PhD Research

What We Offer

The CFCI brings our expertise in finance, economics, corporate accountability and law together to provide an appropriate ‘hub’ to explore the synergetic and inter-disciplinary nature of such research problems external drivers of financial and economic contemporary problems facing global businesses.

As a PG researcher within the Centre you will be encouraged to access and engage with our academic staff, become an active member of our lively PhD community and take the opportunity to enhance and promote your research to the widest possible audience

The CFCI creates many opportunities for our PGR community. Some of our activities include 1) PGR Community Building Events: regular meetings focusing on students’ experience and networking. 2) CFCI Seminar Series: held at regular intervals (weekly or fortnightly) with guest presentations from existing members, international visiting researchers and invited speakers and 3) Specialised Research Workshops: specialised research workshops, e.g. quantitative research methodology and software skills.

Main Areas of Supervision

Corporate finance
Behavioural finance
Corporate governance
Corporate social responsibility (CSR)
Sustainable finance
Risk management and leverage
Fintech
Financial markets
Tax and financial crime
Environmental law
Rule of law and justice
Economics of conflict
Economic and human development
International competitiveness and FDI

For a more detailed description of the areas of expertise of our research team, please visit our cluster pages:

Facilities, Software and Databases for PhD students

Facilities

Our main CFCI research office is located in the research hub of the business school. Our postgraduate research (PGR) students, including PhD students, have exclusive access to its 20 PCs. Students can also access docking stations, lockers, printing, and kitchen facilities designated for the PGRs. Other computer rooms managed by the business school are open to the CFCI PGRs.

Students can hire a laptop from the doctoral college and use it throughout their study. They also have a student allowance per year to purchase equipment and specialist software and books. There is an extra allowance for the PGRs to attend a conference and cover fieldwork.

Software and Databases

All PGRs can use the latest version of STATA MP (multicore support) via our AppsAnywhere platform. In addition, our students can use all university-standard analytic software, e.g. SPSS, Nvivo, Qualtrics, Minitab, Tableau, Matlab, Maple, Endnote, R, Python and more. Many of them can be installed on personal/home computers through AppsAnywhere.

Our PGR students have exclusive access rights to:

Wharton Research Data Services (WRDS): the best subscription service for academic databased such as Compustat (corporate finance and financial markets), CRSP (US financial markets), Boardex (corporate governance) and more.
CSMAR: the most reliable Chinese firms and financial market data.

We also provide access to university/faculty provided databases such as:

Bloomberg Professional: the best professional platform for finance and economics data.
Refinitive Workspace (inc. Datastream, Worldscope, I/B/E/S and Eikon): the most extensive economics and finance database.
Fitch Connect: well-renowned for banking, credit risk and other finance data.
BankFocus, ISS, FAME, IBISWorld, Mintel and more.

We have a vast range of subscription to academic journals. They can be accessed through institutional logins via Shibboleth, OpenAthens and Coventry Locate using the university login credentials on campus and at home. Subscribed publishers/databases include EBSCO, JSTOR, ScienceDirect and Emerald, among many others. Our subject librarian oversees them and answers any query from the PGR students.

Our learning sources include the full subscription to LinkedIn Learning and Sage Research Methods. Financial Times and many more are also provided via our library.

Postdoctoral opportunities with CFCI

A number of funded postdoctoral posts are also available to successful candidates at the end of their doctoral research journey. Postdoctoral fellowships in CFCI aim to develop clear career pathways for PhD candidates who have submitted their thesis and allow them to benefit from a structured mentoring programme by being involved in additional projects within the Research Centre to which they are attached. The scheme is designed for postdoctoral researchers who have consistently delivered high quality research and are able to demonstrate an ability to create a strong research proposal as an independent researcher.

Research Degrees
CFCI offers the following Postgraduate Research opportunities:

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

We have an engaging doctoral programme delivered at the Centre which provides unique experience. Students are fully integrated into CFCI via a range of activities including:
- Tailored inductions
- Research Seminars
- Peer to peer presentations
- Workshops
A special feature of the University's Postgraduate Research development is that PhD students with a successful track record and prompt completion are offered the opportunity to complete for a one-year postdoctoral funding at Coventry University.

Students are also provided with teaching opportunities within the Centre and the wider University.
Entry Requirements

For details on entry requirements and the formal application process and forms, please see Making an Application.
Funding Opportunities
The Centre offers a range of fully funded opportunities each year, as well as some non-funded project ideals for those who are considering a PhD and would like to work on an already designed projects.

Self-financing students with their own PhD proposals can choose from our team of academics, early career researchers and honorary research fellows with expertise in their fields, to form their supervisory team.
- Visit our available fully funded studentships.
- Visit our available non-funded studentships.
Additional Self-Funded Opportunities

We welcome applications from suitably qualified self-funded or sponsored PhD candidates that relate to our current research themes.
- Corporate tax crimes / tax fraud and evasion and comparative best practices for compliance and prosecution
- Anti-money laundering practices, profiling and underground financing
- New data protection regulations and their impact on key financial sectors
- Cybersecurity in the financial services sector
- Protection of corporate whistle-blowers
- Stakeholders' management and corporate performance
- Corporate Social Responsibility
- Cryptocurrencies/block chain technologies and financial stability
- Risk and compliance
- Microfinance and SMEs development
- Crowdfunding and other forms of alternative finance
- Financial crises and contagion
- Financial markets and (il)liquidity
- Fintech and data analytics
- Corporate governance and earning management
- Corporate finance policies, e.g. dividend policy, capital structure, etc.
- Behavioural finance
- Sustainable finance and Islamic finance
- Environmental regulations and economic sustainability
- Economic competitiveness of nations.
- Environmental policy, trade and investment flows
- Environmental regulations and economic sustainability
- Experimental economics and finance
- Behavioral economics
- Tourism economics
- Health economics
If you think you have what it takes to study for a PhD with us and have an idea you would like to discuss before you apply, please contact us. The University has three start dates each year, but interested candidates may contact CFCI at any time. For general enquiries please email our PhD Director, Dr Jin Park.