phd in finance cornell

PhD in Applied Economics and Management Program

Earn your doctorate at the dyson school—an innovative, immersive phd program.

Prepare for research-rich careers in academia and industry.

Offered by the Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management at Cornell University, this PhD program is fully funded, fully residential—and fully designed to prepare you to tackle today’s most pressing economics issues. 

Earning a doctoral-level degree opens you up to exciting opportunities, whether you plan to teach at the college level, want to pursue a research-related career in industry, or wish to use your skills and knowledge in the nonprofit sector.

Why Earn a PhD in Applied Economics and Management at the Dyson School?

Considered one of the best applied economics PhD programs in the nation for research output, the Dyson School’s doctoral offering combines Ivy League rigor, experiential learning, and faculty mentorship. Here are just a few ways our program is unique among applied economics PhD s:

Fully Funded

All applied economics PhD students receive full tuition assistance, plus health insurance and a stipend for all five years

STEM-Designated

Our program prepares you to be a researcher in today’s technologically advanced, big-data-focused landscape.

Flexible and Focused

Choose an industry-focused concentration area, such as food and agricultural economics.

Experience-Rich

Partnerships across Cornell give you unprecedented teaching and research opportunities.

Program Overview: The PhD in Applied Economics and Management at a Glance

Here’s a quick overview of the AEM PhD program, from degree type to program duration:

Degree Awarded

PhD in Applied Economics and Management

Program Format

Full-time residential and STEM-designated

Program Duration

Our Curriculum: PhD Course Requirements

The first two years of the PhD in applied economics and management program include foundational coursework in areas such as economic theory, applied econometrics, and macroeconomic research. Then, you’ll progress into general electives, as well as electives related to your concentration area.

The heart of the PhD program is your dissertation, and this faculty-mentored, research-based project will be the focus of your final three years in the program.

PhD in AEM Concentrations: Developing Your Expertise

As a doctoral student at the Dyson School, you’ll choose one of four concentrations. As you take electives and engage with faculty in one of these research areas, you’ll begin to home in on your own area of expertise. Within this concentration, you’ll develop your dissertation idea and form your special faculty committee.

Environmental, Energy, and Resource Economics (EERE)

Discover how the economy and the environment interconnect. This concentration covers a wide range of existing and emerging environmental issues. EERE students gain environmental economics experience through our partnerships with the Atkinson Center for a Sustainable Future and the Cornell Institute for China Economic Research .

Faculty expertise in the environmental, energy, and resource economics PhD concentration area includes:

• Climate change
• Air and water quality
• Policy evaluation
• Transportation
• Renewable and nonrenewable energy

Food and Agricultural Economics (FAE)

Explore every aspect of the food chain, from farm to market to consumer. Not only will you get to work with experts at the Dyson School, but with our connection to Cornell’s College of Agricultural and Life Sciences (CALS) , Cornell Cooperative Extension , and the Food Industry Management Program (FIMP) , you have unparalleled access to a broad range of experts, including natural scientists, farmers, and food retailers.

Faculty expertise in the food and agricultural economics PhD concentration area includes:

• Agricultural finance
• Behavioral economics
• Food retailing and marketing
• Farm management

International & Development Economics (IDE)

Find solutions to market challenges around the world. This concentration will expand your knowledge of pressing societal issues, including poverty, public health, and agriculture. Teaching and research opportunities for IDE students include the Tata-Cornell Institute for Agriculture and Nutrition , the Emerging Markets Institute , and the Einaudi Center for International Studies .

Faculty expertise in the international and development economics PhD concentration area includes:

• Poverty and inequity
• Nutrition and urbanization
• Public works programs
• Resilience measurement
• Labor markets

Management (MGMT)

Dive into the science of management in industries of all kinds. Concentrating in management gives you flexibility in building your academic plan, including hundreds of electives and endless possibilities for dissertation research topics. Our faculty members have an incredible range of scholarly and professional experience, our management concentration highlights three core areas:

Real Estate Economics (REE)

Faculty in this area examine issues related to real estate and urban development. Research interests include:

• Commercial real estate finance
• Investment performance
• Tall buildings

Strategy and Business Economics (SBE)

Faculty in this area explore a range of strategy-related questions. Their research interests include:

• Digitization
• Human capital management
• Organizational economics

Faculty in this area focus on empirical finance issues. Research interests include:

• Climate finance
• Household finance
• Asset pricing
• Financial institutions

Benefits of a STEM-Designated PhD in Applied Economics and Management

A longtime innovator in economics education, the Dyson School has always prepared its students for the changing marketplace. Our STEM-designated PhD program takes that to another level by ensuring our graduate-level curriculum gives you the technical competencies demanded of today’s researchers. Your studies will cover applied econometrics, machine learning, programming, and other emerging areas relevant to business. 

