Overview
Start date: September 2025
Duration: 5 years (1 year MRes + 4 years PhD)
Fees: We offer fully-funded scholarships to all admitted students who have applied by 24 January 2025 (see details below)
Application deadline: 24 January 2025, 17:00 UK time (late applications submitted by the 05 April 2025 may still be considered, see details below
Entry: Applicants must hold a distinction in a Master’s degree in Economics or a closely related subject. Applicants must demonstrate a high level of analytical and quantitative skills (such as in mathematics and statistics), evidenced by strong performance in relevant modules taken on previous degree programmes and/or through relevant standardised test performance (such as GRE Quantitative of at least 160). International students, please note that UCL’s English language requirement for this programme is a 'Level 2' (IELTS and TOEFL are the preferred tests, however others on the UCL recognised test list will be accepted if required) - further details regarding this can be found on the UCL English Language Requirements page.
Programme
The MRes and MPhil/PhD in Financial Economics is a five-year programme, run jointly by two of UCL’s leading departments, the Department of Economics and the School of Management, providing you with rigorous quantitative training in microeconomics, macroeconomics, econometrics, and finance, taught in the context of cutting-edge research and relevant applications in the field.
In your first year, you’ll thoroughly engage with new analytical frameworks and develop the skills to identify relevant, topical, and highly promising research topics within financial economics, leaving you confident to present new ideas for feedback, as well as provide critical feedback to others.
The following four years (conditional upon your successful progression from the MRes to MPhil/PhD) will focus on fostering the skills you’ll need to run complex research projects from ideation through to completion, and to eventually present your research findings and methodology to a diverse range of specialised audiences. Your teaching, mentoring, and interpersonal skills will also be developed during this time.
PhD Structure
The MRes programme consists of taught modules (Microeconomics, Macroeconomics, Econometrics. Real Analysis and Probability with Economic Application), a hybrid module (Financial Economics) with taught components and research-based components, and a research project in the final part of the year. For the MRes project, you work under supervision to design and carry out a substantial piece of original research. This enables you to gain a deep understanding of the entire research process.
Superior performance is required for automatic progression from MRes to MPhil. In particular, you should achieve an average mark of not less than 60% in the independent, original research components of the programme, and not less than 50% in the taught element.
Our highly selective and small-sized PhD programme ensures that you receive the right personal attention and guidance from our faculty members throughout your doctoral study to support your learning, research, and development. The close mentorship process forms the foundations of a successful academic career. At the same time, you will be part of both the School of Management PhD cohort and the Economics PhD cohort, with which you will share most of the taught modules.
As a potential PhD graduate, we expect your career aspirations to be within academia as a faculty member in a top Business School or Economics department, or in the research group of an international institution or a central bank.
Students take a total of 180 credits in the MRes year. This is made up of the MRes Research Project (MSIN0135) and 75 credits of compulsory taught modules. All modules in the MRes year are core modules, there are no optional modules.
The programme is delivered through a combination of lectures, seminars, and class discussions. Your performance in these modules is assessed through presentations, coursework, projects, and examinations.
You’ll study five compulsory taught modules. A typical taught module is taught over two terms (two x 10 weeks) with four hours of contact hours per week (three hours of lecture + one hour of review session). In addition, you’ll spend approximately 6-8 hours a week for each module on assessment and independent study to further develop the skills and knowledge covered in lectures and seminars.
Your first year will culminate in you undertaking a substantial research project, which would usually start in Term Two and be completed over the Summer. The total number of weekly hours will vary according to the weekly activities being undertaken.
Why choose us
What makes us different:
On this programme, you can expect the following benefits and opportunities:
-
Study at UCL, a top 10 global university (QS, 2025) and become a part of two of its leading departments, the UCL Department of Economics and the School of Management. The PhD programme is an integral part of our School’s active and ambitious research environment, where you’ll receive rigorous academic training and personalised research mentorship.
