Accounting and Finance PhD
Become a specialist in building impactful research-based solutions to current and future challenges in micro and macro finance, with our Accounting and Finance PhD programme.
Why study with us?
91%
of our School's research classified as 'world leading' (4*) or 'internationally excellent' (3*) in the latest Research Excellence Framework (2021)
160
international experts shape world-class academic thought
100%
of our research environment classified 'world leading' (4*) or 'internationally excellent' (3*) in the latest Research Excellence Framework (2021)
Overview
If you have a master’s degree in accounting and finance (ACFI) or a related field, the University of Liverpool Management School offers the perfect environment to become a world-class specialist researcher in this area.
Offered as full-time or part-time, the programme gives you the opportunity to explore your own ideas while you receive thought-provoking advice from our academic staff.
Our ACFI PhD programme covers a wide range of topics for investigation, from investment strategies and corporate finance to global financial dynamics and macroeconomic relationships.
We welcome research proposals including, but not limited to:
- Asset pricing and investment
- Corporate finance and accounting
- International financial markets and the macroeconomy
- Financial technology (FinTech).
Find out how to write your PhD research proposal
Research training
We offer tailored training with specific modules to facilitate the development of your research project in accounting and finance:
- Corporate Finance and Accounting
- Theory Asset Pricing Theory
- Empirical Corporate Finance
- Accounting Empirical Asset Pricing.
To ensure you receive the most relevant support during the thesis development stage, you will work with a primary supervisor who is a leading expert in their field.
Additionally, you will be supported by a secondary supervisor, who is a promising early career researcher specialising in your specific area of study.
Our research environment
The Management School is a research powerhouse, with international financial and accounting experts shaping academic thought and making an impact on business practice, policymaking and society.
As a PhD student, you will become part of a triple accredited (AACSB, AMBA, and EQUIS) and internationally recognised research institution, with outstanding REF 2021 results against 108 ranked Business and Management Schools across the UK:
- 12th for submissions judged as World Leading (4*) or Internationally Excellent (3*)
- 16th for research outputs classified as World Leading (4*)
- 9th place for Research Power (17 places higher than in 2014)
- 100% of research supported by a World Leading (4*) or Internationally Excellent (3*) environment.
We also support pioneering research through our six interdisciplinary Research Centres focused on contemporary issues in business and society.
As a PhD student, you are welcome to join any of these Centres to connect with experts across the School and University.
The ACFI Group is one of largest in the UK, with members regularly publishing in top scholarly journals, including the Journal of Finance, Review of Financial Studies, Journal of Financial Economics, Journal of Accounting and Economics, etc.
When you join the Management School’s PhD community, you will become an active member of the ACFI Group. This means you are welcome to join their activities and research seminars, where prominent international speakers present their latest research and ideas.
Facilities
The Management School offers excellent research facilities, with dedicated hot desking offices at Chatham Building, allowing for plenty of interaction with other students and leading researchers within the ACFI Group.
In addition to dedicated servers for computation-intensive research, the McKenzie Trading Room - the largest of its kind in any UK university - has a live stock market ticker and 40 Bloomberg terminals where you can obtain specialist financial data, such as equities, commodities, foreign exchange and price indices.
As a PhD student, you will enjoy free access to LSEG Data and Analytics – including DataStream -, the world’s most comprehensive financial time series database, that provides the foundation for building your own macroeconomic analysis, creating market scenarios and testing investment strategies.
As well as being able to use specialist statistical and econometrics software, including Stata, R, SAS, Eviews and Matlab, our Library offers a broad list of globally recognised databases for financial research, including:
- Audit Analytics
- BoardEX
- CBOE Global Market Option Quotes and Volatility Index
- China Stock Market and Accounting (CSMAR)
- Fame
- Refinitiv Eikon
- MSCI ESG
- Option Metrics
- TickHistory
- Wharton Research Data Services (WRDS).
Financial support
We encourage you to explore the existing external and internal funding opportunities available to support your studies.
If you hold an Upper Second-Class or a First-Class Honours master’s degree, don’t miss the opportunity to apply for one of our four-year Graduate Teaching Fellowships (GTFs) to fund your PhD studies and kickstart your career as a well-rounded academic.
Although our GTFs are not compatible with other studentships, such as those offered by the North West Social Science Doctoral Training Partnership and the China Scholarship Council, we also recommend you to consider these options.
Study options and fees
The fees below reflect one year of study during the 2024/25 academic year
| PhD | Duration | UK students | International Students |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full time | 2-4 years | £4,786 |
|
| Part time | 4-6 years | £2,393 |
|
The fees stated in the table above exclude potential research support fees also known as ‘bench fees’. You will be notified of any fee which may apply in your offer letter.
* Please note that if you are undertaking a PhD within the Faculty of Science and Engineering the fee you pay, Band A or Band B, will reflect the nature of your research project. Some research projects incur a higher fee than others e.g. if you are required to undertake laboratory work. You will be informed of the fee for your programme in your offer letter.
^ Self-funded, full-time international students studying a PhD programme classified as Band A will receive a £2,000 reduction in their fees for the first year only.
Entry requirements
To apply for our ACFI PhD programme, you need a UK master’s degree (or equivalent) in a relevant subject, preferably with an Upper Second-Class or First-Class qualification, as well as demonstratable quantitative and programming skills.
English language requirements
| IELTS Academic requirement - SELT and non-SELT | Overall 7.0 no band below 6.5 |
|---|---|
| TOEFL iBT requirement | Minimum 100 overall with L 21 R 21 W 21 and S 23 |
| C1 Advanced CAE requirement | Overall 185 with no less than 176 in any paper |
| PTE Academic requirement | 69 with minimum scores of 61 in each component |
| Trinity College London, Integrated Skills in English (ISE II) | ISE II with an overall pass with merit in components |
| Cambridge IGCSE as a First Language | Grade C |
| Cambridge IGCSE as a Second Language | Grade B |
| Cambridge English Level 3 Certificate in ESOL International (Proficiency) | Overall 185 with 176 in components |
| Cambridge English Level 3 Certificate in ESOL International (Advanced) | Overall 185 with 176 in components |
| Cambridge English Level 2 Certificate in ESOL International (Advanced) | Overall 185 with 176 in components |
Additional requirements
To apply for this research degree, you must have reached a minimum standard of English. You need to be able to provide evidence of this. See our English language requirements for international students for guidance on the different English language qualifications and evidence that you can provide.
International qualifications
We welcome applications from within the EU and from around the world. You should ensure that your qualifications are equivalent to those which are required to study for this research degree. See our guidance on international qualifications.
How to apply
Research degree applications can be made online. You'll also need to ensure that you have funding to cover all fees.
Applications are open all year round.
More about applying for research degrees
Before you apply, we recommend that you identify a supervisor and develop a research proposal
Find a supervisor
View supervisors in this area
Need help finding a supervisor? Contact us
- Dr Yang Zhao
- Email: Yang.Zhao3@liverpool.ac.uk
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