PhD, MPhil Accounting & finance

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Research Opportunities

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Research opportunities

We provide research training in both accounting and finance which will prepare you for a demanding career as:

an academic
a professional researcher in the financial services sector
a manager of a business, government and professional organisations

You can study an MPhil over the course of one year or a PhD over three years.

Under specific circumstances and subject to conditions, part-time study can be arranged.

You can study any option in either of our research areas:

Accounting

This is an opportunity for you to develop the theoretical competencies required to understand the role of accounting in organisations and society.

You'll follow an interdisciplinary approach to the technical and institutional practices that makes accounting a specific social practice.

We offer expertise in exploring the sociological, institutional and political approaches in the search for a thesis topic. We also assist with the methods used to produce new knowledge.

Finance

You'll develop the theoretical and empirical skills necessary to make a contribution to the latest research in your chosen area. In your first year, you'll work with your supervisor to identify areas of interest and develop an agenda for your PhD thesis. We encourage you to consider both theoretical and empirical issues as part of your agenda in consultation with your supervisors.

You'll learn to design and carry out research plans based on an understanding of theoretical and methodological issues. You're expected to develop the philosophical, technical and ethical awareness required to produce high-quality research.

View our current research opportunities

THE Awards 2019: UK University of the Year Winner

Strathclyde Business School

We offer an excellent academic environment where you can pursue your research degree. As a postgraduate research student, you're required to:

attend the Strathclyde Business School Faculty Research Methodology Programme, achieving a minimum of Certificate level; it comprises four modules over two to three days each; if you're part-time, you'll spread these over two years
ensure regular meetings and contact with your supervisors

Full-time students

You'll have access to computing/hot-desking, printing, email and kitchen facilities. You're expected to be in the Department on a regular basis. You'll also attend the Department's research seminar series as well as other occasional workshops.

Part-time students

You'll have hot-desking facilities giving you regular access to the Department and helping you integrate with other students and staff. You're required to attend the Department for at least 10 days per year. This is in addition to the Research Methodology Programme.

Potential applicants should note that there is no dedicated distance-learning programme.

Triple-accredited business school

Fees & funding

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Fees & funding

All fees quoted are per academic year unless otherwise stated.

Entrants may be subject to a small fee during the writing up period.

2021/22

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Scotland	£4,500
England, Wales & Northern Ireland	£4,500
International	£16,000
Additional costs	The cost of fieldwork or research trips would usually be met by the student. Students can apply for funding to cover conference participation. If a student chooses to study overseas, the costs would be met by the student. This is not a requirement for our programme. Graduation gown hire.
Funding	Find any available funding opportunities on our scholarship search.
Postgraduate research opportunities	Search for all funded and non-funded postgraduate research opportunities.

Please note: the fees shown are annual and may be subject to an increase each year.

Supervisors

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Supervisors

If you're interested in studying for a research degree we recommend that you identify members of staff with relevant expertise before applying. You should email the member of staff to chat about the potential for supervision, explaining how your proposed research topic relates to their research interests.

If your chosen supervisor is available to work with you, they'll confirm this you should then make a full application via Pegasus.