-
Learn in a world-class environment that combines the best of a leading business school, located on Level 38 and Level 50 of the tallest building in Canary Wharf, the heart of London’s modern financial district, and the tradition of economic research and teaching of the Department of Economics, which is located in UCL’s Bloomsbury campus, in London’s historical intellectual and cultural centre.
-
Benefit from our extensive industry and faculty networks. Our teaching staff work in close collaboration with global organisations, governments, and the public sector, bringing their unparalleled insight and research from the field, right back into the classroom and your mentorship.
-
Unlike many PhD programmes in finance, our programme has a full anchor in economics and econometrics. This will strongly support your PhD research and dissertation papers, which will likely be published in top academic journals worldwide.
On this programme, you’ll gain the rigorous academic and interpersonal skills to perform cutting-edge research in your chosen area of financial economics. The calibre of teaching and faculty, as well as the wide array of academic opportunities unique to this programme, will prepare you for fruitful academic and research-based careers in leading universities and research institutions across the world.
If you want to become an academic economist conducting research in finance, this programme is for you.
We further support your academic and research aspirations by offering fully funded, five-year scholarships to all admitted students who applied before the 24 January 2025 application window. The scholarship covers your full tuition fees and includes an annual tax-free stipend of £26,000. We also offer a £2,000 annual budget for research expenses.
Research areas and structure
The MRes programme consists of taught modules (Microeconomics, Macroeconomics, Econometrics, Real Analysis and Probability with Economics Applications), a hybrid module (Financial Economics) with taught components and research-based components, and a research project in the final part of the year.
For the MRes project, you will work under supervision to design and carry out a substantial piece of original research. This enables you to gain a deep understanding of the entire research process.
Research environment
Alongside the core economics modules you’ll study, a significant part of your programme will involve critically reviewing past and contemporary literature in the field, as well as crafting econometrically testable theories which build upon seminal academic research in financial economics.
Networking opportunities
Throughout the programme, and after, you’ll have a multitude of opportunities to connect with, collaborate, and receive constructive feedback on your research and ideas, both from faculty and from professional connections in the financial economics field.
-
As a research student, you’ll join a highly active research environment which involves frequent research seminars and visits by leading scholars worldwide, reading groups, brown bag seminars and panels in which PhD students and faculty members present and discuss their ongoing work. You can review upcoming research events at the Centre for Finance website.
-
As part of the (MSIN0234) Topics in Financial Economics module undertaken in your first year, you’ll have access to UCL Finance Seminars (run jointly between the School of Management and the Department of Economics), where world-leading experts in Financial Economics present their current research. In the past, speakers have included academics from leading institutions such as Yale, Berkeley, Chicago, and Columbia, as well as Nobel laureates.
-
You may also have the opportunity to participate in leading academic conferences in the UK and internationally, with travel, accommodation, food, and other costs covered by the UCL School of Management.
Upon graduation, you will also join UCL’s extensive alumni network.
The UCL School of Management and the Department of Economics
You’ll conduct this research under the close mentorship of faculty from two leading departments at UCL, both holding outstanding reputations for producing innovative and disruptive research in management and economics.
According to the REF 2021, 95% of the School’s research was deemed “world-leading” and internationally excellent", whilst the Department of Economics has ranked top in the UK for research environment and outputs in the field of Economics and Econometrics, according to REF 2014 and 2021.
Our highly selective and small-sized programme ensures that you receive personal attention and an opportunity for guidance from our world-leading scholars. The close mentorship process forms the foundations of a successful academic career.
At the end of your MRes year, you’ll also submit a thesis in the form of a manuscript to be submitted to a prestigious journal for publication, providing you with invaluable practice for your PhD submissions, as well as future research endeavours.
Applications
Applying for our MRes/PhD Programme
Entry requirements and admissions criteria
Applicants to the MRes + PhD programme must hold a distinction in a Master’s degree in Economics or a closely related subject. Applicants must demonstrate a high level of analytical and quantitative skills (such as in mathematics and statistics), evidenced by strong performance in relevant modules taken on previous degree programmes and/or through relevant standardised test performance (such as GRE Quantitative of at least 160). Submitting a GRE test result is encouraged but not compulsory and is only one of the components used to assess the strength of applications.
