Fully-funded 4-year PhD studentship examining carbon-risk in the Collateralized Loan Obligation (CLO) market, in collaboration with Crystal Fund. Includes EU/non-EU fees plus a tax-free €25,000 annual stipend. Closing date: Friday, 21 August 2026.

This PhD studentship, based at the UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School, will conduct the first environmental finance study of carbon-risk considerations in the Collateralized Loan Obligation (CLO) market. CLOs have funded over $2.1 trillion in leveraged loans since the global financial crisis, making them a critical source of credit for businesses worldwide. In collaboration with Crystal Fund, the successful candidate will analyze unique proprietary transaction data to examine how environmental factors influence CLO managers’ loan trading decisions.

Supervision: Principal Supervisor Prof Cal Muckley (UCD), in conjunction with a panel of environmental finance experts (Prof Fabiola Schneider, UCD; Prof Xing Huan, EDHEC) and Industry

Co-Supervisor (industry) Dr Pierre-Olivier Fortin (Crystal Fund).
Industry Partner: This PhD is a collaboration with Crystal Fund, a Dublin-based investment manager active in the structured credit and securitized loan markets.

The partnership gives the successful candidate invaluable access to proprietary CLO transaction data, the practitioners who generate it, and the commercial context in which carbon-risk and sustainable-finance decisions are made. As an industry-embedded studentship, the role offers co-supervision from both academia and industry; hands-on engagement with proprietary transaction data; exposure to the asset-management industry; and research with immediate practical relevance to how environmental risk is priced and managed in global credit markets.

ADAPT: This studentship is affiliated with ADAPT, the Research Ireland-funded Research Centre for AI-Driven Digital Content Technology, which has competitively won over 40 European Research Projects and brings together an interdisciplinary team across Social Sciences, Communications, Commerce/Fintech, Ethics, Law, Health, Environment and Sustainability.
This is a fully in-person position based at the College of Business, Michael Smurfit Graduate School of Business, University College Dublin, Ireland & Crystal Fund, Dublin, Ireland, for a candidate who wants an in-person PhD experience and would like to contribute to a diverse and collaborative research group both technically and socially.

Entry Criteria 

Applicants should hold, or expect to obtain before enrolment, a first-class or upper second-class honours degree and preferably a Master’s degree in Finance, Economics, Econometrics, Quantitative Finance, Statistics, Mathematics, Data Science, Computer Science, Engineering, or a closely related discipline.

The successful candidate will demonstrate: strong quantitative, analytical, and problem-solving skills; excellent written and verbal communication skills in English; the ability and motivation to undertake advanced doctoral coursework and independent research; an interest in financial intermediation, credit markets, sustainable finance, and environmental risk; experience with, or a willingness to learn, statistical and programming tools such as Python, R, Stata, or MATLAB; and a commitment to contributing to a collaborative and intellectually vibrant research environment.
Minimum UCD University requirements are set out at https://www.smurfitschool.ie/programmes/phdmphil/phdprogramme/

How to Apply

Please submit your application as a single PDF file with the subject line ‘PhD – Responsible Finance & Securitized Loans’ to [email protected] by Friday, 21 August 2026.

Please include:

1. a letter of interest (maximum one page) outlining your interest in this project, including your suitability for the role and relevant experience
2. a copy of your CV (including a list of any publications and a link to your ORCID ID/Google Scholar/GitHub profile, if applicable);
3. academic transcripts; and
4. two references, with at least one from a university academic with research experience.
   Please name your file Surname_Firstname_CLO_PhD.pdf, to help us triage applications efficiently.

Terms & Conditions

1. This studentship requires full-time, in-person attendance at UCD Smurfit School for the duration of the PhD.
2. The successful candidate must separately apply for, and be admitted to, the UCD Structured PhD programme via the standard UCD Graduate Admissions process; this studentship offer does not itself constitute admission.
3. Continuation of funding beyond Year 1 is subject to satisfactory academic progress, as assessed by the Principal Supervisor and in line with UCD Graduate Studies requirements.
4. The stated start date is indicative and may be subject to change to accommodate UCD admissions processing and, for non-EU candidates, visa processing timelines.

Informal inquiries only, to Prof Cal Muckley at [email protected] and full information https://www.smurfitschool.ie/admissions/scholarships/phdstudentship-responsiblefinancesecuritizedloans/

Scholarships Notice

Candidates may apply for a number of scholarships, if they are successful in attaining more than one scholarship, however, they may only accept one scholarship bursary. Scholarship bursaries cannot be added together or combined. They will be awarded the higher amount. Candidates cannot transfer or use one scholarship or bursary between or against another programme. Scholarships and bursaries are also not allowed to be deferred to a future academic year, it is only applicable and awarded to the student for the year they are offered a place in UCD Smurfit. If a student, subsequently, decides to defer their offer they will lose their scholarship or bursary and be required to apply in the future.