Finance PhD

Hello all. I am interested in pursuing a Ph.D. in Finance to do empirical research on macro-finance, banking & financial intermediation, and the intersection of finance & economics. My undergrad was in Finance and I've been working as a trader for about 1.5 yrs. I have been considering MsF, MFE/Quant Finance, and MaEcon as stepping stones because my undergrad institution was a small private school. Also the MFE and MsF would provide industry opportunities as well in case I did not pursue the Ph.D. right away....

I'm aware of the math/stats prep needed to pursue a Ph.D. in Finance and was curious if an MFE or even MsF could be viable stepping-stones to a strong Ph.D.?  From 2021 QuantNet Rankings:  (cant link I'm not a proven friendly primate), obviously the higher the better but is there a threshold where It would no longer be worthwhile to pursue such a program for the cost?

Undergrad GPA: 3.5

GRE: 165 Q, 163 V, 4.5 A

0 Comments

Career Advancement Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.8%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.2%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.8%
  • Evercore 01 98.2%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.6%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.2%
  • JPMorgan No 97.7%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (14) $434
  • Associates (43) $259
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (75) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (66) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
6
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
7
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
8
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
9
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
10
bolo up's picture
bolo up
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”