Financical Engineering/Management PhDs

Society Business and Career
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As is the case every couple of months I once again start thinking about doing a PhD and then never get anywhere because I am too busy doing something else. Now I have decided I will either within the next year apply for a PhD program or just forget it and I have narrowed it down to pretty much the following three areas which I find the most interesting:

Financial Engineering
Computer Science
Mathematics

All three have strong quantitative requirements which is what I am looking for. What I trying to do right now is research the top two areas and how I could combine them together as those are both fields that I would like to pursue as much as possible. The mathematics I may just take a few complex maths courses to brush up on.

So my questions to the people who have applied or thought about applying for a PhD:

  1. How did you figure out what area you want to get into and how did you match it with the university you applied to?
  2. What would be your top ten universities in either of the top two programs?
  3. Where did you start your research process? Universties web sites? Was it essential to talk to the professors before applying?
  4. Anything else to get me started down this process…
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Re: Financical Engineering/Management PhDs

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As is the case every couple of months I once again start thinking about doing a PhD and then never get anywhere because I am too busy doing something else. Now I have decided I will either within the next year apply for a PhD program or just forget it and I have narrowed it down to pretty much the following three areas which I find the most interesting:

Financial Engineering
Computer Science
Mathematics
**

HMCQ, I think you are thinking of something that I faced last year as I was applying. I greatly respect the fact that your even considering the Ph.D as it is a very challenging decision for those of us used to the corporate lifestyle. I have limited knowledge of the areas that your interested in, although I do know that MIT would be an excellent fit (just based on the quant. background). I am always interested in the policy/management/practical side of things so I opted for a program at HBS..For me the cross registration opportunities with MIT/KSG made the program a winner.

I'll try to answer your questions, feel free to followup on them :)
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1) How did you figure out what area you want to get into and how did you match it with the university you applied to?
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I was actually becoming disillusioned with the corporate side of things, believed that my impact may have been sizable within the organization, yet it was still miniscule on a global level. My mentor was diuscussing possibilities for me to work at the WB, however the relatively junior position still had a docterate requirement. I chose the University based on the rigors of study, the flexibility in classes and based upon the experiences of Postdocs that were Alums.
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2) What would be your top ten universities in either of the top two programs?
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I cannot say. However, MIT would surely make the list.
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3) Where did you start your research process? Universties web sites? Was it essential to talk to the professors before applying?
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I was invited to a conference where a good friend of mine from Columbia Business was presenting. By that time I had already decided on pursuing the program. As for my Alma Matars, I had the opportunity to speak with the deans on Alumni day.

I thought that the web based research was rather impersonal and may be misleading..by spending the time on campus, in the housing, the study areas, I had a better idea of how the Schools and programs functioned.
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4) Anything else to get me started down this process... **

Narrow it down to 6-7 schools. If you can, take a day off or two to visit and speak with them..Most Ph.D programs are so small that the Deans and directors are more than happy to answer your questions. Apply for the programs and try to arrange for a way of meeting with a few people already pursuing their studies. Decide based upon your first hand exposure. Hope it helps :)

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1) How did you figure out what area you want to get into and how did you match it with the university you applied to?

Purely on what interested me. I narrowed my area of interest down to a few and obatined feedback and advise from some profs, was looking at current situation in that area, what the future will hold etc etc

2) What would be your top ten universities in either of the top two programs?

My top programs of interest were very different than yours, so that list would nto apply.

3) Where did you start your research process? Universties web sites? Was it essential to talk to the professors before applying?

I started talking to my profs first, and then looked at whattype of research was being done in my long list of target uis to focus on which ones i really wanted to go to.

I spoke with profs who were doing research on topics of my interest and that was key,I knew before hand where I would easily get in because I was invited to meet them in person and was told thatthey would support my candidacy.

Anything else to get me started down this process...

be sure that is what you want to do. I decided that as interesting academia looked, I did not want to be in school for another few years and wanted to be more practical.

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Umar I was hoping for some insights from you

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I think Umar's area of focus is much different than the three areas you have described as well.

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Hes into management I believe and I guess I was just looking for general pointers since he went through this process two years back. I should search for his thread and revive it.

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Re: Financical Engineering/Management PhDs

Hey hmcq,
Sorry for the late reply, but I haven’t been keeping up with the discussions lately… have a conference paper deadline coming up and am in the midst of composing midterm exams at University.

RF and Fraudia have already posted very apt responses.

[QUOTE]
Now I have decided I will either within the next year apply for a PhD program or just forget it
[/QUOTE]

That’s kind of the cerebral stipulation I endured approaching the end of my M.B.A. I had just gotten the flavor of academic research through a research/survey seminar course, and I just loved being able to learn about things that I wanted to learn about, as opposed to being prescribed a curriculum.

The compelling factor however for me was the deliverable from my research in that course being accepted for a conference, and following that, the positive reaction towards the theoretical framework that I had proposed in my paper. This led me to decide that I wanted to take this up as a more comprehensive project, albeit its painstaking nature.

w.r.t. the choices of Universities, if you remember from my post last year, I had applied to Stanford & LSE and was accepted at both, but in the end opted to stay where I was – several reasons:

1) Appalling experiences with some Profs I had worked for as a Research Assistant and a Teaching Assistant led me to choose someone I could trust and work with as my supervisor.

2) Me and my supervisor candidly agreed upon publication authoring arrangements - which b.t.w. can make or break your career in academia. I know of fellow Ph.D. students who dread their supervisors because they take credit for research that was conducted by them.

3) Based on my previous community college teaching experience, I got an appointment as a University Lecturer at another University where I have the option of applying for tenure as soon as I’m done with my Ph.D. (maybe even earlier inshaAllah).

I guess I’ve answered a few of the questions you asked narrating my experiences.

A lot of universities would assign their own supervisors, but I just think its way too risky to be bound for 3 – 4 years with someone you don’t know.

Honestly, I don’t know a lot about post grad programs in the specific fields you’re interested in, but certainly a Mathematical Finance option sounds attractive. Have you looked into Actuarial Science programs? That may be a capstone to fulfill your craving for Math, Stats, CS and Finance. You can then hone in with your dissertation in whatever area you find more enticing.

Hope that helps – and Good Luck.