The STEM designation offers additional benefits to Dyson School students on an F-1 visa, including the opportunity for extended learning and professional experiences in the United States.

After the PhD: Careers in Academia and Industry

A senior data scientist at Citibank. A research agricultural economist at the US Department of Agriculture. An assistant professor at Hong Kong University of Technology. 

Dyson School PhD graduates take their research experience into academia and industry. As scholars, they teach and continue their research at institutions across the US and abroad. They also serve in high-profile economist, data scientist, advisor, and related roles at organizations from federal agencies to global financial services firms to nongovernmental organizations. 

VIEW PhD in AEM CAREER OUTCOMES

Your Dissertation: Putting Ideas into Action

Intellectual curiosity at the Dyson School is strong. Our PhD students devote their research to economics and management topics spanning sectors and industries. Dissertations in recent history take a deep dive into issues such as:

• Tax policy, public health, and government spending
• Food safety and consumer demand in China
• Business process innovation in commercial firms
• Impact of fintech in agricultural economics

Our Faculty: Research with Industry-Leading Scholars

As a PhD student at the Dyson School, you’ll work alongside some of the most brilliant minds in economics and management. In addition to receiving individual mentorship, you’ll get to build your own special faculty committee—an advisory group that will guide you through every step of your dissertation.

Throughout the program—from foundation courses to electives across Cornell—you will learn from award-winning educators, widely published scholars, and industry-leading practitioners.

“One of my favorite aspects of the PhD in Applied Economics and Management program was the abundance of seminars and the regular hosting of conferences. The wide range of seminars and the frequency of conferences created an intellectually stimulating environment and facilitated thought-provoking discussions with experts and peers.” — Natasha Jha ’23

The PhD Student Experience: Living and Learning at the Dyson School

When you join the Dyson School, you will become part of a vibrant, collaborative learning community dedicated to positively impacting people around the world through economic and management research.

Our Community

As a PhD student at Dyson, you will make meaningful connections across campus and beyond. You’ll learn from a world-class faculty, engage with ambitious peers, receive close research mentorship, and have access to a broad range of academic and career support services.

With historic buildings, modern learning spaces, beautiful scenery, and plenty of amenities, Cornell is an amazing place to live and learn. We’d love to show you around campus.

Our Expertise

Our faculty are experts in many areas but perhaps most notably for consulting, consumer packaged goods, financial services, technology, and agribusiness. The breadth and depth of our knowledge is especially helpful as you pursue your doctoral research. 

LEARN MORE ABOUT DYSON

Admissions Overview: How to Apply to the PhD in Applied Economics and Management Program

The ideal candidate for the Dyson School’s applied economics PhD program will have a thorough knowledge of economic theory and quantitative methods, as well as a background in calculus and real analysis. Our admissions page has more details about eligibility requirements, deadlines, and materials you need to submit with your application.

Applied Economics FAQ: Your PhD Questions Answered

As you research and compare applied economics PhD programs , you probably have questions about program length, the admissions process, dissertation requirements, career possibilities, and more. Explore the answers to frequently asked questions to help you learn more about the Dyson School’s program.

Next Steps: Apply to the Dyson School PhD in AEM

Ready to apply to our highly selective, fully funded PhD in Applied Economics and Management? We encourage you to officially start the application process today at the Cornell Graduate Admissions website.

Graduate Program

Our Ph.D. program field faculty consists of 91 economists drawn from the Economics Department and other departments and colleges across the university, offering students many opportunities. Students can focus their doctoral research on a wide range of economics-related topics provided at least two Ph.D. program field faculty members approve the topic and agree to supervise the student. 

To view our Ph.D. program field faculty, click here .

The Economics Department is committed to fostering an inclusive culture and positive climate for all at Cornell University and in the Economics profession more broadly.  Learn more about our diversity and inclusion initiatives here.

Job Market Candidates

The department is proud to support and promote the work of our Ph.D. students who are seeking employment following the completion of their doctoral program. At Cornell University, economists are trained in many departments, schools and colleges, and as a part of multiple graduate fields.  All Ph.D. job candidates with training in economics are listed here .  The following websites include the subset of students who are receiving their degrees in Fields outside of Economics:  Field of Policy Analysis and Management  and  Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management .

More About the Graduate Program

Economics news.

Klarman Fellow to study consequences of the social safety net

Neil Cholli, Klarman Postdoctoral Fellow in economics, has received a grant from the Washington Center for Equitable Growth to study how inequality affects economic growth and well-being in the U.S.

