This part-time PhD programme in Finance at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam is designed for finance professionals and leaders seeking to deepen their expertise through rigorous academic research.
With its robust curriculum and emphasis on practical application, our programme provides a pathway to academic and professional excellence. Furthermore, you will be supervised by internationally acclaimed finance professors, who are also a part of our renowned Finance Department at the School of Business and Economics at VU Amsterdam.
Programme Highlights:
- Duration: 4 years, part-time (depending on progress).
- Structure: Module-based curriculum with 6 intensive sessions annually (3 days per module).
- Focus and Research Areas: Corporate Finance, Asset Pricing, Banking, Behavioral Finance, Sustainable Finance, FinTech, and more.
- Deliverables: Four high-quality academic papers, forming the PhD dissertation.
Year-by-Year Progression:
Year 1: Foundations of research, focusing on academic writing, statistics, and drafting a PhD proposal. Deliverables include a systematic literature review, a PhD proposal, and a seminar presentation (15 ECTS).
Year 2: Advanced research skills with emphasis on research design, data analysis, and exploring current topics in finance. Participants produce an empirical paper and present it in a seminar (15 ECTS).
Year 3: Specialisation and dissemination, including optional modules on advanced academic writing, publishing, and presenting at conferences. Deliverables include a second empirical paper (5 ECTS optional).
Year 4: Dissertation completion, focusing on finalising research and integrating findings into a cohesive PhD manuscript. Participants produce a third empirical paper and prepare the defence of their dissertation.
