THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF FINANCE (GSF)

The GSF is the national PhD program in Finance in Finland and a joint effort of six Finnish universities; Aalto University, Lappeenranta University of Technology, Hanken School of Economics, University of Oulu, University of Turku and University of Vaasa. The main objective of the GSF is to promote high-quality doctoral education in finance in Finland by

1. Organizing systematic, diverse and high-quality PhD courses, workshops and seminars
2. Improving availability of research supervision
3. Promoting cooperation between different universities and finance departments
4. Promoting international contacts and networking (especially in the Nordic countries) between finance departments and PhD programs
5. Maintaining and encouraging connections and cooperation between different research institutions, related subjects and other research schools

The GSF offers a well-structured teaching program for obtaining a PhD degree in finance for students of the member universities. Majority of the graduated doctors enter the academic world and the rest pursue careers in the private sector. Recent academic placements include assistant professorship positions at ESCP Paris, Ohio State University, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, University of Miami, Imperial College London, University of St. Gallen, Catholic University of Lisbon, Stockholm University, London Business School and Audencia School of Management in Nantes.

The GSF is also a host institution of the Nordic Finance Network (NFN), which is a network of research and doctoral training in finance. The NFN promotes doctoral education by cooperating in organizing intensive finance PhD courses and workshops for Nordic PhD students and junior faculty. In total, the NFN consists of 13 member universities from Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden.

Approximately ten students start annually the 4-year PhD program. One and a half years at the beginning of the doctoral studies are devoted mostly to intensive course work that is then followed by research for the PhD dissertation. Interested students should be accepted as doctoral students at one of the member universities. The application deadlines and procedures are specific to the universities and are likely to differ from university to university.

The director of the GSF is Dr. Mikko Leppämäki (Aalto University), email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Additional information on the GSFcan be found on the GSF website http://gsf.aalto.fi.

The board members are:

- Gonul Colak, Hanken School of Economics (chair)
- Elias Rantapuska, Aalto University
- Eero Pätäri, LUT University
- Jukka Perttunen, University of Oulu
- Mika Vaihekoski, University of Turku
- Timo Rothovius, University of Vaasa