New Faculty: Jeremy Lise

Jeremy Lise, Economics

New Faculty: Anran Li

Anran Li, Economics

New Faculty: Rohit Lamba

Rohit Lamba, Economics

New Faculty: Adam Harris

Adam Harris, Economics

New Faculty: Ezra Oberfield

Ezra Oberfield, Economics

From portfolios to pizza, fall A&S career events explore diverse fields

"Cornell alumni are generous with their time and efforts to assist students, to answer questions from students, or connect them to people and places."

New A&S dean relishes ‘life in a university’

Peter John Loewen says he's excited to support faculty in their research, meet students and showcase the value of a liberal arts education.

Upcoming Events

Law, economics, and, policy seminar (leap): prasad krishnamurthy, joint with development and public workshop: kevin carney, econometrics workshop: xinyue bei, bedr workshop: julia minson, microeconomics workshop: prajit k. dutta, econometrics workshop: frank kleibergen.

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Financial Engineering Concentration and Cornell Financial Engineering Manhattan (CFEM)

Current headlines.

Cornell Financial Engineering Manhattan invites you to its third annual "Future of Finance & AI" Conference on September 13th! 

CFEM is excited to continue its strong partnership with Rebellion Research in hosting industry leaders in New York City! We have an amazing roster of panelists and sponsors from all over the country lined up for this one-of-a-kind event.

Senior academics, seasoned Wall Streeters, FinTech founders, and AI experts will share their insights on a variety of topics such as "Chat-GPT & The Future of AI in Finance" and the "Changing Landscape of Investing." Lively debates will be held on machine learning, data science, optimal control, and more (see the current agenda ).

Register now before tickets sell out! We look forward to seeing you on the Cornell Tech campus! Note: Capacity is limited, and registration closes soon.

"At CFEM, students learn from practitioners real-world cutting-edge techniques that are applied at some of the leading investment institutions. Through industry-sponsored projects, the students demonstrate to future employers their unique analytical and team-working skills, which allow them to solve problems that firms have struggled with for years.”

--Visiting Professor Marcos Lopez de Prado

Learn more about Cornell Master in Financial Engineering in 2024!

Interested in discovering a unique feature of the CFEM semester? As a Cornell MFE student, you will be working on groundbreaking research alongside industry experts through the Capstone Projects . Watch the 2023 Project Recap Video in which CFEM Head of Research Sasha Stoikov explains this one-of-a-kind opportunity that is not offered anywhere else. Subscribe to our main channel for more content that will convince you to enroll today!

Spring 2024 Event Lineup ( all CFEM Events )

2/20 CFEM and UBS AI & Data Research Seminars: Joseph Simonian (Scientific Beta)

3/19 CFEM and UBS AI & Data Research Seminars: Igor Halperin (Fidelity)

4/23 CFEM and UBS AI & Data Research Seminars: Michael Ludkovski (UCSB)

CFEM Testimonials

"CFEM is a community where you can not only gain solid academic experience, but also exchange state-of-the-art insights with outstanding practitioners. You will stand at the cutting edge of the industry." - Hubery Wang, MFE Class of 2019

"The MFE program will equip you with the tools and knowledge you need to succeed. You can tailor your coursework to a specific career path while also building knowledge in fundamental areas." - Sagar Mehta, MFE Class of 2020

Check out our latest brochure highlighting Cornell MFE over the past 10 years (see side menu under " Alumni Testimonials ")!

Formally recognized as the Master in Engineering (MEng) with Financial Concentration in the School of Operations Research and Information Engineering (ORIE), Cornell MFE is a career-oriented and application-focused degree that takes you beyond textbook quantitative finance ( Cornell MFE info ). With its flexible curriculum that encourages the study of data science, optimization, analytics, and computing, in addition to a broad range of courses in finance, the program has a rich history of providing the relevant and practical coursework in line with the demands of the financial industry. Graduates of the program   have a U.S. degree in an approved science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) field (see information on OPT STEM Extension from the Office of Global Learning). 

With Cornell MFE, your career is guaranteed to begin in the classroom ( Apply to Cornell MFE ).

Cornell MFE consists of (3) semesters (Fall-Spring-Fall) and allows for a summer internship after the first year. All students begin their studies on our scenic Ithaca campus, and they will complete their studies at Cornell Financial Engineering Manhattan in the heart of New York City.

For the price of one program, students have a diversity of settings to experience the full range of Cornell University.

Structured to offer a flexible curriculum, Cornell MFE allows students to focus on a career track of their choice. Some of the most popular career tracks include:

• Quantitative Portfolio Management
• Financial Data Science/Fintech
• Financial Risk Management

To complete the ORIE Core Requirements, students must take a certain minimum number of credit hours from three modeling and data science modules (see chart above). While the selection of qualifying courses in each module is broad, each course is strategically hand-picked across various departments to offer students the knowledge most sought after in the field of quantitative finance. In addition, students must take certain credit-hours from the Financial Applications module for completion of the financial engineering concentration (MFE). Financial Applications Module includes courses from the Johnson Graduate School of Management and Cornell Financial Engineering Manhattan (CFEM).

