UCLA Finance PhD Program: Placement, Research, and Academic Excellence

The UCLA Anderson School of Management's Finance area boasts a long-standing reputation as a top-tier program, consistently recognized among the world's best. This article delves into the program's strengths, research focus, placement record, application insights, and overall academic environment, drawing upon information from the UCLA Anderson website and related sources.

A Quantitative Discipline with a Collaborative Spirit

Finance, as a subject, is inherently quantitative. The UCLA Anderson Finance PhD program reflects this, emphasizing rigorous research aimed at publication and impact in leading academic finance journals. A defining characteristic of the program is its strong culture of collaboration. Faculty members across all ranks actively engage with PhD students, fostering a supportive and intellectually stimulating environment. It is common for advanced PhD students to co-author papers with both junior and senior faculty. Many impactful research publications in finance have emerged from collaborations between individuals who met at UCLA, including both faculty and PhD students.

Research Focus and Faculty Expertise

The finance faculty at UCLA Anderson are renowned for their expertise across a wide range of specializations, including:

Corporate Finance
Macroeconomics
Asset Pricing
Derivatives
Investments
Behavioral Finance

This diverse expertise allows students to explore various research areas and find mentorship that aligns with their interests. The program encourages students to develop a passion for excellent research in finance. Through mentorship and collaboration, the program prepares students for distinguished academic careers.

Placement Record and Alumni Success

UCLA Anderson's Finance PhD program prides itself on its strong placement record. Graduates consistently secure positions as researchers at prestigious business schools worldwide. This success is a testament to the program's rigorous training, faculty mentorship, and the high quality of research produced by its students.

Notable Alumni

Several UCLA Anderson Finance PhD graduates have achieved significant recognition in the field. Here are a few examples:

Tobias J. Moskowitz: Professor of Finance at Yale School of Management, formerly the Fama Family Professor of Finance at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. He is a recipient of numerous honors and awards and is recognized as one of UCLA Anderson's Inspirational 100 alumni.
Joshua Coval: His research investigates the structured finance market and how investor reliance on ratings and unsound pricing models led to the spectacular rise and collapse thereof. His research awards include the 2000 and 2005 Smith-Breeden Prize for the best paper in the Journal of Finance.
William F. Sharpe: Winner of the 1990 Nobel Prize in Economic Science, Sharpe was mentored at UCLA by the late Professor J. Fred Weston. Sharpe was one of the originators of the Capital Asset Pricing Model and developed the Sharpe Ratio for investment performance analysis.

Recent Graduates

Here is a list of recent UCLA Finance PhD graduates:

Wenjing He (Ph.D.)
Danyu Zhang (Ph.D.)
Gabriel Cuevas Rodriguez (Ph.D.)
Paul Momtaz (Ph.D.)
Denis Mokanov (Ph.D.)
Edward Kim (Ph.D.)
Paul Huebner (Ph.D.)
Salil Gadgil (Ph.D.)
Ljubica Georgievska (Ph.D.)
Wenyu Meng (Ph.D.)
James O'Neill (Ph.D.)
Clinton Tepper (Ph.D.)
Yu Shi (Ph.D.)
Brett Dunn (Ph.D.)
Geoffery Zheng (Ph.D.)
Alex Fabisiak (Ph.D.)
Chady Gemayel (Ph.D.)
Mahyar Kargar (Ph.D.)
Darren Aiello (Ph.D.)
Patrick Kiefer (Ph.D.)
Zhipeng Li (Ph.D.)
Rafael Porsani (Ph.D.)
Eric Cho (Ph.D.)
Shenje Hshieh (Ph.D.)
Nimesh Patel (Ph.D.)
Jiasun Li (Ph.D.)
Robert Richmond (Ph.D.)
Yuji Sakurai (Ph.D.)
Yaron Levi (Ph.D.)
Aurelien Philippot (Ph.D.)
Brian Waters (Ph.D.)
Florian Schulz (Ph.D.)
Xiaolan Zhang (Ph.D.)
Shaun Davies (Ph.D.)
Phillip Wool (Ph.D.)
Saurabh Ahluwalia (Ph.D.)
Priyank Gandhi (Ph.D.)
Michael Nowotny (Ph.D.)
Konark Saxena (Ph.D.)
Alberto Plazzi (Ph.D.)
Cesare Fracassi (Ph.D.)
Albert Sheen (Ph.D.)
Ehud Peleg (Ph.D.)
Yuzhao Zhang (Ph.D.)
Yi Zhou (Ph.D.)
Brett Myers (Ph.D.)
Juhani Linnainmaa (Ph.D.)
Alessio Saretto (Ph.D.)
Selale Tuzel (Ph.D.)
Laura Frieder (Ph.D.)
Justin Sai Pang Chan (Ph.D.)
Martin Dierker (Ph.D.)
Ashley Wenqing Wang (Ph.D.)
Shingo Goto (Ph.D.)
Amit Goyal (Ph.D.)
Bing Han (Ph.D.)
Jiang Luo (Ph.D.)
Shu Yan (Ph.D.)
Felipe Aguerrevere (Ph.D.)
Augusto Castillo (Ph.D.)
Pansy Lin (Ph.D.)
Yihong Xia (Ph.D.)

