General entry requirements

Minimum requirements

Competition to join our Doctoral programme is very strong; you will need to demonstrate you have the intellectual capabilities, stamina, drive and commitment to complete a ground-breaking piece of work through independent study.

Academic requirements for our MRes/PhD Finance and Economics programme

• An honours degree from a UK university or equivalent from an overseas university; plus a Master's degree, in economics or Finance (with a significant quantitative finance component). Accounting or Financial Mathematics may be considered with a significant finance component. A first-class degree and a distinction at Master's level is recommended but serves as a guideline only.
• A GMAT or GRE score is required and should be provided as part of your application. However, we have no defined threshold and the score provided will be indicative to merely supplement and strengthen applications.
• You should have strong academic references and excellent potential for research.

English language requirements

You can find out more about our English language requirementsLink opens in a new window. This course requires the following:

If English is not your first language, you must meet a minimum overall standard in a recognised test of English. You must show a good balance across all sections of the test and it must have been taken within two years of starting the course. We will require your certificates as evidence.

• IELTS - overall score of 7.0, minimum component scores of two at 6.0/6.5 and the rest at 7.0 or above
• PTE academic - 70 with 51+ in every section
• CPE – grade C (CEFR level C2) or above
• CAE - Grade C scoring 60+, no worse than 3 component results at borderline and 1 at weak

International qualifications

We welcome applications from students with other internationally recognised qualifications.

For more information, please visit the international entry requirements pageLink opens in a new window.

Additional requirements

There are no additional entry requirements for this course.

Our research

Our vision is to develop cutting-edge research that leads debate and deepens our understanding on the practice of finance and economics. Research is undertaken in partnership with policy and practice, to ensure both relevance and practical application. Our desire to respond and contribute to varied societal issues, provides a vibrant and creative environment for research to flourish.

Our research strengths include:

• Asset Pricing
• Behavioural Finance
• Corporate Finance
• Corporate Governance
• Financial Econometrics
• Investments
• Mergers and Acquisitions
• Risk Management

Find a supervisor

During the second year of the MRes, you will be allocated a supervisor. A second supervisor will be allocated if you are admitted into the PhD, at the end of the MRes. The two supervisors will have appropriate research expertise and interests.

Please do not contact potential supervisors when completing your application, as we do not recruit PhD students in this way.

Tuition fees

Our MRes/PhD Finance and Economics programme is fully funded. All students accepted onto the programme will have their full fees paid and will receive an annual stipend of approximately £21,000 per annum throughout their course, subject to satisfactory progress.

Students do not need to apply separately for this funding. It will be included as part of the offer onto the programme.

Fee Status Guidance

We carry out an initial fee status assessment based on the information you provide in your application. Students will be classified as Home or Overseas fee status. Your fee status determines tuition fees, and what financial support and scholarships may be available. If you receive an offer, your fee status will be clearly stated alongside the tuition fee information.

Do you need your fee classification to be reviewed?

If you believe that your fee status has been classified incorrectly, you can complete a fee status assessment questionnaire. Please follow the instructions in your offer information and provide the documents needed to reassess your status.

Find out more about how universities assess fee status

Additional course costs

As well as tuition fees and living expenses, some courses may require you to cover the cost of field trips or costs associated with travel abroad.

For departmental specific costs, please see the Modules tab on the course web page for the list of core and optional core modules with hyperlinks to our Module Catalogue (please visit the Department’s website if the Module Catalogue hyperlinks are not provided).

Associated costs can be found on the Study tab for each module listed in the Module Catalogue (please note most of the module content applies to 2022/23 year of study). Information about module department specific costs should be considered in conjunction with the more general costs below:

• Core text books
• Printer credits
• Dissertation binding
• Robe hire for your degree ceremony

Scholarships and bursaries

Our MRes/PhD Finance and Economics programme is fully funded. All students accepted onto the programme will have their full fees paid and will receive an annual stipend of approximately £18,000 per annum throughout their course, subject to satisfactory progress.

Students do not need to apply separately for this funding. It will be included as part of the offer onto the programme.

Living costs

Find out more about the cost of living as a postgraduate student at the University of Warwick.

Warwick Business School

If you’re interested in the bigger picture, comfortable challenging assumptions and want a degree that will open doors, then WBS is the place for you. We will give you the foundation for change and prepare you for your future career. Are you ready to make your mark in the world of business?

Find out more about us on our website.Link opens in a new window

The vision of WBS is to be Europe’s leading University-based Business School, developing transformational ideas and people that shape how we do business. We recognise that rankings are one way to profile our progress towards fulfilling this vision, and are proud to participate in the major global business education rankings.

QS Business Masters Rankings 2022

• Master's in Business Analytics – 12th in the world, 3rd in the UK 
• Masters's in Marketing – 7th in the world, 2nd in the UK 
• Master's in Management – 19th in the world, 4th in the UK 
• Master's in Finance – 20th in the world, 6th in the UK .

Financial Times Masters in Management Ranking 2021

• 15th in the world, 3rd in the UK.

Financial Times Masters in Finance Ranking 2022

• 12th in the world, 3rd in the UK.

Financial Times’ Online MBA ranking 2022

• 1st in the world for our Distance Learning MBA.

Economist/Which? MBA 2022

• 1st in the UK for our Full-time MBA.

Our Postgraduate Taught courses

MSc courses

• Accounting and Finance (MSc)
• Business Analytics (MSc)
• Business and Finance (MSc)
• Business with Marketing (MSc)
• Business with Operations Management (MSc)
• Finance (MSc)
• Finance and Economics (MSc)
• Global Central Banking and Financial Regulation (MSc)
• International Business (MSc)
• Management (MSc)
• Management of Information Systems and Digital Innovation (MSc)
• Marketing and Strategy (MSc)
• Mathematical Finance (MSc)

MBA

• Business Administration (Global Online) (MBA)
• Business Administration (Executive) (MBA)
• Business Administration (Full-time) (MBA)

Executive Diplomas

• Behavioural Science (PGDip)
• Digital Leadership (PGDip)
• Marketing Leadership (PGDip)
• Organisational Change (PGDip)
• Strategic Leadership (PGDip)
• Strategy and Innovation (PGDip)

Our Postgraduate Research courses

• Business and Management (MRes/PhD)
• Doctor of Business Administration (DBA)
• Finance and Economics (MRes/PhD)