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When starting new research, the first step is usually a literature review: scanning what is already known about a given topic and figuring out where the gaps are. However, novice researchers tend to be anything but systematic in their literature review: they have no method for scanning the literature, and they usually have little idea of what is relevant and what is not. The Systematic Review method opens a way to create research syntheses that add real value and novel insight – in a way that is potentially publishable in its own right.

This module covers: Linear Algebra, Basics of Functional Analysis (e.g. convergence, continuity, classical fixed-point theorems, Theorem of the Maximum), Differentiation and Optimization (e.g. Lagrangian, KKT Theorem, Envelope Theorem), Probability Theory (e.g. cdf, pdf, expectation, conditional expectation), and Dynamic Programming.

Year one

The module has the objective to provide the students with econometric tools necessary to conduct their empirical research and discuss fundamentals of econometric theory behind them. Students will learn how to conduct - and how to critique - empirical studies in finance, economics and related fields. 

Year one

The course will focus on building a strong foundation in macroeconomic theory, particularly in analysing dynamic optimization problems. These techniques will be applied to a wide range of models to deepen students' understanding of topics like business cycles, long run growth, unemployment, and inequality. 

Year one

This course covers research issues that arise in the intersection of macroeconomics and finance. Topics include portfolio choice, general equilibrium models with heterogeneous agents and dynamic asset pricing models.

Year one

The module covers the main tools of microeconomic theory and focuses on preferences, consumer theory, choice under uncertainty, producer theory, and game theory. Time permitting, it introduces general equilibrium in competitive markets. The emphasis is on economic intuition as well as techniques. The fundamental concepts of microeconomic theory are discussed.

Year one

This module covers competitive equilibrium, markets with imperfect, competition and asymmetric information, general equilibrium, Social choice and mechanism design.

Year one

This module is taught in two parts, starting with a historical background, and then considering the theory of investment decisions, capital structure, financial innovation, and corporate governance.

Year one

The first part of this module deals with representative investors, portfolio choice and dynamic securities markets in discrete time before covering portfolio choice in continuous time and option pricing. The second part starts from the asset pricing implications of a general equilibrium Lucas-tree economy. Then, it discusses the main asset pricing puzzles implied by these economies. Finally, we will explore optimal portfolio choice, multiple trees economies and some of the latest attempts in the asset pricing literature to solve some of these puzzles.

Year one

This module is intended to give students practical experience of research preparation for their dissertation the following year. They will undertake research tasks under the supervision of a faculty member on a topic chosen by the faculty member. Students can select those projects that fit their research interests.

Year one

This module constitutes a rotation set of 10 guest speakers from the Business School Finance Department who are not already teaching on the Doctoral programme. Each speaker will present a piece of their own research to introduce you to their field(s) of speciality. 

Year two

This module will provide an introduction to the practice of applied microeconometrics. Students will learn the standard empirical methods in current use by applied researchers and be exposed to a handful of frontier approaches. The focus will be on implementation beyond simply estimating a parameter of interest: getting the standard errors right, validation and conducting appropriate robustness exercises, and adapting methods to fit new contexts.

Year two

This module builds on the first-year Topics in Finance and Economics module and is designed to inspire original research project ideas among second-year Finance students. Through a series of guest-led sessions, you will critically evaluate open questions across multiple areas of finance, explore approaches to addressing research questions and develop an original research project proposal grounded in the existing literature. The specific content will vary depending on the guest speaker.

This module will introduce you to the craft of research. You will develop the skills and knowledge you need to effectively produce research questions and hypotheses, ensuring consistency between theory, research design, methods and measures, and developing a clear and compelling argument.

This module covers research methods required in qualitative research. You will develop skills in all aspects of the research process, including research design, data collection, data analysis, theory building, writing up as well as reviewing papers and responding to referees. The module is essential for those who wish to author qualitative research but will also be useful for quantitative researchers.

This module provides an overview of the primary quantitative methods employed in management research. It will enable you to develop the ability to interpret the results of your own research as well as to critically assess the findings presented in other studies. The emphasis will be on the practical application of different estimation models using STATA rather than on the econometrics and mathematical specification.

In this module you will be introduced to a selection of most seminal papers in organisational behaviour with a particular focus on classic and contemporary theories, ongoing controversies, and ground-breaking empirical studies. The emphasis is on providing a foundational overview of the field.

This module will expose you to the major theoretical perspectives and issues studied in organisation theory research. You will also be exposed to a set of approaches to understanding how and why organisations form, survive and grow.

In this module you will develop the fundamentals of strategy including the theories of competitive advantage, industry analysis, understanding of resource based view/knowledge based view, and corporate strategy.