Name	Contact	Areas of interest
Professor Graeme Acheson	graeme.acheson@strath.ac.uk	I am interested in applying contemporary econometric techniques to historical settings, to better understand financial market and business development I am happy to consider PhD applications with an interest in Financial, Business or Economic History
Professor Dimitris Andriosopoulos	d.andriosopoulos@strath.ac.uk	Corporate Finance & Corporate Governance Regulatory Frameworks & Political Economy CSR/ESG Green Finance & Sustainability
Dr Devraj Basu	devraj.basu@strath.ac.uk	Empirical Asset Pricing: Performance of various asset pricing models in US and international contexts. Also issues of spanning and intersection. Conditional Asset Pricing: Constructing and analyzing performance of asset pricing models when conditioning information in the form of predictive variables is incorporated Investment Performance Measurement: Analyzing performance of investment vehicles such as mutual funds and hedge funds Commodities: Performance of commodity-based asset pricing models, commodity indices Effect of financialization on commodity markets
Dr James Bowden	james.bowden@strath.ac.uk	Applied Machine Learning in Finance Sentiment Analysis Investor Behaviour on Social Media Behavioural Finance Activist Short-Sellers
Dr Andrea Coulson	a.b.coulson@strath.ac.uk	Social and environmental accounting Accounting for risk
Dr Anees Farrukh	anees.farrukh@strath.ac.uk	Critical and sustainable accounting
Professor Jonathan Fletcher	j.fletcher@strath.ac.uk	Fund performance - this can involve evaluating the performance of a sample of managed funds, either open-end or closed-end funds. You can select either domestic or international funds. Test of asset pricing models - this area can evaluate a range of asset pricing models or focus on a small number of models Portfolio choice - topics can include performance of international diversification strategies or other asset allocation studies Investment trusts - topics can include factors that explain the discount, IPO performance of investment trusts, choice of open-end v closed-end funds
Professor David Hillier	david.hillier@strath.ac.uk	Corporate Finance and Corporate Governance Corporate Insider Trading
Dr Yu-Lin Hsu	yulin.hsu@strath.ac.uk	Financial Reporting (corporate decision-making in accounting) IFRS Earnings Management Non-Financial Reporting (CSR; carbon emission) Corporate Governance
Dr Kyung Yoon	kyung.kwon@strath.ac.uk	Empirical asset pricing Market anomalies in the international stock and commodity futures markets Risk premiums in commodity futures markets Market microstructure Impact of market regulation Trading behaviours of market pa
Dr Panagiotis Loukopoulos	panagiotis.loukopoulos@strath.ac.uk	Corporate Finance & Corporate Governance CSR/ESG Initial Public Offerings Executive compensation incentives Political risk Earnings management Audit research
Professor Andrew Marshall	a.marshall@strath.ac.uk	Interest rate risk/FX risk management – empirical studies Reasons for/market reaction to/pricing of the issuance of hybrid securities, i.e. convertibles, zero coupon bonds or preference shares Theories of hedging Capital structure theory Bonds Small and Medium sized companies (AIM listed companies) – hedging, performance, capital structure, cash management Market reaction to layoffs FDI
Dr Patrick McColgan	patrick.mccolgan@strath.ac.uk	Corporate finance and investment decisions Corporate restructuring, asset divestitures and employee layoffs
Dr Livia Pancotto	livia.pancotto@strath.ac.uk	Banking Regulation International Banking Financial Stability and Systemic Risk Financial Markets and Intermediaries Credit Derivatives
Professor Krishna Paudyal	krishna.paudyal@strath.ac.uk	Corporate financial decisions Investments Market microstructure
Dr Tiago Rodrigues Loncan	tiago.rodrigues-loncan@strath.ac.uk	International finance and economics Corporate financial and investment decisions Foreign direct and portfolio investments Political economy of finance Emerging markets finance
Dr Julia Smith	Julia.smith@strath.ac.uk	Empirical quantitative and qualitative research in a number of core areas, as follows: Management accounting, including the use of accounting information systems for effective management, decision-making and control of performance Strategic organisational and financial management in small firms, entrepreneurship, SME financing and financial reporting in the small business Accountability in social and hybrid enterprises
Leilei Tang	leilei.tang@strath.ac.uk	Financial modelling Stock index futures Credit scoring
Dr Chandra Thapa	chandra.thapa@strath.ac.uk	Shock based research in corporate finance (e.g. impact of regulation, unexpected election results, natural disasters, unexpected policy announcement, change in transaction costs, addition of stocks to specialized index, death of key corporate officers, announcement of fraudulent activities, economic/financial/banking crises, prolonged period of uncertainty (e.g. brexit) etc.). Any announcement or revelation that the investment community or market was not expecting. Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) issues of investment firms and corporation Climate Corporate Finance Effect of better corporate social responsibility Role of institutional investors in corporate policies Trading of foreign investors in emerging markets Effect of corporate governance reforms, including creditor protection reforms Investment policies, risk taking and innovations in emerging markets Insider trading in emerging markets IPOs in emerging markets
Dr Hai Zhang	hai.zhang@strath.ac.uk	Entrepreneurial Finance SME Capital Structure Portfolio optimization Asset Pricing, CAPM Hedge Funds