Mindy Zhang is a recipient of the 2014 Trefftzs Award for Best Student Paper, WFA; and the 2014 Yihong Xia Best Paper Award, CICF. In 2016, Robert Richmond earned the Conference on International Finance Best Paper Award (2016), the Cubist Systematic Strategies Ph.D. Candidate Award for Outstanding Research and the Xavier Drèze award for most outstanding Ph.D. research paper.

Admissions and Application Insights

The UCLA Anderson Doctoral Program is highly selective, seeking candidates with a strong passion for research and the potential to make significant contributions to the field of finance.

Key Application Considerations:

Quantitative Skills: The program is geared towards students with strong quantitative skills. Applicants with quantitative test scores below the 90th percentile may face a difficult time during the admission process.
Relevant Coursework GPA: Admissions committee expects A's in math and economic courses.
Reference Letters: Strong reference letters from academic researchers are crucial. Letters from researchers that the admission committee recognize and trust are very important.
MFE Degree: Having a top-school MFE degree can be beneficial, as it allows candidates to demonstrate their performance against other strong students and facilitates interactions with potential recommenders.

The admission committee does not expect applicants to have a fully formed research agenda or to write lengthy essays about their lifelong passion for finance. They understand that these are often artificial constructs.

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Research Environment and Opportunities

UCLA Anderson provides a rich research environment for its PhD students. Students have access to top-notch research facilities and the opportunity to collaborate with world-renowned scholars. The program emphasizes rigorous research and encourages students to push the boundaries of business knowledge.

Collaborative Research

The program fosters a collaborative environment where students can work closely with faculty members on research projects. This collaboration provides valuable mentorship and allows students to gain experience in all aspects of the research process, from developing research questions to publishing findings.

Access to Resources

UCLA Anderson provides students with access to a wide range of research resources, including databases, software, and computing facilities. These resources enable students to conduct cutting-edge research and contribute to the advancement of knowledge in the field of finance.

UCLA vs. UCSD: A Comparison

When considering PhD programs in finance, prospective students may weigh the relative strengths of different institutions. One applicant, admitted to both UCSD and UCLA's Economics PhD programs, expressed their thought process. While UCSD is considered stronger in time series econometrics, UCLA is perceived as potentially stronger in finance, particularly due to its highly-regarded business school and finance department within the Anderson School of Management. The applicant considered the possibility of collaborating with faculty at the business school, even while enrolled in the Economics PhD program.

Rankings can also play a role in the decision-making process. In this instance, EconPhD.net ranked UCSD #21 and UCLA #11, while NRC rankings placed UCSD at #16 and UCLA at #11. Rankings should not be the sole determinant, but they can provide a general sense of a program's reputation.

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The Importance of Program Fit

Ultimately, the best PhD program for an individual depends on their specific research interests, career goals, and learning style. Factors to consider include:

Faculty Expertise: Does the program have faculty members whose research aligns with your interests?
Research Opportunities: Does the program offer opportunities for collaborative research and access to necessary resources?
Placement Record: Does the program have a strong track record of placing graduates in desirable academic positions?
Program Culture: Does the program foster a supportive and collaborative environment?

Broader Considerations for PhD Program Selection

Beyond UCLA and UCSD, prospective PhD students in finance should consider a range of top programs across the country. Some standout schools include:

Stanford
UC Berkeley
Chicago
Northwestern
NYU
Princeton
Yale
Harvard
MIT
Columbia
Duke

When evaluating programs, it's helpful to consider factors such as the number of students enrolled, the number of students who graduate, and the placement destinations of graduates. Examining the faculty affiliations of top universities can also provide insights into the strength and influence of different PhD programs.

tags: #ucla #finance #phd #placement