CFEM, established in 2007 as a satellite New York City campus for Cornell MFEs, serves to connect our students with alumni and other practitioners working in the field of quantitative finance.  

Most of the CFEM coursework is taught by practitioners. Our practitioner lecturers work in the same field as the courses they teach (see full list of faculty) . CFEM courses change year to year in response to the fast-paced needs of the financial industry. For specific qualifying courses, please see the ORIE MEng Handbook (pages 6-7 for ORIE Core and pages 11-12 for Financial Applications). Please email us for a copy of the handbook.

The Financial Data Science Certificate (FDSC) is integrated in the curriculum and is designed specifically for students who are interested in deepening their knowledge of machine learning and data science applications. FDSC coursework equips students with the knowledge that brings immediate value to an organization. Upon completion, students will have solid backgrounds in each of the following:

Theory: Understand the value-added and potential uses of data science in finance  

Data: Collect/scrape data and create data environment  

Application: Apply algorithms and extract insight

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Management and Organizations

The Management and Organizations (M&O) PhD program at Johnson offers a broad-based program of study for students interested in research careers. Faculty research interests are wide and varied and include topics such as diversity in organizations, creativity in teams, organizational leadership, status and power in teams and organizations, individual and collective decision making, negotiation and conflict management, industry evolution, organizational culture, entrepreneurship, sustainable development, and corporate environmental policy. Doctoral training involves close collaboration with faculty members on shared research interests, coursework in Johnson and across Cornell’s campus, and independent research activities.

Johnson is part of a thriving community of world-class management scholars at Cornell University. Faculty and students work closely with colleagues in the School of Industrial and Labor Relations, the Cornell Peter and Stephanie Nolan School of Hotel Administration , the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, as well as faculty in the departments of sociology and psychology in the College of Arts and Science. More than twenty Cornell faculty members are affiliated with the management field.

Johnson supports scholarly activity of M&O faculty and students. For instance, faculty and students have access to the  Johnson Business Simulation Laboratory  to conduct experiments, as well as a participant pool for experimental research. Funding is available to support student research projects and travel to national and international conferences. Johnson also is the home to the internationally-recognized academic journal, Administrative Science Quarterly .

Our goal is to train students to become highly skilled and innovative researchers, preparing them for careers at leading educational institutions and for careers where advanced research and analytical capabilities are required. Recent alumni have been placed in top-tier academic institutions for post-doctoral positions and tenure-track faculty positions, including the University of Chicago, Northwestern University, the University of Texas, the University of California, McGill University, KAIST (Korea), SKK (Korea), and Carnegie Mellon University.

Gautam Ahuja Johnson School 

Ya-Ru Chen Johnson School

John Doris Dyson School

Glen W.S. Dowell Johnson School

Michelle M. Duguid Johnson School

Jason Greenberg Nolan School

Angus Hildreth Johnson School

Heeyon Kim Nolan School

Kevin Kniffin Dyson School

Tashlin Lakhani Nolan School

Wyatt Lee Nolan School

Elizabeth McClean Johnson School

Elizabeth A. Mannix Johnson School

Matt Marx Johnson School

Laura Niemi Dyson School

Sunita Sah Johnson School

Tony Simons Nolan School 

Wesley David Sine Johnson School

Yuan Shi Nolan School

Simone Tang Nolan School 

Pam Tolbert ILR School

Kate Walsh Nolan School

Kristina Workman Nolan School

Some of Our Alumni

Subrina Shen, Graduation Year: 2021, First Placement: University of Texas at Austin

Huisi Jessica Li, Graduation Year: 2020, First Placement: Georgia Institute of Technology

Nathan Pettit, Graduation Year: 2011, First Placement: New York University

Oliver Sheldon, Graduation Year: 2007, First Placement: University of Chicago

Ethan Burris, Graduation Year: 2005, First Placement: University of Texas at Austin

Cornell Financial Aid

Search cornell financial aid, graduate students, let's get started.

Starting your financial aid application(s) early is a small step that can make a big difference.

How to Apply

At Cornell, university funded financial support for graduate and professional degree programs varies by college or school, field, and degree program:

• Ninety-nine percent of Cornell’s Ph.D. students are fully funded to pursue their degrees through a combination of competitive internal and external fellowships and research and teaching assistantships. These awards are typically offered by graduate fields and departments at the time of admission - application requirements vary.
• Research master’s, professional, and executive degree programs offer limited financial assistance. Availability, terms, and application requirements vary - for more information, please contact the individual graduate professional program.
• All eligible U.S. students* seeking federal student loan funding for graduate or professional degree programs must complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) .

