiss Finance Institute doctoral students the three Swiss Finance Institute campuses: Léman also participate in international academic (Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, the activities and attend advanced courses. University of Geneva, and the University of Lausanne), Lugano (Università della Svizzera italiana), and Zurich (the University of Zurich). The program has three distinct features: • A full offering of PhD level courses in finance. • An international faculty dedicated to research at the highest level and covering all aspects of finance. • A large international student body. www.sfi.ch/phd "The SFI PhD program provided me with an excellent basis to start my academic career. The course work gave me a thorough overview of the field of finance and equipped me with the necessary tools to start my own research. During the research phase, my supervisors gave me the support I needed and the interaction, with the SFI community of professors and students from the various centers, truly enriched my experience." Elisabeth Pröhl, SFI PhD Graduate ’18, Assistant Professor of Economics, University of Amsterdam 2 : SFI PhD Program in Finance : PhD Curriculum PhD Curriculum These courses can often be integrated into the course The curriculum of Swiss Finance Institute’s PhD program with the PhD coordinator’s approval. program in Finance comprises two phases: a first year of intensive coursework followed by, on average, three Second Phase: Dissertation Writing years of advanced study and research. The program Upon admission to the second phase of the program, covers a wide range of subjects including economics, Swiss Finance Institute PhD candidates select a financial economics, corporate finance, mathematical thesis topic and choose their thesis supervisor. finance, and econometrics. Typically, students participate in research projects carried out at an academic partner institution and First Phase: Core Courses work within their chosen project as a research or The program begins with a series of core PhD teaching assistant. These research projects’ networks courses. This intensive coursework aims to provide all also guarantee intensive contact with PhD students candidates with a broad and complete education from other Swiss universities and provide an covering the basic building blocks and conceptual excellent and stimulating research environment. tools of finance, and to help orient students toward a specific field of research and a thesis supervisor. During this second phase all candidates are required to attend the SFI Research Days at the Gerzensee Each of the three campuses has established a Study Center, the faculty’s research seminar in program of core courses that reflects the strengths of finance, and the internal “brown-bag” lunch seminar. its faculty. These courses provide a sound working In addition, the research projects’ networks offer a basis that enables students to successfully complete wide variety of specialized courses. The goal of these the PhD program, generally three years after specialized courses is to enable students to acquire completing the first phase. the skills that are most relevant to their thesis work. The selection of the appropriate specialized courses Each core course is followed by an examination. The for each candidate is made jointly by the candidate faculty member in charge attributes each student a and the dissertation supervisor. final grade for each course based on project assess m ents, in-class participation, and interim The completion of the PhD in Finance program coursework submitted. Admission to the second requires two successful evaluations: the first phase phase is determined on the basis of the grades evaluation and a final defense of the PhD obtained from the core courses and on the successful dissertation. Università della Svizzera italiana, the completion of a research paper, for Léman and Zurich, University of Geneva, the University of Lausanne, and or a comprehensive examination for Lugano. The the University of Zurich award a “Doctorate in research paper should be the first draft of a Economics with Specialization in Finance”, and the publishable research paper and should contain Ecole Polythechnique Fédérale de Lausanne a original theoretical or empirical work developed “Doctorate in Science with Specialization in independently by the student. Finance”. An extensive range of Master’s-level courses is available to Swiss Finance Institute PhD candidates wishing to complement their education during the first phase of their studies. 