Vienna Graduate School of Finance

The Vienna Graduate School of Finance (VGSF) was established in 2005 as a center of excellence in finance; its main activities are academic research and PhD education. With the funding of the FWF, the VGSF was able to create a unique platform, combining the finance research expertise of three leading institutions in Vienna: the Institute of Advanced Studies, the University of Vienna, and WU Vienna University of Economics and Business. The VGSF offers a stimulating learning and research environment to outstanding students from around the world, preparing them for an international academic career in finance. The additional funding would allow students to focus fully on their studies and research activities during the next four years. One important research area is the global financial crisis and its severe consequences for many financial markets. In collaboration with the VGSF faculty, the students will explore the effectiveness of new regulation and the formation of new market structures. The second research area focuses on financial intermediation and bank supervision. The VGSF is determined to continue to improve its program, taking the very top institutions as a role model. The PhD program itself consists of two parts: rigorous coursework and work on the PhD thesis, which means after passing the required exams, students start to conduct research projects on their own. Teaching is done in small groups and in an interactive atmosphere, which establishes an individual relation between faculty and students. Up to four students are selected every year out of more than 100 applications. These students work in an ideal environment, as every faculty member supervises no more than two students. Additionally, leading scientists are regularly invited to give courses with high potential for future research cooperation. In the past academic years, students had the chance to attend courses taught by international scholars such as Rossen Valkanov (University of California San Diego), Toni Whited (University of Michigan) or Christopher Hennessy (London Business School). Moreover, students have the opportunity to meet internationally renowned professors presenting their state-of-the art research in the weekly research seminar series. Well-established and connected within the research community, faculty members frequently interact and collaborate with leading academics all over the world. VGSF offers an international network to its students, including post-doctoral job opportunities from top universities. Job market candidates take advantage of these opportunities and have been placed at leading institutions like Carnegie Mellon, Georgia Tech, MIT, University of Hong Kong, University of New South Wales, University of Aarhus, Erasmus University Rotterdam, VU Amsterdam or Bocconi. VGSF Faculty: Engelbert Dockner, Rüdiger Frey, Thomas Gehrig, Alois Geyer, Nikolaus Hautsch, Rainer Jankowitsch, Christian Laux, Gyöngyi Loranth, Alexander Mürmann, Stefan Pichler, Leopold Sögner, Josef Zechner.

Over the past decades, global financial markets have undergone rapid development, highlighting the significant interplay between finance and the real economy. Concurrently, the field of financial economics has made remarkable progress, evident in the number of Nobel prizes awarded to scholars in this domain. Although the foundations of this research can be traced back to early 20th-century scholars in Vienna, Europe, and particularly Austria, have lagged behind in providing vibrant research environments in finance that support structured and internationally competitive doctoral programs. To address this gap, the Vienna Graduate School of Finance (VGSF) was established in 2005. With funding from the FWF, the VGSF has maintained a unique platform, bringing together a critical mass of finance scholars and research expertise from three leading institutions in Vienna: the Institute of Advanced Studies, the University of Vienna, and WU Vienna University of Economics and Business. Under the guidance of the VGSF faculty, the program has evolved into a top-level doctoral program that is recognized as such by esteemed institutions worldwide. The faculty specifically focuses on research questions that explore the intersection between corporate finance and financial intermediation, as well as asset pricing. The objective is to illuminate how various characteristics of financial markets and financial intermediation impact asset prices and, ultimately, corporate decisions. While the research activities align with the prevailing trend of empirical and data-driven work, the VGSF faculty remains committed to theoretical exploration. This ensures that their empirical research remains firmly rooted in solid theoretical foundations. The VGSF follows a philosophy that centers research projects closely around the economic questions they aim to address, setting it apart from other doctoral programs that predominantly emphasize methods or purely empirical work. Since its inception, the VGSF program has successfully graduated over 40 doctoral students. The VGSF faculty contributes to the program's international reputation by actively being involved in academic associations, organizing top finance conferences, and presenting and publishing their research. VGSF students and faculty benefit from an exceptional international network of visiting and affiliated faculty who regularly offer doctoral courses and present their work in the VGSF research seminar series. The VGSF has built a strong global placement record, with graduates securing positions as assistant professors at renowned academic institutions worldwide. Some notable institutions include the University of Chicago, Ohio State University, University of Copenhagen, NOVA School of Business and Economics, Bocconi University, Erasmus University Rotterdam, VU Amsterdam, Georgia Institute of Technology, University of Hong Kong, and University of New South Wales. VGSF graduates frequently present their work at leading academic conferences and publish in top journals within the field. The collective group of researchers at the VGSF remains firmly committed to ensuring the program's continuity and further development in the future.