PhD scholarships in Finance 2024

The Department of Finance at the Copenhagen Business School invites applications for PhD scholarships in finance – both under the traditional three-year PhD scheme and under the 4+4 PhD scheme. Several scholarships are potentially available within any area of finance including scholarships within special focus areas.  These special focus areas include big data in finance, pension finance, and housing and mortgage finance. The application process is a joint process, and all applications will be considered for all types of scholarships.

For the scholarships, we welcome applications in all areas of finance including:

• Financial markets
• Securities pricing
• Risk management
• Corporate finance
• Entrepreneurial finance
• Household finance
• Behavioral finance
• Fintech
• Big data in finance
• Pension finance
• Housing and mortgage finance

Applicants accepted for the special focus scholarships on big data in finance will be associated with the Center for Big Data in Finance , a Center of Excellence established by the Danish National Research Foundation. These scholars should pursue ambitious projects using big data in any area of finance, such as asset pricing, machine learning, ESG investing, how social networks affect finance, research replicability, regulatory data in finance, financial institutions, and individual investor behavior.

Applicants accepted for the special focus scholarships in pension finance will be associated with the Pension Research Centre (PeRCent) . Topics in pension finance include, but are not limited to, household investment decisions over the life cycle, individuals’ assets, debt and consumption decisions before and after retirement, pension fund investments, asset-liability management and pension fund regulation. PeRCent is funded in co-operation between Copenhagen Business School (CBS) and partners from the pension sector in Denmark. More information about PeRCent can be found at www.cbs.dk/pct .

Applicants accepted for the special focus scholarships in housing and mortgage finance will be associated with the research project “Households and the Housing Market”. This research project is funded by the Independent Research Fund of Denmark. It investigates how households make housing and mortgage decisions, what drives house prices, and how financial regulation affects household behavior and equilibrium outcomes in the housing and mortgage market. Read more about the project here and contact Kathrin Schlafmann ([email protected] ) for questions.

All scholarships initially cover a three-year period of study (four years if the candidate is enrolled under the 4+4 PhD scheme). Extended funding is available for successful candidates who wish to pursue an academic career.

PhD students are required to teach. The teaching responsibilities of the Department include undergraduate and graduate teaching in finance and statistics.

About the program
The three-year PhD program at CBS allows students to conduct research under the supervision of CBS faculty, supported by research focused PhD courses. The program is highly international, and students are expected to participate in international research conferences and to spend time abroad at another research institution as a visiting PhD student. Students are also expected to actively participate in the Department’s research activities, such as seminars and conferences organized by the Department.

PhD students from the Department of Finance have become researchers at leading universities and business schools, such as University of Chicago (Booth), Yale School of Management, London Business School, EPFL Lausanne, Bocconi University, BI Oslo, WU Vienna, University of Virginia (Darden School), Rotterdam School of Management, and Cass (now Bayes) Business School, and at the Federal Reserve Board (Washington), Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, Goldman Sachs, Cornerstone Research, and in leading Danish financial institutions.

Copenhagen Business School has a broad commitment to the excellence, distinctiveness, and relevance of its teaching and research programmes. Candidates who wish to join us should demonstrate enthusiasm for working in such an environment.

The starting date is normally August 1 or September 1 but may be agreed upon individually.

For further information please contact: Natalie Soudani, [email protected] . Please see the CBS website for more information about Department of Finance .

Appointment
Appointment and salary will be in accordance with the Ministry of Finance’s agreement with the Central Academic Organisation. Questions related to the 4+4 PhD salary please contact Natalie Soudani [email protected] .

General information
A PhD scholarship runs for a period of 3 years and includes teaching obligations equivalent of half a year’s work (840 work hours). The scholarships are fully salaried positions, according to the national Danish collective agreement. The scholarship includes tuition fees, office space, course and travel costs (according to the current CBS agreement). The monthly salary is currently starting from app. DKK 28,993 (app. 3,886.00 €) per month up to app. DKK 35,015 (app. 4,693.00 €), depending on seniority, and includes an additional pension contribution totalling 17.1%.

