AS: the University of Exeter has funding to allow someone to do a PhD on British corporate finance. Looks like a pretty sweet package. Details below.

The University of Exeter is pleased to be offering a total of up to 20 ESRC funded 1+3 or +3 studentships as part of theSouth West Doctoral Training Centre for entry in 2015-16. Within the DTC, the Business School  is currently inviting applications for ‘British Corporate Finance, 1945-65’. This project is one of a number that are in competition for funding. Studentships will be awarded on the basis of merit and strategic fit with the aims of the DTC.

For eligible UK/EU students the full time studentship will cover fees and an annual Research Council stipend of approximately £13,863 (2014/2015 rate) for up to three years (+3 PhD award) or four years (1+3 Masters + PhD award).

Supervisors:

Mark Billings

Professor Lynne Oats

The supervisors can be contacted on M.Billings@exeter.ac.uk for further details of the project and for support in completing the research proposal.

Project Description:

This project aims to explore the development of British corporate finance during the intense period of activity which followed World War Two.  The collaborative partner in the project will be Schroders plc, the FTSE 100 global investment and wealth management business, which can trace its origins to the early nineteenth century and in the postwar period was one of the leading merchant banks which were instrumental in the reshaping of British business and financial innovation.  Access to Schroders’ records covering a wide range of industrial and commercial clients from the period 1945-65 will provide a primary research source hitherto unavailable. It is anticipated that using appropriate quantitative and qualitative methods these records will yield new insights into financial innovation, market mechanisms such as underwriting arrangements and the pricing of new and seasoned equity and bond issues, the market for corporate control in the postwar merger boom, the advisory and deal-making role of merchant banks, financial and business networks, and the influence of taxation on corporate decision-making. Access to the primary research records will be at the partner’s City of London headquarters, under the supervision of the partner’s corporate archivist, so a successful applicant must be willing to reside within reasonable travelling distance of this location for a significant part of the studentship.

The SWDTC Admissions Statement gives full details of the selection criteria and entry requirements.

Academic entry requirements: For the 1+3 programme students must have a strong first degree (at least an Upper Second Class Honours or equivalent) in a relevant discipline. Candidates for the +3 programme must, in addition, have (or be about to complete) a research Masters degree in a relevant discipline or have equivalent research training. Personal qualities should include the ability to work independently and the motivation necessary to complete a PhD in three years. . A successful applicant is likely to have significant prior study in at least one of the following areas: business, economic or financial history; economics; finance.

Residency entry requirements: These studentships will be funded by the ESRC and are available to UK nationals and other EU nationals who have resided in the UK for three years prior to commencing the studentship. If you meet the criteria, funding will be provided for tuition fees and stipend. If you are a citizen of an EU member state and don’t meet the residency requirement you will be eligible for a fees-only award. For further guidance about eligibility please refer to Annex 1 of the ESRC Postgraduate Funding Guide.