PhD Accounting student testimonials

My time in the Department of Accounting at LSE was a period of professional and personal growth. The doctoral programme provided an invaluable opportunity to learn from world-class academics, whose guidance was essential in shaping my thinking and commitment to high quality research. The department offered a stimulating environment, with plenty of opportunities and networks for developing an academic career.

In the PhD I was encouraged to follow my curiosity and develop my critical thinking. I particularly appreciated the freedom to pursue my research interests, including ethnographic work, which my supervisors fully supported both methodologically and logistically. The journey required perseverance and resilience, and though demanding, was incredibly rewarding.

I look back at a stimulating and formative time at LSE. Throughout the years I grew not only as an aspiring academic but also as a person. The Department of Accounting provided me with conditions in which I thoroughly enjoyed researching and writing my PhD thesis. I initially joined LSE not only because of its reputation as a world-leading research institution, but also because of how it links into a global network of research. The opportunities to connect with scholars in the wider academic community were something I was able to utilise over the years of my PhD in seminars, conferences, and research visit abroad. After my experience at LSE, I was excited for the next steps into the job market and my future career.

I feel privileged that I had the opportunity to pursue a PhD at LSE. The faculty and the department were extremely supportive and encouraging. Being part of a world leading institution with a long heritage of intellectual curiosity changed my perception of research and public policy. The training and the advice I received during my studies, as well as the continuous interaction with prolific and inspiring faculty and visitors, informed and improved my research. The unique training at LSE sets the foundations such that students are able to work independently to develop conceptual frameworks and address fundamental questions. I am grateful for being given the freedom to explore different methodologies and research topics. This freedom allowed me to develop my own identity as a researcher and prepared me for an academic career.

Completing a PhD in Accounting at LSE was incredibly challenging but extremely worthwhile. The world-renowned faculty provided tremendous support and encouragement and the Department of Accounting provides considerable resources to ensure the success of PhD students. I was able to undertake world-class courses in financial accounting, econometrics and quantitative methods. The programme also provides opportunity to gain teaching experience. Students gain invaluable training from the weekly research seminars designed to help them come up to speed with the accounting literature, critically examine key papers, and improve presentation skills. PhD students also receive exposure to some of the world’s leading accounting academics through attendance at regular research seminars. Overall, LSE’s Department of Accounting PhD Programme has an international reputation for excellence and prepared me well for an academic career. 

The PhD journey for me was one of discovery. Personally, I unearthed the depths of my work ethic and perseverance. In focusing intently upon a particular area of study and questioning what was known and puzzling over what remained unknown, I discovered the types of questions I wanted to ask, and how I wanted to go about finding the answers. Both methodology and methods training are central pillars in doctoral research, and the Department of Accounting enabled these in spades. I was never left wanting for opportunities to enhance skills that were critical to the successful completion of my thesis. There was also no shortage of outstanding academics to challenge and inspire critical thinking and discussion. The PhD was not an easy road, but undoubtedly one that I believe was worthwhile.​

LSE’s PhD in Accounting program offers an intellectually invigorating environment for learning and sharing ideas and I feel fortunate to have had the opportunity to be a part of that environment. While the structure of most PhD programs is fairly similar, for me what distinguishes LSE’s program is the high quality of research training and mentoring that students receive. Being part of one of the world’s leading social sciences universities, the curriculum is interdisciplinary in nature, which makes it possible to gain exposure to a broad range of analytical and empirical methods and research ideas in adjacent fields such as finance, economics, and management. At the same time, the program is relatively small, which fosters a highly collaborative atmosphere, both among doctoral students and between students and the faculty. This means that as a research student, you receive a lot of individual attention and support from the faculty as a whole; they not only provide high-quality guidance for your independent dissertation research, but also afford you with the discretion to develop a research agenda that plays to your strengths, allows you to forge your own research identity, and supports a successful career in academia.

The depth and extent of engagement between doctoral researchers and members of faculty is one of the stand-out characteristics of pursuing a PhD in Accounting at LSE. The research seminars are essential to this, creating spaces that challenge you intellectually and prevent you from becoming isolated within your own projects. Whether this is through external visitors running workshops with doctoral researchers or through the weekly doctoral seminars, there is a genuine engagement from faculty in developing your PhD and your intellectual approach. Combined with the calibre of supervisors that support and challenge you, the programme provides intensive and highly rewarding training. 

The Department of Accounting also commit considerable resources to supporting PhD research. It was because of this that I could engage with the United Nations for two years, working to develop carbon accounting toolkits that integrate climate change considerations into risk assessment models used across the financial sector. This required numerous international trips to develop and maintain networks as well as for fieldwork purposes, which the Department enthusiastically supported. 

From working with the United Nations to engaging with the lively and challenging intellectual debate, the PhD in Accounting guided me through a comprehensive and rigorous training programme that provided the necessary foundations for a range of research-driven careers. Personally, I chose to remain in academia and I find it an incredibly stimulating and rewarding pursuit. For others, being a doctoral researcher in London provided an abundance of opportunities to gain exposure to the world of policy-making, think tanks and research roles in industry, which proved to be the starting point for charting their own career paths.

Pursuing my PhD at the LSE Department of Accounting was an intensely challenging yet ultimately rewarding experience. Whilst initially drawn to the department’s international reputation for research excellence, the department and programme proved to provide much more to me at a personal level. This included a high level of intellectual support, depth of academic rigour, and even administrative resources which exceeded many other departments and schools. PhD students are also fully integrated into the academic community of the department. The programme definitely prepared me well to pursue an academic career.