Learn More about how to apply.

*U.S. students include U.S. citizens, U.S. citizens with dual citizenship, and certain eligible non-citizens such as refugees or asylees. Undocumented students who attended and graduated from a U.S. high school, with or without DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) status are not eligible for federal aid.

Graduate Student Loans

Cornell University participates in two federal student loan programs (U.S. citizens and eligible non-citizens only), and certifies private education loan eligibility for graduate and professional degree candidates.

The Office of Financial Aid and Student Employment processes student loans for most Cornell graduate degree candidates. Student loans for professional degree candidates are processed by professional school financial aid offices (Johnson, Law, VetMed).

Federal Loans

To apply for a federal student loan (U.S. citizens and eligible noncitizens only), complete the FAFSA form for the appropriate academic year, and:

• For William D. Ford Direct Unsubsidized Loans – accept or decline your loan offer(s) in Student Center .
• For Federal Graduate PLUS Loans – complete a Graduate PLUS Federal Loan Request form.

Federal loan limits and eligibility requirements apply. Federal loan funding is not available to visiting or non-matriculated students or for less-than half-time enrollment (typically, fewer than 6 credits per semester).

Private Loans

To apply for a private education loan, submit a loan application directly to the private lender of your choice using the lender’s online application process. Your private lender will then ask Cornell University to certify your eligibility electronically.

• Eligibility criteria, interest rates, repayment terms, borrowing limits vary.
• We recommend exhausting your William D. Ford Direct Unsubsidized Loan eligibility, before considering federal Graduate PLUS Loans or private education loans.
• Evaluate your private education loan options carefully before applying – Cornell University does not recommend, prefer, or endorse any private lenders or loan products.

We’re here to help! If you have questions about student loan funding, please contact the appropriate Cornell University financial aid office:

• Degree candidates in Cornell Graduate School research Masters and Ph.D. programs, Masters of Engineering (M.Eng) programs, Masters programs at Cornell Tech, and executive Masters programs – contact the Office of Financial Aid and Student Employment .
• Degree candidates in Johnson Graduate School of Management programs (including Johnson Graduate School programs at Cornell Tech) – contact the Johnson Graduate School financial aid office .
• Degree candidates in Cornell Law School programs (including Cornell Law programs at Cornell Tech) – contact the Law School financial aid office .
• Degree candidates in College of Veterinary Medicine programs – contact the VetMed financial aid office .

2024-25 Graduate & Professional Estimated Costs of Attendance

Looking for estimated costs of attendance for graduate or professional degree programs? Please refer to the University Bursar’s Office Tuition Rates and Fees page to view current tuition rates for your program, as well as the table below for additional estimated costs of attendance used by your Financial Aid Office to determine your eligibility for student loan funding:

* Expenses for housing, food, books, and other supplies may be billed or non-billed costs, depending on university housing plans and academic program.

** Includes mandatory student activity and health fees ($110 and $550) only. Does not include optional course fees or the cost of Cornell’s Student Health Plan (SHP) which may be waived if covered by alternate health insurance which meets university requirements. Students may request an estimated cost of attendance increase and student loan funding to cover the cost of optional course fees and SHP.

** Includes mandatory student activity and health fees ($110 and $450) only.  Does not include optional course fees or the cost of Cornell’s Student Health Plan (SHP) which may be waived if covered by alternate health insurance which meets university requirements.  Students may request an estimated cost of attendance increase and student loan funding to cover the cost of optional course fees and SHP.

Costs of Attendance Appeals

All graduate and professional students receiving university or student loan funding are assigned an annual estimated Cost of Attendance budget (COA). Your COA is a reasonable estimate of typical costs to attend for one academic year and includes, but is not limited to: tuition and fees, books, course materials, supplies, and equipment, transportation, miscellaneous personal expenses, and living expenses (food and housing). Your COA includes both billed and non-billed costs, is used to determine your eligibility for certain types of funding, including federal and private education loans.

In some cases, your actual costs to attend may be greater than your estimated COA. To access additional loan funds, you may need to request a Cost of Attendance Increase (annual loan limits may still apply).

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• Inside SC Johnson

Meet our new faculty: Mao Ye, PhD ’11

Mao ye is an associate professor of finance at johnson..

Mao Ye, PhD ’11, associate professor of finance at Johnson

Meet  Mao Ye , PhD ’11, one of the newest faculty members from across the SC Johnson College of Business. Ye earned his PhD in economics at Cornell University. He joins the  Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management from the University of Illinois.

Learn more about Ye’s areas of expertise, research focus, courses he will be teaching, and other interests in this Q&A.

Mao Ye | Associate Professor of Finance | Johnson

What are your research and teaching areas of focus.