This module will offer a thorough theoretical understanding of the key themes of innovation research, combined with practical insights into the challenges of innovation management in organisations. You will address topics ranging from technological change, creativity, the role of networks in innovation, and appropriability/value capture from innovation.

This module introduces students to the major theoretical threads and debates in the field of entrepreneurship. Students will learn to make connections between theory and empirical research, practice critiquing and identifying insight in research, engage with fundamental debates in the field and formulate directions how the field may be further advanced.

This module will provide an introduction to the practice of applied microeconometrics. Students will learn the standard empirical methods in current use by applied researchers and be exposed to a handful of frontier approaches. The focus will be on implementation beyond simply estimating a parameter of interest: getting the standard errors right, validation and conducting appropriate robustness exercises, and adapting methods to fit new contexts.

The module has the objective to provide the students with econometric tools necessary to conduct their empirical research and discuss fundamentals of econometric theory behind them. Students will learn how to conduct - and how to critique - empirical studies in finance, economics and related fields.

The course will focus on building a strong foundation in macroeconomic theory, particularly in analysing dynamic optimization problems. These techniques will be applied to a wide range of models to deepen students' understanding of topics like business cycles, long run growth, unemployment, and inequality. 

This course covers research issues that arise in the intersection of macroeconomics and finance. Topics include portfolio choice, general equilibrium models with heterogeneous agents and dynamic asset pricing models.

The module covers the main tools of microeconomic theory and focuses on preferences, consumer theory, choice under uncertainty, producer theory, and game theory. Time permitting, it introduces general equilibrium in competitive markets. The emphasis is on economic intuition as well as techniques. The fundamental concepts of microeconomic theory are discussed.

This module covers competitive equilibrium, markets with imperfect, competition and asymmetric information, general equilibrium, Social choice and mechanism design. 

This module is intended to give students practical experience of research preparation for their dissertation the following year. They will undertake research tasks under the supervision of a faculty member on a topic chosen by the faculty member. Students can select those projects that fit their research interests.

This module constitutes a rotation set of 10 guest speakers from the Business School Finance Department who are not already teaching on the Doctoral programme. Each speaker will present a piece of their own research to introduce you to their field(s) of speciality. 

After the introductory and compulsory modules, you will choose elective modules in years one and two. You may also take a module at a partner institution, subject to availability.

• Advanced Topics in Asset Pricing and Corporate Finance
• Applied Microeconometrics I
• Asset Pricing Theory
• Asset Pricing Theory Behavioural Topics in Marketing
• Causal Modelling for Business Analytics
• Corporate Finance
• Corporate Sustainability
• Consumer Behaviour
• Cross Sectional Asset Pricing
• Decision Making Under Uncertainty
• Deep Learning and Generative AI
• Developing Theory and Theoretical Contribution
• Digital Marketing Analytics
• Digital Markets, Organisations and Platforms
• Dynamic Programming
• Econometrics
• Empirical Asset Pricing
• Empirical Industrial Organisation
• Entrepreneurship
• Experimental Design and Analysis
• Financial Economics of Climate and Sustainability
• Foundations of Quantitative Marketing
• Frontiers of Marketing Science
• Industrial Organisation
• Innovation Management
• Machine Learning and Text Analysis for Social Science
• Machine Learning for Analytics
• Macroeconomics I
• Macroeconomics II
• Micro Development Economics
• Microeconomics I
• Microeconomics II
• Optimisation & Decision Models
• Organisational Behaviour
• Organisational Learning, Behavioural Strategy and Luck
• Organisational Theory
• Qualitative Methods I
• Qualitative Methods II
• Quantitative Methods
• Stochastic Processes
• Strategy
• Sustainable Behaviour
• Theory in Consumer Psychology
• Topics in Empirical Banking
• Topics in Environmental and Resource Economics
• Topics in Health Economics
• Topics in Household Finance

You will select one of the following elective modules in year two:

• Advanced Topics in Asset Pricing and Corporate Finance
• Behavioural Topics in Marketing
• Consumer Behaviour
• Corporate Sustainability
• Cross Sectional Asset Pricing
• Decision Making Under Uncertainty
• Developing Theory and Theoretical Contribution (previously called Interdisciplinary Research)
• Digital Markets, Organisations and Platforms
• Dynamic Programming
• Entrepreneurship
• Empirical Asset Pricing
• Empirical Industrial Organisation
• Experimental Design and Analysis
• Financial Economics of Climate and Sustainability
• Foundations of Quantitative Marketing
• Frontiers of Marketing Science
• Industrial Organisation
• Innovation Management
• Machine Learning and Text Analysis for Social Science
• Machine Learning for Analytics
• Micro Development Economics
• Optimisation
• Organisational Learning, Behavioural Strategy, and Luck
• Organisational Behaviour
• Organisational Theory
• Qualitative Methods I
• Qualitative Methods II
• Quantitative Methods I
• Strategy
• Stochastic Processes
• Sustainable Behaviour
• Theory in Consumer Psychology
• Topics in Empirical Banking
• Topics in Environmental and Resource Economics
• Topics in Health Economics
• Topics in Household Finance