3 : SFI PhD Program in Finance : Current Students Over 100 students study at the institute’s various campuses. The student body is international in nature and its members come from many and varied backgrounds. Kornelia Fabisik (Slovak Republic) Regina Hammerschmid (Austria) Bachelor of Science in Business Diploma Studies of International Economic Administration with minor in Statistics, and Business Sciences with a major in Ludwig Maximilians University Munich, Finance, University of Innsbruck, Austria. Germany. Master of Science in Business Master of Finance, EDHEC Business Administration with major in Finance, School Nice, France. Currently an SFI PhD Ludwig Maximilians University Munich, student at the University of Zurich. Germany. Currently an SFI PhD student at Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne. Fulvia Fringuellotti (Italy) Sebastian Vogel (Germany) Bachelors in Economics, Financial Bachelor in Economics and Management, Markets and Intermediaries, LUISS Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Guido Carli University, Italy. Masters in Germany. Bachelors in Mathematics, The Economics and Finance, LUISS Guido University of Hagen, Germany. MSc in Finance Carli University, Italy. Currently an SFI with specialization in Investment Management, PhD student at the University of Zurich. The Stockholm School of Economics, Sweden. Currently an SFI PhD student at Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne. Virginia Gianinazzi (Switzerland) Sander Willems (Belgium) Bachelor of Economics, University of St. Bachelor of Science in Mathematics, Ghent Gallen, Switzerland. Master of Economics, University, Belgium. Master of Science in Barcelona Graduate School of Economics, Mathematics, Ghent University, Belgium. Spain. Currently an SFI PhD Student at Advanced Master in Quantitative Finance, the Università della Svizzera italiana. Solvay Brussels School of Economics and Management (ULB), Belgium. Currently an SFI PhD student at Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne. Jakub Hajda (Poland) Ye Zhang (China) Bachelor of Quantitative Methods in Bachelors in Economics, Central University Economics, Warsaw School of Economics, of Finance and Economics Beijing, China. Poland. Master of Quantitative Finance Masters in Finance, Renmin University of and Actuarial Science, Tilburg University, China, China. Currently an SFI PhD student Netherlands.Currently an SFI PhD student at the University of Geneva. at the University of Lausanne. 4 : SFI PhD Program in Finance : Faculty Members Swiss Finance Institute–Faculty Members (September 2018) With nearly 60 members, Swiss Finance Institute has one of the largest faculties in finance covering a wide selection of topics. Swiss Finance Institute Chairs Swiss Finance Institute Faculty Members Philippe Bacchetta Hansjoerg Albrecher Pierre Collin-Dufresne Giovanni Barone-Adesi François Degeorge Stefano Battiston Rüdiger Fahlenbrach Tony Berrada Damir Filipović Ines Chaieb Francesco Franzoni Patrick Cheridito Laurent Frésard Suzanne de Treville Amit Goyal Theodosios Dimopoulos Harald Hau Paul Embrechts Julien Hugonnier Walter Farkas Philipp Krüger Patrick Gagliardini Felix Kübler Manfred Gilli Semyon Malamud Michel Habib Loriano Mancini Thorsten Hens Antonio Mele Martin Hoesli Erwan Morellec Eric Jondeau Kjell G. Nyborg Pablo Koch Medina Steven Ongena Cosimo Munari Jean-Charles Rochet Artem Neklyudov Oliver Scaillet Boris Nikolov Paul Schneider Eric Nowak Norman Schürhoff Per Östberg Halil Mete Soner Marc Paolella Fabio Trojani Diane Pierret Alexander F. Wagner Alberto Plazzi Kerstin Preuschoff Michael Rockinger Martin Schweizer Didier Sornette Pascal St-Amour Roberto Steri Joseph Teichmann Joël Wagner 5 : SFI PhD Program in Finance : Graduates To date, over 160 candidates have graduated from the institutes. These graduates are now active in both academia and the industry. Further details of our alumni can be found on our website. Maria Cecilia Bustamante (Argentina) Gianpaolo Parise (Italy) B.S. and M.S. in Economics, Universidad Bachelor of Finance, Universita’ di Torcuato di Tella, Argentina. Master in Padova, Italy. Master of Economics, Economics, Finance and Management, Bocconi University, Italy. Visiting PhD Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Spain. PhD in student, Harvard University, USA. PhD Finance, the University of Lausanne and in Finance, Università della Svizzera