My research and teaching focus on market microstructure and big data in finance. Market microstructure studies the process and outcomes of exchanging assets under explicit trading rules. My big data research focuses on analyzing financial datasets of large size, high dimension, and complex structure . 

Modern financial markets generate vast quantities of data.  As the data environment has become increasingly “big” and analyses increasingly computerized, the information that different market participants extract and use has grown more varied and diverse.  At one extreme, high-frequency traders (HFTs) implement ultra-minimalist algorithms optimized for speed. At the other extreme, some industry practitioners apply sophisticated machine-learning techniques that take minutes, hours, or days to run. I am interested in understanding this spectrum of machine-based trading, with the purpose of informing public policy and augmenting theoretical studies on financial markets.  

I organize two big data conferences yearly for the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER). You can find the submission information for NBER Summer and Winter Big Data Conferences on my Twitter account, @MaoYeFinance .

What class(es) will you be teaching this year?

I will teach the core finance course for the Executive MBA Americas program. 

What attracted you to the Cornell SC Johnson College of Business and to the Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management, specifically?

I got my PhD from Cornell University 11 years ago. It is a pleasure for me to come back. It was a high honor for me to be accepted by Cornell as a student. It is a higher honor for me to be hired by Cornell as a faculty member.

What first sparked your interest in market microstructure and big data in finance?

I became interested in my research area when I took my PhD courses in market microstructure and behavioral finance. I think the combination of the two may create a new area. Just as insights into human behavior from the psychology literature spawned the field of behavioral finance, insights into algorithmic behavior (or the psychology of machines) can result in an analogous blossoming of research in algorithmic behavioral finance.

When did you know you wanted to be a professor?

My professors inspired me when I was an undergraduate student, and I think that the best way to give back is to follow their career paths.

What are you most looking forward to during your first year at Johnson?

I look forward to working with my prospective students to push the frontier in the teaching and research on big data in finance. As a former student, I benefit from Cornell’s world-class education. As a faculty member, I hope to carry this torch forward. 

Learn more about Mao Ye and about resources for big data research in finance on Ye’s personal website and follow him on Twitter at @MaoYeFinance .

/images/cornell/logo35pt_cornell_white.svg" alt="phd in finance cornell"> Cornell University --> Graduate School

Nextgen professors program prepares future faculty.

NextGen Professors Program participants at an end-of-year luncheon. Simon Wheeler for Cornell University.

September 9, 2024

By Katya Hrichak

Jennifer Houtz, Ph.D. ‘23, always knew she wanted to be a professor at a primarily undergraduate institution.

But the journey from a Ph.D. to an academic career can be challenging to navigate with numerous components and requirements. To better prepare herself for the job search and transition from student to professor, Houtz participated in the NextGen Professors Program.

Co-sponsored by the Graduate School Office of Inclusion and Student Engagement and Future Faculty and Academic Careers, the NextGen Professors Program aims to prepare Cornell doctoral students and postdocs for faculty careers across institutional types.

Participants, as a cohort, engage in a series of professional and career development activities including monthly NextGen Professors meetings, Power Mentoring Sessions with faculty members, and Future Faculty and Academic Careers workshops and consultations.

“The NextGen Professors Program offered a streamlined and comprehensive professional development pathway that would help me achieve that dream career,” said Houtz, an assistant professor of biology at Allegheny College since fall of 2023.

Meetings cover topics such as readying application materials, including CVs, cover letters, and research, teaching, and mentoring statements, and preparing for campus interviews, job talks, and entering negotiations. Power Mentoring Sessions can address these topics as well as any other questions participants may have in a confidential, casual setting with faculty.

“The NextGen Professors Program helped me reflect on my own graduate school experience and think forward about how I want to shape the educational experiences of my future students,” said Kim Hochstedler Webb, Ph.D. ’24, an incoming assistant professor at the University of Pittsburgh Division of General Internal Medicine. “This reflection enabled me to enter my faculty job search with a clear intention for how I would mentor students, teach classes, and contribute to collaborative research.”

In addition to gaining in-depth knowledge about the ins and outs of the job search and what beginning a faculty role can look like, participants gain a community of other likeminded individuals.

“I wanted to be a part of a community of senior Ph.D. students and postdocs who were preparing to enter the academic job market. I felt that being a part of this community would be very beneficial and provide me with the right support system to succeed,” said Kianté Brantley, who participated in the program as a Cornell postdoc and is now an assistant professor of computer science at the Harvard University John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.

Becoming part of a NextGen Professors cohort connects doctoral students and postdocs across fields and disciplines, offering new perspectives, added support, and connections that might not have otherwise formed.