You will select one of the following elective modules in year one:

• Advanced Topics in Asset Pricing and Corporate Finance
• Applied Microeconometrics I
• Asset Pricing Theory
• Behavioural Topics in Marketing
• Consumer Behaviour
• Corporate Finance
• Corporate Sustainability
• Cross Sectional Asset Pricing
• Decision Making Under Uncertainty
• Developing Theory and Theoretical Contribution
• Digital Markets, Organisations and Platforms
• Dynamic Programming
• Econometrics
• Empirical Asset Pricing
• Empirical Industrial Organisation
• Financial Economics of Climate and Sustainability
• Foundations of Quantitative Marketing
• Frontiers of Marketing Science
• Industrial Organisation
• Machine Learning and Text Analysis for Social Science
• Machine Learning for Analytics
• Macroeconomics I
• Macroeconomics II
• Micro Development Economics
• Microeconomics I
• Microeconomics II
• Optimisation
• Organisational Learning, Behavioural Strategy, and Luck
• Qualitative Methods II
• Stochastic Processes
• Sustainable Behaviour
• Theory in Consumer Psychology
• Topics in Empirical Banking
• Topics in Environmental and Resource Economics
• Topics in Finance and Economics
• Topics in Health Economics
• Topics in Household Finance

You will select one of the following elective modules in year one:

• Advanced Topics in Asset Pricing and Corporate Finance
• Asset Pricing Theory
• Behavioural Topics in Marketing
• Consumer Behaviour
• Corporate Finance
• Corporate Sustainability
• Cross Sectional Asset Pricing
• Decision Making Under Uncertainty
• Developing Theory and Theoretical Contribution
• Digital Markets, Organisations and Platforms
• Dynamic Programming
• Empirical Asset Pricing
• Empirical Industrial Organisation
• Entrepreneurship
• Financial Economics of Climate and Sustainability
• Foundations of Quantitative Marketing
• Frontiers of Marketing Science
• Industrial Organisation
• Innovation Management
• Machine Learning and Text Analysis for Social Science
• Machine Learning for Analytics
• Micro Development Economics
• Optimisation
• Organisational Behaviour
• Organisational Learning, Behavioural Strategy, and Luck
• Organisational Theory
• Qualitative Methods I
• Qualitative Methods II
• Quantitative Methods
• Stochastic Processes
• Strategy
• Sustainable Behaviour
• Theory in Comsumer Psychology
• Topics in Empirical Banking
• Topics in Environmental and Resource Economics
• Topics in Health Economics
• Topics in Household Finance

It is expected that you will undertake further training where you will delve deeper into your chosen field. Under the guidance of your supervisor, you will develop a training plan to identify which courses may be the most suitable for your training, whether at Imperiaor externally. You will also have the opportunity to give seminars on your research and receive constructive feedback and development.

When you begin the PhD you will be required to secure a primary and secondary supervisor, based on your research interests. The supervisor-student relationship is the foundation for a successful doctoral thesis. Your supervisors will help you develop your research question, identify research and teaching opportunities, and support you through your studies. They are also well-placed to advise and support you in the academic job application process.

At the end of your first year you will take part in the Early Stage Assessment (ESA). The ESA comprises a written paper and a presentation. You will present your research question, the work you have done to date, and the future research activities you plan to carry out to complete the project, in front of a panel of faculty and your fellow doctoral students. 

The purpose of the ESA is not only to assess your personal progress, but it also gives you the opportunity to discuss your work at its early stages and get feedback and ideas from faculty to improve your research.

Being part of the School’s inspirational research community is a crucial aspect of the doctoral experience – as is gaining familiarity with cutting-edge research from world-leading academics. Each department runs seminars where internal and external academics discuss their latest work, offering insight into unpublished research and valuable networking opportunities. 

You will also have the opportunity to take part in international conferences where you can present your own research and participate in doctoral consortia. We offer some funding to support you in this.

In year two, you are required to present your research progress for a second time and receive feedback and advice on the direction and scope of your research, during the Late Stage Review.

Your Doctoral studies are the beginning of a rewarding and innovative career in academia and we are committed to preparing you to become internationally competitive. You will have the opportunity to participate in workshops, and your supervisors and faculty will support you to prepare a compelling Job Market Paper – the centrepiece of your academic portfolio.