<p>This depends on whether the CS department you are studying at has somebody working in this field. Some of them (at least three of the top ten in the U.S.) do, and some of them don't, and some of them may let you work with a PhD advisor in a different department. You are going to have to do some research on your own.</p>
<p>Note: it's possible in many computer science departments to do a PhD in an area that your advisor isn't working in. I strongly recommend that you do not do this.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-03-13T15:55:17.853Z
Shor thanks for your answer. You say "I strongly recommend that you do not do this". Why? Does this have to do with the difficulty to finish my PhD or because i will take a title in from computer science and at the end of the day I will be more of "an economist" or "mathematician"?
Phd student
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-03-13T15:57:15.713Z
Is ti possible for me to end up with a PhD that I could not defend my research, because the field may differ from the department? However, there is an advisor from an economics department who is willing to help me.
Phd student
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-03-13T16:10:18.090Z
If you are doing a PhD, it really helps to have somebody who knows the field you are studying who can suggest problems for you to work on, suggest possible ways to attack them, and write recommendations for you when you're applying for jobs. But if somebody in a different department is willing to be your unofficial advisor, that will work, too. (Although let me add a caveat: if your advisor is in the economics department, you should make sure you check with the computer science department that the research you're doing is computer science-y enough that they're willing to give you a PhD.)
Peter Shor 
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-03-13T16:16:44.337Z
The advisor from the computer department will be the official advisor, but the advisory committee will consist of one professor in computer science and two advisors who are game theorist and economists from departments of economics...I think this will work
Phd student
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-03-13T16:27:13.983Z
If you check in with your official advisor periodically and tell them what you are doing, this arrangement should be fine.
Peter Shor 
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-03-13T16:46:34.363Z
Shor Thanks for your time and enlitening comments!
Phd student
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-03-13T15:43:42.093Z
2022-03-13T15:43:42.093Z
Peter Shor 
<p>I am considering to take a position as a phd student in a computer science department. I am a mathematician with a master degree in finance and my research interests are mainly focused in game theory. I would like to study the field of mechanism and information design with applications in financial markets. To name but a few papers in the field, you can take a look here <a href="https://deliverypdf.ssrn.com/delivery.php?ID=683099006066123025119027082104018069028040070052091020024000073025096114095127089111033017033127024056114077011020005024078119024023087064029005117069101074118117077031087021002086107029024092000079099080027065014029105012121116004065104089028065070082&amp;EXT=pdf&amp;INDEX=TRUE" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Dynamic Information Provision (2019)</a>, <a href="https://elischolar.library.yale.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1176&amp;context=cowles-discussion-paper-series" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Dynamic Mechanism Design: An Introduction (2017)</a> and <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.3982/TE1808" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Bayes correlated equilibrium andthe comparison of information structures in games (2016)</a>. This is a small part of the literature that I am interested, but I do not know if I can work on a phd in this field as a doctoral student in a computer sience department. Could you please tell me, how this literature can be combined with computer science or maybe if it does not matter and I can do whatever kind of reasearch I want no matter the department?</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-03-13T12:48:45.633Z
Are you familiar with the EC (electronic commerce) community? https://ec21.sigecom.org/
Aryeh
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-03-13T13:24:52.710Z
@Aryeh no! I have no idea about this community. Could you give me some details. I will check the link as well!
Phd student
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-03-13T13:28:32.023Z
Oh, I see the biggest economic journals are referred in the cite....
Phd student
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-03-13T19:05:15.697Z
You might also be interested in some the answers in this old question: [Computational complexity in quantitative finance](https://cstheory.stackexchange.com/q/7951/1037)
Artem Kaznatcheev
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-03-13T19:25:27.967Z
@ArtemKaznatcheev thank you very much!
Phd student
<it.information-theory><gt.game-theory><research-practice><ce.computational-finance><mechanism-design>
Can theoretical computer science be combined with mechanism and information design and applications in financial markets
Phd student
# Can theoretical computer science be combined with mechanism and information design and applications in financial markets

(Asked by: username_0 on 2022-03-13)

I am considering to take a position as a phd student in a computer science department. I am a mathematician with a master degree in finance and my research interests are mainly focused in game theory. I would like to study the field of mechanism and information design with applications in financial markets. To name but a few papers in the field, you can take a look here [Dynamic Information Provision (2019)](https://deliverypdf.ssrn.com/delivery.php?ID=683099006066123025119027082104018069028040070052091020024000073025096114095127089111033017033127024056114077011020005024078119024023087064029005117069101074118117077031087021002086107029024092000079099080027065014029105012121116004065104089028065070082&EXT=pdf&INDEX=TRUE), [Dynamic Mechanism Design: An Introduction (2017)](https://elischolar.library.yale.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1176&context=cowles-discussion-paper-series) and [Bayes correlated equilibrium andthe comparison of information structures in games (2016)](https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.3982/TE1808). This is a small part of the literature that I am interested, but I do not know if I can work on a phd in this field as a doctoral student in a computer sience department. Could you please tell me, how this literature can be combined with computer science or maybe if it does not matter and I can do whatever kind of reasearch I want no matter the department?

**Tags:** it.information-theory, gt.game-theory, research-practice, ce.computational-finance, mechanism-design
> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Are you familiar with the EC (electronic commerce) community? https://ec21.sigecom.org/  
> **username_0**: @Aryeh no! I have no idea about this community. Could you give me some details. I will check the link as well!  
> **username_0**: Oh, I see the biggest economic journals are referred in the cite....  
> **username_2**: You might also be interested in some the answers in this old question: [Computational complexity in quantitative finance](https://cstheory.stackexchange.com/q/7951/1037)  
> **username_0**: @ArtemKaznatcheev thank you very much!  

---

## 1 answers

### Answer by username_3 on 2022-03-13. Score: 4

This depends on whether the CS department you are studying at has somebody working in this field. Some of them (at least three of the top ten in the U.S.) do, and some of them don't, and some of them may let you work with a PhD advisor in a different department. You are going to have to do some research on your own.

Note: it's possible in many computer science departments to do a PhD in an area that your advisor isn't working in. I strongly recommend that you do not do this.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Shor thanks for your answer. You say "I strongly recommend that you do not do this". Why? Does this have to do with the difficulty to finish my PhD or because i will take a title in from computer science and at the end of the day I will be more of "an economist" or "mathematician"?  
> **username_0**: Is ti possible for me to end up with a PhD that I could not defend my research, because the field may differ from the department? However, there is an advisor from an economics department who is willing to help me.  
> **username_3**: If you are doing a PhD, it really helps to have somebody who knows the field you are studying who can suggest problems for you to work on, suggest possible ways to attack them, and write recommendations for you when you're applying for jobs. But if somebody in a different department is willing to be your unofficial advisor, that will work, too. (Although let me add a caveat: if your advisor is in the economics department, you should make sure you check with the computer science department that the research you're doing is computer science-y enough that they're willing to give you a PhD.)  
> **username_0**: The advisor from the computer department will be the official advisor, but the advisory committee will consist of one professor in computer science and two advisors who are game theorist and economists from departments of economics...I think this will work  
> **username_3**: If you check in with your official advisor periodically and tell them what you are doing, this arrangement should be fine.  
> **username_0**: Shor Thanks for your time and enlitening comments!  

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