“I decided to apply for and participate in the NextGen Professors Program at a time when I was feeling immensely overwhelmed by the job search and by doubts about my place in academia and the professoriate,” said Caitlin Kane, Ph.D. ’22, now assistant professor of theatre history at the Kent State University School of Theatre and Dance. “I was looking for community and guidance on navigating the transition from the Ph.D. into the profession and was thrilled to find both through the program.”

“By the time I entered my current position, I felt absolutely prepared for the job, and that is due, in no small part, to the guidance I received from the program,” Kane said.

Applications for the 2024-2025 cohort are due by Sept. 23, and decisions will be released in October. To learn more about the program, visit the NextGen Professors Program page on the Graduate School website.

Dual Ph.D./J.D. Program in Developmental Psychology and Law

Outside USA: +1‑607‑330‑3200

Financial Decision Modeling Cornell Course

Course overview.

Machine learning and artificial intelligence are revolutionizing many fields, including quantitative finance and financial decision making. These technologies offer the possibility of developing advanced approaches to model market behavior and predict optimal trade decisions using various investment tools.

In this course, you will discover how to use the Julia programming language for quantitative financial decision making. You will be introduced to tools like Markov models, Markov decision processes, reinforcement learning, and Q-learning. To apply this knowledge, you will get firsthand experience with the process of building a trading bot. By the end of the course, you will be able to model and analyze investment decision making and develop automated trading systems using these tools.

You are required to have completed the following courses or have equivalent experience before taking this course:

• Quantitative Modeling of Fixed Income Debt Securities
• Equity Asset Pricing Using Stochastic Models
• Analysis of Equity Derivatives at Expiration
• Analysis of Equity Derivatives Before Expiration
• Optimizing Portfolio Allocation

Key Course Takeaways

• Build an agent-based simulation of investor sentiment using hidden Markov models
• Build a binary Bernoulli bandit risk-aware ticker picker
• Build a trading bot

How It Works

Course author.

• Certificates Authored

Jeffrey Varner holds a Bachelor of Science degree (Chemistry), a Masters and a Ph.D. degree in Chemical Engineering, from Purdue University. Prof. Varner’s graduate thesis work at Purdue was done under the direction of Prof. D. Ramkrishna in the area of modeling and analysis of metabolic networks. Following Purdue, Prof. Varner was a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Biology at the ETH-Zurich where he studied signal transduction mechanisms involved in cell-death under Prof. Jay Bailey. After the ETH, Prof. Varner was a Scientist in the Oncology business unit of Genencor International Inc, Palo Alto, CA. While at Genencor, Prof. Varner was involved in the discovery of novel targets in human cancers, and was a project team member for preclinical, phase-I and II studies of protein therapeutics for the treatment of colorectal cancer and Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL). Prof. Varner left Genencor at the end of 2005 to join the faculty of the Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering department at Cornell University. At Cornell, the Varner lab is developing physiochemical modeling tools to rationally reprogram human signal transduction architectures.

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CALS Undergraduate Research Grants

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Kristina Harrison

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Agriculture and Life Sciences

CALS Undergraduate Research Grant

Funding up to $2000 USD is available to CALS undergraduate students for research expenses, including travel to a professional meeting or conference to present findings. Funding may not be used as a stipend for students conducting the research. Students are advised to work with faculty members to develop scientifically relevant and well-circumscribed research proposals.

Decisions made by late-November for Fall funding and in early April for Spring/Summer funding.

The following is a list of undergraduate grants offered by the Office of Academic Programs:

• The Dextra Undergraduate Research Endowment Fund enables talented undergraduate students in genomics/life sciences and/or environmental sciences to perform undergraduate research. Undergraduate students in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences are invited to submit proposals. Several grants of up to $2,000 will be made each year.
• The Cornell University Agricultural Experiment Station (Cornell AES) has made available $25,000 this year for supplementing current Hatch or Multistate projects where the principle investigator is mentoring a College of Agriculture and Life Sciences undergraduate student in research associated with that Hatch project. Twenty-five projects will be supplemented with $1,000 each to support the undergraduate student's research. The student should be engaged in independent research (i.e. involved in the research process more than doing "busy work" to earn an income).Projects awarded this supplement in Federal Year '22 (FY22) must be spent by September 30, 2024.
• The Cornell University Agricultural Experiment Station (Cornell AES) has made available $4,000 this year for supplementing current McIntire-Stennis grants, where the principal investigator is mentoring a College of Agriculture and Life Sciences undergraduate student in research associated with that McIntire-Stennis Grant.
• The Jane E. Brody Undergraduate Research Award funds undergraduate students in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Research Honors Program. Up to $500 of funds per student is available. Undergraduate students in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences are invited to submit proposals.
• S. Ann and Robert R. Morley have provided funds to support research by undergraduate students in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. The primary objective is to increase the involvement of students in research in the agricultural and life sciences. Undergraduate students from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences are invited to submit research proposals in competition for funding. Applicants may be individuals or groups; projects may involve basic or applied research. At least four proposals will be chosen for a maximum of $1,500 each. No student may receive the award for more than two consecutive years.
• Fredric (Fred) N. Gabler ’93 was a CALS alumnus who was killed in the September 11, 2001 tragedy. The Gabler Endowment was established by friends of Fred Gabler and his family to ensure the continuance of the honors research program in CALS. The fund will provide financial assistance to an undergraduate researcher enrolled in the CALS Research Honors program. 
• The Michael W. Berns BS ’64, MS ’66, PhD ’68 Undergraduate Research Award provides support to undergraduate students enrolled in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences performing research in the life and environmental sciences. The fund will provide financial assistance to an undergraduate student working with a faculty member on a research project, which may take place during an academic semester or over a summer.

