The Rodney L. White Center for Financial research is committed to cultivating the next generation of finance leaders in academia and industry. We offer programs that teach, hone, and apply quantitative research skills that will advance candidates into finance PhD programs and related careers.
Pre-Doctoral Research Associate Program
The center offers specially qualified recent college graduates interested in applying to PhD programs the opportunity to work directly with Wharton finance faculty as full-time Research Associates. Each Research Associate will work in this challenging position for 1-2 years and emerge prepared to apply for PhD programs in economics, finance, public policy, business, or other quantitative social-science programs.
Research Associates will be encouraged to be an active part of the Wharton research community, which can include attending seminars, exploring personal research interests, and taking graduate-level classes at Wharton. The Research Associates will join a cohort of pre-doctoral research associates both in the Finance Department and across other departments at the Wharton School.
Interested in Becoming a Pre-Doctoral Research Associate?
The Center encourages outstanding recent college graduates with an interest in pursuing a PhD in a finance-related field to apply to open positions. A complete application includes a cover letter explaining why you want to become a pre-doc, a resume/CV, and the most recent transcript. Applications for 2025 openings are now closed. Please check back soon for openings in 2026 and beyond.
Meet our Associates:
Jacky Chen
Education: University of Chicago
Faculty Supervisors: Sasha Indarte, Gideon Bornstein, and Sergio Salgado
Avinash Goss
Education: University of Pennsylvania
Faculty Supervisors: Allison Nicoletti and Christina Zhu
Leah Li
Education: University of Chicago
Faculty Supervisors: Daniel Garrett and Marius Guenzel
Yiming Ma
Education: University of Chicago/University of Cambridge
Faculty Supervisors: Sylvain Catherine, Lu Liu, and Huan Tang
Tongke Wang
Education: University of Pennsylvania/Ohio State University
Faculty Supervisors: Amy Huber, Karen Lewis, and Yao Zeng
Daniel Wilkerson
Education: Brigham Young University
Faculty Supervisors: Lu Liu and Julie Fonseca
Chris Zhu
Education: Colby College
Faculty Supervisors: Joao Gomes and Luke Taylor
Undergraduate Research Fellow Program
Highly qualified Penn undergraduates can become Rodney White Center Research Fellows. Fellows assist PhD candidates and faculty members with their research. This work can include building financial models and collecting and analyzing data.
Additionally, interested Fellows will have the opportunity to assist in various aspects of conference planning, including registration and attendance, for high-profile conferences, workshops and seminars. throughout the year.
The program is open to Wharton and Penn undergraduate students only. Position openings are ongoing. Click here to apply