Support & development

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Support & development

Postgraduate Certificate in Researcher Professional Development (PgCert RPD) programme

As part of your PhD degree, you'll be enrolled on the Postgraduate Certificate in Researcher Professional Development (PgCert RPD).

The certificate is designed to support you with your research and rewards you for things you'll do as a research student here. It'll help you improve skills which are important to professional development and employability such as:

knowledge and intellectual abilities to conduct your research
personal qualities to succeed in your research and chosen career
standards, requirements and conduct of a professional researcher in your discipline
working with others and communicating the impact of your research to a wide range of audiences

All you have to do is plan these activities alongside your doctorate, documenting and reflecting your journey to success along the way.

Find out more about the PgCert RPD programme.

Doctoral Training Centre

We have taken a lead (with Edinburgh University) in providing advanced training to Doctoral Training Centre students across Scotland. From 2013, the two institutions have collaborated to offer three intensive doctoral-level courses:

Corporate Finance
Empirical Accounting
Qualitative Accounting

Our aim is to train skilled students who will be able to compete with the best graduates in their future careers.

Careers

The University Careers Service can help you with everything from writing your CV to interview preparation. Take a look at our Careers Service pages to get more information.

Student support

From financial advice to our IT facilities, we have a wide range of support for all students here at Strathclyde. Get all the information you need at Strathlife.

Postgraduate research at the Strathclyde Doctoral School

The Strathclyde Doctoral School provides a vibrant and comprehensive student-centred research and training environment in order to grow and support current and future research talent. The School encompasses our four faculties and is committed to enriching the student experience, intensifying research outputs and opportunities, and ensuring training is at the highest level. As a postgraduate researcher, you'll automatically become a member of the Strathclyde Doctoral School.

Find out more about the Doctoral School

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International students

We've a thriving international community with students coming here to study from over 100 countries across the world. Find out all you need to know about studying in Glasgow at Strathclyde and hear from students about their experiences.

Visit our international students' section

Map of the world.

Interested in undertaking a postgraduate research degree at Strathclyde?

Download our step-by-step guide on how to submit your application.

How to apply

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Entry requirements

Focus in Accounting

Honours degree and Masters degree in accounting (or equivalent). Qualified and part-qualified accountants with first degree in social sciences or humanities are also encouraged to apply.

Focus in Finance

Masters degree or equivalent, particularly in finance, economics, accounting or mathematics.

English language requirements

If English isn't your first language, you'll also need to have a recent UKVI recognised Secure English Language Test (or a SELT) qualification. IELTS – minimum overall score of 6.5 with no individual element below 5.5

Before you apply

Writing your research proposal

Read our guidance on how to write your research proposal.

Getting a reference

Read our help on how to choose references and what the referees need to supply.

The application

During the application you'll be asked for the following:

your full contact details
transcripts and certificates of all degrees
proof of English language proficiency if you're applying as an international student
two references, one of which must be academic
funding or scholarship information
research proposal detailing the subject area and topic to be investigated; please use our Postgraduate Research Proposal Outline and attach this with your application

By filling these details out as fully as possible, you'll avoid any delay to your application being processed by the University.

Accepting an offer

part-time

Start date: Oct 2020 - Sep 2021

Apply now

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Contact us

Natalie Wilson

Programme Administrator

Telephone: +44 (0)141 553 5793

Email: natalie.l.wilson@strath.ac.uk