University of Southern California · United States
Finance PhD Program
The Finance PhD program at the University of Southern California (USC) Marshall School of Business is designed to prepare students for academic careers in financial economics. Financial economics focuses on how individuals and firms manage their resources, including how they raise and invest capital, and how financial assets are priced. The program delves into specific topics such as the determinants of asset returns, risk pricing, investor behavior, and trading mechanisms, as well as corporate finance areas like capital structure, payout policies, financial intermediation, venture capital, mergers and acquisitions, and corporate governance.
The program fosters a research-focused, collegial, and supportive environment where PhD students are treated as junior colleagues. This approach encourages early engagement in academic research with faculty, facilitated by a low student-to-faculty ratio and an open-door policy. Students benefit from frequent and meaningful interactions with faculty on research, career development, and teaching. Peer collaboration is also a key component, with students often working together on research projects.
Students participate in weekly scholarly presentations featuring invited faculty from around the world. Internal seminars and reading groups provide platforms for exchanging ideas and receiving feedback on research. Additionally, seminars in applied economics and macroeconomics are available to PhD students, enriching their academic experience and broadening their research perspectives.
