Teaching

Thinking about applying for a PhD?

This is a presentation I made for students in 2015. It might be old, but the information is still accurate. It's worth a look no later than September/October of the year BEFORE you wish to enter a PhD program (most finance PhD programs around the planet start in the 2nd half of the calendar year).

If you are looking for information on applying to the Finance PhD program at the University of Melbourne, please see the information and links at the bottom of this page.

PhD Bootcamp 2022

Sample SAS code

System options I find useful

Read Comma Delimited Data (sample data for this program)

Read Data that are in columns w/ no delimiters (sample data for this program)

Sample PROC EXPORT and PROC IMPORT code

Sample Write data from a SAS DATA step

Compare Lag and Retain Statements

Compare different types of merges to merge datasets in SAS

Using the Interactive Matrix Language in SAS (sample code)

Using the Output Delivery System

Use PC Connect with WRDS

.bashrc file with useful shortcuts for the WRDS Unix cloud

Thinking about applying for a PhD at the University of Melbourne?

At the University of Melbourne students apply to the Finance PhD program centrally. We follow a U.S. model which begins with 2 years of course work, which ends with a Master of Commerce (MCOM) degree, followed by 2 to 3 years of research, ending with your PhD. Only once a student has successfully completed their MCOM course work do they start working more directly with a professor or professors and are formally admitted to the PhD program. There is no need to find a PhD supervisor before applying.

Please see the following 2 websites for more information about the PhD program or to register for an information session:

https://study.unimelb.edu.au/find/courses/graduate/doctoral-program-in-finance/

https://study.unimelb.edu.au/find/courses/graduate/doctoral-program-in-finance/what-will-i-study/

The second link is information about the MCOM degree. Please note, that the MCOM degree is a dedicated program only is only for students who are accepted into the PhD program. We have this structure for 2 reasons (1) if you are unable to complete your PhD, at least you can try to complete the masters and (2) the administrative structure of the U of Melbourne is not built for a US model of PhD education.

We begin accepting applications in September of each year for our intake in July (10 months later). Applications close the 1st of February, each year, but we accept students on a rolling basis, so apply early for a better chance of admission.

The process of applying is a bit confusing and our goal is for you to get a PhD in Finance (not a PhD in University of Melbourne administrative procedures), so here are some detailed steps to follow.

To apply to our PhD program, please:

1) Go to https://study.unimelb.edu.au/find/courses/graduate/doctoral-program-in-finance/how-to-apply/ and click on the “Apply Now” button.

2) If you are not a current student please use the link at the bottom “Apply as a New Student” and fill out the several pages of biographic details to complete your “registration” in the University of Melbourne system.

3) Once you get to step “2 Select” there is a search box. Leave that box blank. In the second box enter “Commerce” without quotes. In the third box, select “Masters (Research)”. Leave the fourth box as “All Availability Years” - and hit search.

4) You should now see “Master of Commerce - 202AT” near the top of the page. Please select one of the programs. This page is giving you the illusion of options, but really everything is the same.

If you would like to pick the correct one, please select the program “2023” “Parkville” “July-December commencement” “Graduate International Fee Place” “Full Time” “On Campus” “Standard”

Note: Despite the fact that you are selecting “Graduate International Fee Place,” the Finance Department does not usually admit students without also awarding them a stipend.

5) Next you will come to a list of requirements including,

“Requirement - Preferred supervisor” - you do not need to list anything here. If it forces you, please enter “Prof Garry Twite” and list Finance as the Department.

“Requirement - Commencement date” - select Semester 2

6) Fill out the rest of the application