Grant Proposal Application Instructions

Proposals  must  strictly adhere to the guidelines described below; those that do not may be returned.

Proposals should include :

• Cover Page/Application Proposal  for Research funds. Students with Microsoft Word may fill out the application digitally. Eligible applicants may apply to more than one program using a single application.
• Statement of Objectives and Significance
• Brief Review of Relevant Literature
• Description of Methodology (detail adequate to evaluate the probability of project completion; statement(s) of expected results helpful if known)
• Time frame (research to be completed within a 12-month period)
• Literature Cited

Additional considerations:

• Proposals should be written in 12-point font with single or double spacing between lines and at least 1-inch margins. Abbreviations within the proposal must be defined. No appendices may be included.
• Undergraduate grant proposals are restricted to a  maximum of 2 pages , excluding cover page and list of literature cited.
• The budget should list the actual project cost; other sources of funding received, expected, or for which the student has applied; and the amount of funding requested from the Office of Academic Programs, including an explanation of how those funds will be used.
• If the student has already received funding for this research from one of these sources, an additional page must be added to the proposal describing the research progress.
• Computers and software purchased with these funds are the property of Cornell University and must remain at Cornell after the student graduates.
• All undergraduate proposals must be reviewed by the student’s research mentor and revised according to his/her recommendations. The final proposal must be signed by the research mentor before submission to the Office of Academic Programs.

A sample proposal is available for review:  sample #1 .

Funding is limited to  full-time students  only. 

These awards can be used for research or travel related to research, including attending research conferences.

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The Cornell Daily Sun (https://cornellsun.com/2024/09/17/cornell-financial-aid-recipients-from-fall-2003-to-sept-13-can-file-claim-for-approximately-2000-under-class-action-lawsuit/)

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Cornell is one of seventeen elite universities involved in a financial aid class action lawsuit and is one of seven that has yet to make a settlement offer.

September 17, 2024

Administration, cornell financial aid recipients from fall 2003 to feb. 28, 2024, can file claim for approximately $2,000 under class action lawsuit, by marisa cefola | september 17, 2024.

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Cornell students and alumni who received need-based financial aid from the University between the fall of 2003 and Feb. 28, 2024, now have the opportunity to submit a claim to receive part of a $284 million settlement from a class action lawsuit.

The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois approved settlements for ten of seventeen universities named in Henry, et al. v. Brown University, et al., and a claims form became available on Friday, Sept. 13.

Cornell is one of seven universities that has not settled and remains a defendant in the case. Still, students considered to be in the “settlement class” at any of the universities can file a claim. Cornell students who attended the university between the fall of 2003 and Feb. 28, 2024, are included in this class.   

“Assuming that about half of the estimated 200,000 Class members submit timely claims, the average claimant will receive about $2,000 from these Settlements,” wrote Financial Aid Antitrust Settlement in a Monday email to potential compensation claimants.

Plaintiffs in the lawsuit — filed in January of 2022 — claim elite universities colluded on financial aid decisions using an antitrust exemption within the Improving America’s Schools Act of 1994 . The “568 exception” allows need-blind schools to collaborate on financial aid with other need-blind schools. 

As a result, plaintiffs alleged that Brown University, the California Institute of Technology, the University of Chicago, Columbia University, Cornell University, Dartmouth College, Duke University, Emory University, Georgetown University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Northwestern University, Notre Dame, the University of Pennsylvania, Rice University, Vanderbilt University and Yale University participated in a price-fixing cartel that artificially boosted the net price of attendance for students receiving need-based financial aid.  

Students and alumni can submit a claim online until Dec. 17. 

Correction, Sept. 17, 3:33 p.m.:  A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that the settlement class included Cornell financial aid recipients from Fall 2003 to Sept. 13, when the accurate timeline is recipients from Fall 2003 to Feb. 28.