Sirmans is an assistant professor of finance in the Harbert College of Business. His research areas include investments, international finance, and real estate. His specialty is the relation between credit default swaps (CDS) and stock markets. His work has been published in the Journal of Finance, the Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics, and the Journal of Real Estate Research.
He has given numerous seminar presentations, including recently to the Chicago Board of Options Exchange and the Chicago Quantitative Alliance. His research has been awarded "WRDS Best Paper in Empirical Finance" and "ARES Best Paper in Real Estate Investments". Sirmans has taught courses at the undergraduate, MBA, and doctoral levels, including Principles of Business Finance, International Finance, Advanced Corporate Finance, and a Seminar on Investments.