Following an offer of employment, the successful applicant has to be enrolled in the CBS PhD School. Further information about CBS PhD scholarships and the PhD programme can be found at https://www.cbs.dk/en/research/phd-programme .

Requirements
To be considered, the candidate should have a basic education at the Master’s level (similar to the 3+2 Bologna process). The applicant must have successfully completed the Master’s degree before commencing PhD at CBS, but we also welcome applications from individuals close to completion of the Master’s degree. Generally, a completed MBA education does not fulfil this requirement. The applicants must be fluent in English.

For admittance to the 4+4 PhD scheme, the candidate must have completed a bachelor’s degree (or equivalent) and have passed subjects corresponding to 60 ECTS in a relevant master’s program within the CBS’ subject areas. Applicants who are not enrolled in a master’s program at CBS will be assessed by the CBS Admissions Office.

The successful applicant must have shown academic excellence with a record of top grades from previously completed programs. Priority will be given to candidates who have both a strong quantitative background and strong previous training in financial economics, and who have high grades from their previous programs.

Application procedure
The application (see link below) must include a five-page project description. This research proposal should contain a presentation of an original research question, a description of the initial theoretical framework and methodology, a presentation of the suggested empirical material, as well as a work-plan.

Please see the CBS website for more information about admission here: https://www.cbs.dk/en/research/phd-programmes/admission  

In addition to the research proposal, the application must include copies of bachelor’s and Master’s degree certificates (bachelor’s degree certificate is sufficient if applying under the 4+4 PhD scheme) or other certificates of a corresponding level, brief curriculum vitae, a list of papers and publications, if relevant, and one example of a selected written work (e.g. Master’s thesis).

Applicants must enclose documentation for English language skills. Documentation of GRE and/or GMAT scores as well as two letters of recommendation are strongly encouraged. GRE and GMAT scores should be uploaded as documents in the application process or alternatively sent directly to Natalie Soudani, [email protected] . For submitting letters of reference, please have them sent directly to Natalie Soudani.

Recruitment procedure
The Recruitment Committee expects to conduct a shortlisting of applicants to be assessed by the Assessment Committee. All applicants will be notified of their status in the recruitment process shortly after the application deadline.

Applicants selected for assessment will be notified about the composition of the Assessment Committee and will receive their personal assessment later. Selected applicants will be invited for an interview. Please note that a positive assessment does not automatically result in an interview.  Once the recruitment process is completed each applicant will be notified of the outcome of their application.

Closing date: February 29, 2024.

The application must be submitted via the electronic recruitment system, using the link below.

Copenhagen Business School must receive all application materials, including all appendices (see items above), by the application deadline.

One of CBS’ strategic goals is the promotion of diversity, which is why every effort has been made to ensure a recruitment process that reduces potential bias. Applicants are therefore encouraged not to include a photo or unnecessary personal information in their application.

Details about Copenhagen Business School and the department are available at www.cbs.dk .

Closing date: 29 February 2024.

Apply online

CBS is a globally recognised business school with deep roots in the Nordic socio-economic model. Our faculty has a broad focus on societal challenges, and we have earned a reputation for high-quality disciplinary and interdisciplinary research and education. 

We are located at Frederiksberg and have approximately 20,000 full and part-time students, 800 full-time faculty members, 200 PhD students and 700 administrative staff, and a full portfolio of bachelor, master, MBA/EMBA, PhD and executive programmes taught in English and Danish. 

Our global profile carries the obligation to address critical challenges in our research and to develop the transformational capabilities of students, graduates and business leaders via our educational activities and opportunities for lifelong learning. Complex challenges call for joint action, and therefore our strategy focuses on strengthening current and starting new partnerships with other sciences, the business community, authorities and civil society.

CBS is working continuously on becoming a diverse and inclusive organisation, and we encourage all regardless of gender identity and expression, ethnicity, religious beliefs, LGBT+ status, cultural background etc. to apply.
Reach out to us if you need assistance in the application or recruitment process, if there is something we should know, or if as a person with disability you wish to make use of your preferential access.