Yabo Zhao
International Management Studies PhD Student
One exciting part of the program is to have a series of seminar courses focusing on all kinds of topics in both traditional and emerging research areas. It provides an excellent opportunity to become acquainted with cutting-edge topics in finance research and in the learning process to find the areas that you would like to pursue further.
More importantly, the professors in the department are well-respected in academia with a variety of research interests, and they are willing to help and work with students.
In my study in the program, professors and peers help a lot, especially my advisor, Professor Vikram Nanda, who regularly gives me detailed guidance and support. I still remember the first chat with him in my first year. At the time, I knew little about research and came up with a list of half-baked “research” questions. He patiently discussed them with me over many rounds of meetings. I can remember when I got stuck in the project, he gave me not only guidance on the project but also mental encouragement and support.
I am now in my fourth year, and in this journey, I am grateful to be in the UTD finance PhD program, and I feel very fortunate to have many caring professors, lovely peers and a patient and supportive advisor who is willing to invest in students.
And another plus: Dallas is a cute place to live in.
