Finance, Ph.D.

Qualifications
PhD: Applicants for PhD must normally hold an undergraduate degree at 2.1 level and a master’s degree with a minimum overall grade at ‘Merit’. Alternatively, applicants with a UK first class honours degree (or Non-UK equivalent as defined by Swansea University) not holding a master’s degree, will be considered on an individual basis. See - Country-specific Information for European Applicants 2019 and Country-specific Information for International Applicants 2019. 

English Language
IELTS 6.5 Overall (with no individual component below 6.5) or Swansea University recognised equivalent. Full details of our English Language policy, including certificate time validity, can be found here.

As well as academic qualifications, Admissions decisions may be based on other factors, including (but not limited to): the standard of the research synopsis/proposal, performance at interview, intensity of competition for limited places, and relevant professional experience.

Reference Requirement

As standard, two references are required before we can progress applications to the College/School research programme Admissions Tutor for consideration.

Applications received without two references attached are placed on hold, pending receipt of the outstanding reference(s). Please note that any protracted delay in receiving the outstanding reference(s) may result in the need to defer your application to a later potential start point/entry month, than what you initially listed as your preferred start option.

You may wish to consider contacting your referee(s) to assist in the process of obtaining the outstanding reference(s) or alternatively, hold submission of application until references are sourced. Please note that it is not the responsibility of the University Admissions Office to obtain missing reference(s) after our initial email is sent to your nominated referee(s), requesting a reference(s) on your behalf.

The reference can take the form of a letter on official headed paper, or via the University’s standard reference form. Click this link to download the university reference form.

Alternatively, referees can email a reference from their employment email account, please note that references received via private email accounts, (i.e. Hotmail, Yahoo, Gmail) cannot be accepted.

References can be submitted to pgradmissions@swansea.ac.uk.

The School of Management provides a supportive and friendly environment for our thriving community of doctoral students from all over the world.

Our PhD and MPhil students work closely with and are supported by the School's academic staff.

If you are a Welsh speaker our dedicated academy, Academi Hywel Teifi, is here to support you throughout your time at Swansea University. We offer you:

• An interview through the medium of Welsh when applying for a place.
• The option to receive your personal correspondence in Welsh - we will then communicate with you in your language of choice.
• The option to write and submit your coursework or exams through the medium of Welsh (even if you have chosen to study in English), and every effort will be made to mark your work in its original language.
• A Welsh-speaking personal tutor.
• One-to-one support to improve your academic Welsh language skills.

Since 2011, there has been a 40% increase in the number of students studying through the medium of Welsh at Swansea University and our *TEF data over the last two years shows that Welsh-medium students are high achievers in regards to employability (*Swansea University TEF return 2017 and 2018).

Annual tuition fees for entry in the academic year 2020/21 are as follows:

Tuition fees for years of study after your first year are subject to an increase of 3%.

You can find further information of your fee costs on our tuition fees page.

Note: The UK/EU fee is indicative pending confirmation from UKRI

If your course starts in January, April or July 2020 please refer to the 2019/20 fee costs on our tuition fees page.

You may be eligible for funding to help support your study. To find out about scholarships, bursaries and other funding opportunities that are available please visit the University's scholarships and bursaries page.

International students and part-time study: It is now possible for some students to study part-time under the Tier 4 visa route. This is dependent on factors relating to the course and your individual situation. It may also be possible to study with us if you are already in the UK under a different visa category. Please visit the University information on Visas and Immigration for further guidance and support.

Current students: You can find further information of your fee costs on our tuition fees page.

You may be eligible for funding to help support your study.

Government funding is now available for Welsh, English and EU students starting eligible postgraduate research programmes at Swansea University. To find out more, please visit our postgraduate loans page.

To find out about scholarships, bursaries and other funding opportunities that are available please visit the University's scholarships and bursaries page.

Academi Hywel Teifi at Swansea University and the Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol offer a number of generous scholarships and bursaries for students who wish to study through the medium of Welsh or bilingually. For further information about the opportunities available to you, visit the Academi Hywel Teifi Scholarships and Bursaries page.

You may face additional costs while at university, including (but are not limited to):

• Parking and travel to and from campus
• Printing, photocopying, stationery and equipment costs (e.g. USB sticks)
• Purchase of books or texts
• Printing and binding
• Gowns for graduation ceremonies

There are no mandatory additional costs specified for this course, but in addition to tuition fees and living expenses most studies will also incur a further element of cost throughout your research. This could take the form of travel costs, hospitality to run a focus group, conference fees, etc.

You should spend some time considering what other costs you may need to fund when designing your research proposal.

APPLICATION PROCESS STEPS AND ADVICE FOR APPLYING

Identifying Relevant Research Topics
Applicants are encouraged to explore the research expertise of the School to ensure a good fit between PhD proposals and potential supervisors. 

You are more than welcome to arrange a meeting with relevant staff in your field to discuss your proposal before submitting it.

Preparing Research Proposal
After you have identified a relevant research topic please prepare a detailed research proposal to include with your application. Guidance on writing a research proposal is also available.

How to Apply
After you have completed preparing an appropriate research proposal, please apply for a place on our PhD programme online here.

Please specify in your application who you have identified as your first and second supervisors.

Please note that it is advisable that you contact us before submitting your application. This will ensure we can identify appropriate supervisors, and where necessary work with you to refine your proposal.  If you would like to do this you should contact the School’s PGR team in the first instance at.

If you're an international student, you can find out more about applying for this course.

For further guidance please visit our how to apply for postgraduate study pages.

1st October, 1st January, 1st April, 1st July.