Vienna Graduate School of Finance (VGSF)

Name

Vienna Graduate School of Finance (VGSF)

Legal name

Vienna Graduate School of Finance (VGSF)

Website

https://vgsf.ac.at

Company type

Private

Founded year

2005

Operating status

Operating

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Vienna

HQ country

Austria

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Government Research Funding: The primary funding comes from the Austrian Science Fund (FWF) doc.funds grants, with a 2.3 million euro grant (Grant-DOI 10.55776/DOC202) awarded in 2023 for four years of doctoral training support

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Vienna Graduate School of Finance (VGSF) delivers a structured five-year PhD Program in Finance that trains students to become researchers suitable for international academic institutions or research-friendly financial sector institutions. The program is supported by regular Finance Research Seminars featuring international visiting scholars and an annual VGSF Conference where PhD students present their research. Up to four funded PhD positions are offered each year.

Product overview

VGSF offers a single, unified academic offering: a structured five-year PhD Program in Finance. This program is supported by complementary components including the Finance Research Seminars (featuring international visiting scholars) and the annual VGSF Conference (where students present their research). There are no modular add-ons, platform-plus-modules, or separate product tiers — the institution operates exclusively as a doctoral training program in finance research.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• PhD Program in Finance Structured five-year doctoral training program in Finance that prepares students for research careers at international academic institutions or research-friendly financial sector institutions. Up to four funded positions are offered annually, with admissions requiring master's degree qualifications, GMAT/GRE scores, English proficiency tests, recommendation letters, and interviews.
• Finance Research Seminars Regular seminar series featuring distinguished visiting academics and researchers from top institutions worldwide who present latest finance research to the VGSF community.
• VGSF Conference Annual conference at which VGSF PhD students present their research findings and receive feedback from VGSF faculty and external scholars.

Quantifiable outcome

• Successful international placements of graduates in academia, central and commercial banks, and consulting firms
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Institute for Advanced Studies (IHS)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2005One of three founding institutions of VGSF. IHS joined with University of Vienna and WU Vienna to create a research hub large enough to produce internationally recognized research and provide competitive PhD education.
• University of ViennacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2005One of three founding institutions of VGSF. Provides faculty members for PhD supervision and research collaboration across finance topics including market microstructure, banking, and asset pricing.
• WU Vienna University of Economics and BusinesscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2005Primary host institution for VGSF since 2013, located at WU Vienna Campus. Provides administrative infrastructure, faculty, and hosts the program headquarters. The Department of Finance, Accounting and Statistics holds editorial responsibility for the VGSF website.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• London Business School PhD in Finance: Top-tier European finance PhD program with similar focus on producing world-class researchers for academic placements. Comparable research areas and faculty intensity.
• Stockholm School of Economics PhD Program: European finance doctoral program with similar small-cohort selectivity and strong international placement record. Comparable in scale, scope, and emphasis on producing top-tier finance researchers for academic and industry roles.
• INSEAD PhD in Finance: International PhD program with small selective cohorts and global faculty similar to VGSF. Highly comparable structure for training finance researchers for top academic placements.
• University of St. Gallen PhD in Finance: Small, selective European PhD program in finance with similar DACH-region positioning, joint institutional character, and emphasis on international research placements. Highly comparable in cohort size and research intensity.
• HEC Paris PhD in Finance: European doctoral program in finance with similar selective admissions and research seminar culture. Comparable in producing researchers for international academic and financial-sector roles.
• Bocconi University PhD in Finance: Leading European PhD program in finance with similar selective admissions, international faculty, and strong job-market placements. Comparable mission and target audience of aspiring finance academics.
• Goethe University Frankfurt (House of Finance) PhD Program: German finance research consortium with similar joint-institutional structure and selective doctoral training mission. Strong overlap in financial econometrics and market microstructure research.

Others

• Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR): European research network that hosts and disseminates finance research, connecting VGSF faculty and graduates to the broader European economics and finance research community. Ecosystem participant rather than direct competitor.

Regional players

• Swiss National Bank / Study Center Gerzensee: European-based research and graduate training institution in economics and finance. Comparable mission of producing researchers for central banks and academia, but located in Switzerland rather than Austria.

Broad incumbents

• London School of Economics PhD in Finance: Larger and more established PhD program in finance operating within a broader university environment. Overlapping research areas and target audience but with significantly larger scale and resources.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Vienna Graduate School of Finance (VGSF)