A short presentation of the PhD program is available here: Presentation.
The PhD program in Economics and Finance aims to train academic and professional figures able to autonomously carry out research in economics and finance at universities, research institutes, consulting firms, public and private companies. PhD graduates in Economics and Finance may undertake job positions requiring critical and problem solving skills, in which to matter are the ability to identify and frame a problem in a general context, analyze it, manage and process data through a statistical approach, interpret the findings and communicate concrete suggestions.
The training and research activities are entirely held in English. The program is structured in four years, during which the activity of the PhD students is monitored regularly, through individual meetings with the coordinator and seminar activities in which the students become familiar with the presentation and public discussion of their research topics. Over all the four years, PhD students can participate in the scientific events organized by the Department. They have access to a dedicated room, equipped with computers, printers and internet network. They are also endowed with their own research funds, to finance participation in conferences and specialization courses, submissions to journals and the purchase of computers or other equipment useful for their research.
The PhD program, active since the academic year 2021/22, follows the experience of the previous PhD program in Economics and Management from which it inherits the setting but with a change of focus. Since the academic year 2023/24, the program offers two curricula: "Economics" and "Data Analysis and Finance". In recent years, PhD graduates from the Department have covered job positions in prestigious universities (e.g., Harvard Business School, London School of Economics) and companies (e.g., Cattolica Assicurazioni, GSK Italia).
For further information, please contact the program coordinator, Prof. Alessandro Bucciol (alessandro.bucciol@univr.it).
Main features
- Duration of the program: Four years full time
- Four scholarships (gross amount: 20,000 euros per year)
- Personal research funds (1,600 euros per year)
- Access to dedicated room and Department facilities
- Training activities entirely carried out in English
- First year of courses on general and specific topics
- Personalized training and research path
- Interaction with PhD programs from nearby universities
- Experience abroad of up to twelve months financially supported
Activities
In the first year, PhD students attend advanced courses, offered in collaboration with the University of Padua, both compulsory on general topics and eligible on more specific topics. The list of courses offered is available in this document: List of courses. At the end of the first year, students choose a field of specialization and identify two supervisors, with at least one being in the academia.
In the second year, PhD students start working on their thesis and are encouraged to shape a personalized study curriculum based on their research interests, also following courses among those offered by neighboring PhD programs. This opportunity allows students to significantly expand the training offer and cover advanced topics such as asset pricing, environmental economics or machine learning. The PhD School of the University of Verona provides additional interdisciplinary training activities, in particular on statistics and use of English for academic purpose.
In the third and fourth years, PhD students mainly devote themselves to research activities with the support of the supervisors. A study and research stay in a foreign university or research institution for a period of six-twelve months usually takes place in this period. The experience abroad is financially supported with a 50% raise in the scholarship.
The final thesis must contain original scientific production, able of reaching publication of at least three articles in highly reputable scientific journals and this way contribute to create a competitive curriculum vitae according to the most rigorous international standards.
The PhD program also encourages thesis co-supervision agreements with foreign universities and research bodies. In addition, it promotes the visit of external PhD students from foreign universities. Details on the available options are reported in this document: Information for external PhD students.
Research areas
The research of the PhD student is developed in close contact with the supervisors and the Department members. The Department of Economics promotes and coordinates scientific, theoretical and applied research activities in the fields of Economics and Statistics. Research covers a number of macro-areas and mainly the following: Behavioral and experimental economics; Economic history; Environmental economics, energy economics, sustainability and development; Health economics; Industrial economics; Macroeconomics, international economics and development; Public policies analysis; Quantitative finance; Quantitative methods for the economy; Welfare and collective choices.
The University of Verona is among the top hundred world universities with less than 50 years in the rankings of the Times Higher Education. The Department of Economics is permanently among the first Italian departments for scientific production in the CUN 13 Area of Economic Sciences and Statistics. In the ranking produced by RepEc, the Department ranks in the top 10% of the Italian distribution and in the top 25% of the world distribution of research departments and institutions in economics. It was recently awarded by MUR as “Excellence Department 2023-2027”.
Admission
Admission is through competition. The call for applications opens in May; please refer to the Admission process page for more details. Eligible candidates hold, or are about to hold, a master’s degree in Economics or related fields. The following material is required for an application: i) Certificate with final graduation mark or transcript with exam grades; ii) Curriculum Vitae; iii) Short original research proposal; iv) Two reference letters. Shortlisted candidates are invited for an interview in July. Activities start in October.
