The Department of Finance offers an active and dynamic research environment, with faculty members committed to training and guiding students throughout their PhD program.

Once students have found a research topic, they are assigned to a faculty member doing related research.

Students benefit from the seminar activity in the department, ranging from research presentations by internationally recognized scholars to internal brown-bag discussions of current research projects. 
Moreover, the department regularly organizes short-term visits for leading researchers. 

Students are encouraged to submit their research for presentation at seminars and conferences. The department offers funding for travel, academic workshops and other research expenses. 

PhD Course Portfolio in Finance

Courses offered in the Spring 2022:

Courses offered in the Fall 2021:

Previous Courses  

Spring 2020:

Fall 2019:

The PhD Finance specialization is challenging, and student initiative and motivation are key to succeeding in the program. The expected duration of the program is five years.

PhD students are matched with faculty members with an expertise suitable for the students' research interests. The intensity of the mentoring and supervision varies across faculty members, and students are responsible for seeking the advice and assistance that they need. 

See also general milestones in your PhD required by NHH.

Year 1

• Finance course work
  
• Formulation of research topic for thesis

The first year ends with writing a summer paper. This paper should expand on existing reserarch and is aimed to help train the PhD students in doing research.

Year 2

• Submission of first summer paper (September)
• Presentation of first summer paper (September)

In the second year, students can take elective courses within their area of specialization. More importantly, students should develop and refine their research ideas to result in a second-year summer paper.

Year 3

• Submission of second summer paper (September)
• Presentation of second summer paper (September
• Submission of dissertation proposal (February)

End of program

• Submission of thesis
• PhD Defense

SUMMER PAPERS

Towards the end of the first and second year, student are expected to write a summer research paper and to present this paper to the faculty. The two summer research papers are milestones for continuation in the PhD program and could potentially be included in the dissertation.

THESIS PROPOSAL

The third year thesis proposal takes the form of a 45-minute seminar presentation to faculty. The purpose is to help the student develop a feasible research plan for how to best use the remaining time in the PhD program and to receive feedback on her or his work. 

Doctoral Thesis

In the last two or three years of the PhD program, students focus on their dissertation. A thesis typically contains three research articles, some of which may be coauthored with faculty members or other PhD students. The last year of the PhD program allows the students to fully focus on their dissertaton work.

Throughout the PhD program, students are expected to attend the Finance group's seminar series.

2021

STIG ROAR HAUKØ LUNDEBY

Thesis: Essays on Asset Pricing

Placement: BI Oslo
Position: Assistant Professor of Finance

LORETA RAPUSHI

Thesis: Essays on Empirical Corporate Finance

Placement: BI Bergen
Position: Associate Professor of Finance

Damiano maggi

Thesis: Essays on Empirical Corporate Finance

Placement: The Financial Supervisory Authority of Norway
Position: Advisor at the Solidity Regulation Section

2020

Negar Ghanbari

Thesis: Essays on Debt Financing

Placement: Aarhus BSS - Aarhus University
Position: Assistant Professor of Finance

JOHAN MELLBERG

Thesis: Essays on Empirical Corporate Finance

Placement: The Swedish Social Insurance Inspectorate
Position: Researcher

2019

Giovanni Bruno 

Thesis: Essays on Optionality and Risk

Placement: Scientific Beta, France
Postition: Senior Quantitative Researcher

Xiaoyu Zhang 

Thesis: Essays on Empirical Corporate Finance

Placement: Vrije Universiteit (VU) Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Position: Assistant Professor

2018

Varun Verma 

Thesis: Essays on Empirical Corporate Finance

Placement: Horda
Position: CFO

Erik Hetland Tvedt 

Thesis: Essays on Dynamic Models in Corporate Finance

Placement: Ernst & Young, Norway
Position: Analyst

2017

Raffaele Giuliana 

Thesis: Three Essays in Empirical Finance

Placement: Central Bank of Ireland, Ireland
Position: Economist

Yun Tang 

Thesis: Essays on Empirical Corporate Finance

Placement: OECD, France
Position: Economist

2016

Jens Kværner 

Thesis: Essays on Savings and Investment Choices

Placement: Tilburg University, The Netherlands
Position: Assistant Professor

Kamil Klavidko

Thesis: Essays on Financial Options: Employee Stock Options and Reinsurance Pricing

Placement: Örebro University School of Business, Sweden
Position: Associate Senior Lecturer

CHUNBO LIU 

Thesis: Essays on Debt Covenants and creditor control

Placement: Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, China
Position: Assistant Professor

2014

Tor Åge Myklebust 

Thesis: Corporate Credit and Energy Risk: Performance Sensitive Debt and Quanto Options

Placement: Norwegian Cancer Registry, Norway
Position: Statistician