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PhD Program in Business

Real Estate

Introduction to the PhD Program in Business with a Real Estate Track

The Doctoral Program in Business at Baruch‘s Zicklin School of Business is under the auspices of CUNY’s Graduate Center. The Real Estate Track is offered through a Ph.D. specialization in Finance. The objective of the program is to train candidates for successful employment at research-oriented institutions of the highest quality.

A combination of rigorous classroom lectures, research seminars, independent studies, and close interactions with faculty members prepares the student for a life-time career of research and teaching in the field of real estate.

Degree Requirements

The degree requirements include 60 credits of course work, two exams, and the successful defense of a doctoral dissertation. Students with previous graduate course work may transfer up to six credits from their previous program. The program is designed to be completed in 4-5 years.

Foundation courses (12)

Students in all specializations of Business are required to take the following foundation courses:

  • Bus U800 Philosophy of Science (3 credits) and 9 credits of Statistics

The Baruch College faculty offers advanced Economics and Finance courses through the CUNY Graduate Center. The Ph.D. students may also take Economics and Finance courses at the Economics Departments in the Graduate Schools of Arts and Sciences at Columbia University, New York University, Rutgers University, and Princeton University, through the Interuniversity Doctoral Consortium. The Department of Real Estate supplements these offerings with two additional Ph.D. research seminar courses.

 

First Year Economics Sequences

Finance doctoral candidate with an interest in Real Estate will complete their first year Ph.D. Microeconomics and Econometrics sequences through the CUNY Graduate Center. The first-year Econometrics sequence may be used to partially satisfy the requirements for 9 credits of statistics courses. A cross-section panel data econometrics class or a time series econometrics class may be taken to satisfy the remaining requirement for 9-credit Statistics courses.

  • Microeconomics I
  • Microeconomics II
  • Econometrics I
  • Econometrics II

 

 

Finance Courses (12)

Doctoral candidates in Finance will normally complete the following 4 finance courses offered by the Department of Economics and Finance:

  • Corporate Finance Theory
  • Empirical Corporate Finance
  • Asset Pricing Theory
  • Empirical Asset Pricing
 

 

Real Estate Seminars (6)

Real Estate doctoral candidates are required to complete the following 2 seminar courses offered by the Department of Real Estate with a minimum of B grade:

  • Theoretical Foundation for Real Estate Research (Fin 79400)
  • Empirical Methods for Real Estate Research (Fin 79600)

 

 

 

The First Examination

For doctoral candidates in Finance, the first examination consists of a position paper. The student must choose a committee of three faculty members and a topic, and then file a form with the doctoral program. The filing starts a 90-day clock. At the end of 90 days, the student must submit his or her paper to the committee. The committee then works with the student to coordinate a date for the oral examination. The First Examination must be taken before the completion of 45 credits.

 

The Second Examination

Students are eligible to sit for the comprehensive examination when they have completed their coursework. The Second Examination must be completed by the end of the 5th year after the student is admitted to the Doctoral program.

The Second Examination covers material in the Ph.D. courses in Finance and Real Estate, and is in two parts: (1) a written examination; and (2) an oral examination, conducted by faculty members from Finance and Real Estate.

 

The Dissertation

Each doctoral candidate must complete a dissertation consisting of original research. After passing the Second Examination, the student must make a public presentation of his or her dissertation proposal. Upon approval of the proposal, the student is advanced to candidacy. A faculty committee, composed of a dissertation chair and at least two other members, advises the student during the research and conducts the oral examination.

 

Financial Support

All incoming students receive full tuition, as well as nine-month stipends commensurate with their qualifications from the Ph.D. in Business program for four years. Currently, the minimum stipend is $18,000 per year. Students may be assigned as Research or Teaching Assistants in order to receive the scholarships.

In addition to the funding from Ph.D. program office, the Department of Real Estate can provide additional resources for students conducting real estate research in the summer.

 

Computing Facilities

The Department of Real Estate recently acquired a 40 dual-core CPU (80 processor cores) Linux Cluster with over 80 GB of fast memory and 2000 GB of storage space to support academic computing. Real Estate doctoral students can receive a computing account on the cluster.

 

En-Route MBA

A student in good standing is eligible for an MBA after completing 45 credits of course work including at lease one course in accounting, finance, marketing, and organizational behavior and passing the Preliminary Research Paper. The student may apply for the degree en-route by writing to the executive officer and requesting it. The degree is a Baruch College MBA. As such it requires a 3.0 grade point average.

 

Application

The deadline for applications is January 15 of each year for the following fall semester. Applicants should visit CUNY Graduate Center application page for detailed application procedures.

 

Standardized Tests

All applicants are required to submit their GMAT score. While the Ph.D. in Business program does not enforce a strict “minimum” score for application, the average GMAT score of accepted applicants is 700. International students are also required to submit TOEFL score. English language proficiency is an important factor in the application process.

Other Information

For additional information, please visit Ph.D. Program in Business web site; contact the Ph.D. Program Coordinator for Finance Specialization,

Professor Lin Peng
Phone: (646) 312-3491
Email: Ling.Peng@baruch.cuny.edu

or contact the Real Estate Track Ph.D. Program Coordinator,

Professor Yildiray Yildirim
Phone: (646) 660-6950
Email: yildiray.yildirim@baruch.cuny.edu