We only have a single intake in September. We accept applications throughout the year. Successful candidates who have submitted their MRes application before the January deadline will receive a scholarship (full fee waiver plus a stipend). Successful candidates who have submitted their application after this date may receive a scholarship subject to availability or will come with their own funding.
The MRes + MPhil/PhD in Financial Economics nurtures future world-leading researchers to push the frontiers of financial economics. We therefore seek graduates who strongly aspire to pursue academic careers in top business schools or departments of economics in world-class universities, or the research groups of international institutions or central banks.
This programme is ideal for you if you are intellectually curious, self-disciplined, and passionate about finance, economics, and people. You should be enthusiastic and full of stamina, well-prepared to commit to a rigorous and intellectually demanding research programme.
In your personal statement, you are expected to suggest one or more faculty members as potential supervisors. On the application form, you may see that it is preferred that you contact potential supervisors beforehand. However, we strongly discourage applicants from contacting individual faculty members or potential supervisors when applying to our programme. All applications are first evaluated by a joint admissions committee, so contacting potential supervisors separately will not increase your chances.
We also require you to submit IELTS or TOEFL scores if English is not your first language. Our School requires a “Level 2” English language qualification which corresponds to:
IELTS: Overall grade of 7.0 with a minimum of 6.5 in each of the sub-tests.
TOEFL: Score of 96 overall, plus 24/30 in the reading and writing subtests and 22/30 in the listening and speaking subtests.
Application Deadline
Our application deadline for September 2025 entry is 24 January 2025 (17:00 UK time) with a late submission window closing on 05 April 2025 (17:00 UK time). Those applying in the late submission window will only be considered if there are still places remaining.
Application Procedure
Apply via the UCL Postgraduate Admissions System here. When starting the application, you must select the MRes Financial Economics option. In addition to filling out the online application form, please upload a copy of the following documents:
- CV/Resume
- Official Transcripts of Grades/Course marks
- A 1-page personal statement that clearly indicates: (i) your research interests and preliminary research ideas, (ii) potential faculty member(s) you may want to work with (this is a suggested list, you don’t need to contact potential supervisors beforehand), and (iii) your motivation to do a PhD.
- Your GRE score report, if you took the test.
- Your IELTS/TOEFL score report, if English is not your first language.
Funding/Scholarships
We offer fully funded five-year scholarships to all admitted students who apply before 24 January 2025. The scholarship is open to all nationalities. It covers all tuition fees and includes an annual stipend of £26,000 which is tax-free.
We also offer a £2,000 annual budget for research expenses.
Successful candidates who have submitted their application after the January deadline may receive a scholarship subject to availability or will come with their own funding.
Additional Costs
This programme does not have any compulsory additional costs outside of purchasing books or stationery, printing, thesis binding or photocopying. As a student on this programme, you may have the opportunity to participate in conferences in the UK and internationally. The UCL School of Management provides MRes/PhD students with an annual budget for conferences, which you’ll use to cover the travel, accommodation, food and other costs whilst at conferences, in line with UCL’s expenses policy.
Further Information and Contact Details
The full-time MRes/PhD programme runs from September each academic year. Entrance is therefore every September. While we may accept applications until 05 April, we encourage candidates to apply as early as possible due to the high competition for the limited places on this programme.
For queries about the MRes/PhD Programme that are not addressed on our web pages, please contact mgmt-pgr@ucl.ac.uk.
Video Library
Register for more information
FAQs
Frequently Asked Questions about the UCL School of Management MRes/PhD Programme
Programme Information
Application Process
Admissions Requirements
Students are required to possess a “Level 2” English language qualification if it is not their first language. This means:
TOEFL: Score of 96, plus 24/30 in the reading and writing, and 22/30 in the listening and speaking subtests.
IELTS: Overall grade of 7.0 with a minimum of 6.5 in each of the subtests.
Funding
Further Information
If you have any other questions regarding the programme that are not addressed on our web pages please email the programme team at mgmt-pgr@ucl.ac.uk.