The request to revise the Ph.D. Program in Applied Mathematics (PHD-MAAP)

Date: January 24, 2014
To: College of Liberal Arts & Sciences
From: Office of Academic Affairs
Approved On: December 20, 2013
Approved by: Graduate Council
Implementation Date: Summer 2014

Note: Deletions are strikethroughs. Insertions are underlined.

Catalog Copy

PH.D. IN APPLIED MATHEMATICS

The Ph.D. degree program in Applied Mathematics is designed to enable its students to master a significant body of mathematics, including a specialty in applied mathematics; to relate this knowledge to a coherent area of science or engineering; and to carry on fundamental research in applied mathematics at a nationally competitive level. Recipients of this degree will, according to their abilities and choice of subspecialty, be able to work effectively in a research and development environment involving mathematical or statistical analysis and modeling in business, government or industry; to teach mathematics at the college or university level; or to carry on fundamental research in their area of specialty.

Additional Admission Requirements

In addition to the requirements of the Graduate School for admission to doctoral study, applicants must have completed at least 27 hours of courses in the mathematical sciences at the undergraduate level, as approved by the department Graduate Committee, with grades of a C or above. Admission requires that the candidate be able to take MATH 8143 or be able to take MATH 5143 and have other factors in their record that indicate indicates strong potential to complete the program. For prospective students who have done work in mathematics beyond the bachelor’s degree, performance on that work will be considered in admission admissions decisions. Candidates for admission must make satisfactory scores on the general portion of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE).

Students are admitted to the program by the Graduate School, based on the recommendation of the department Graduate Committee or its designate, the Graduate Coordinator. Recommendations are based on the Committee’s judgment of the candidate’s ability to complete the program, as supported by the application materials. The department may waive certain requirements if it judges the candidate to be nonetheless capable of completing the program. If there are more candidates than can be accommodated, candidates are admitted in order of perceived mathematical ability, promise of success, and suitability to the program.

Program of Study

The student must complete an approved program of study, including MATH8143/8144 and a minor, typically including approximately 54 credit hours. The minor is interdisciplinary and may be satisfied by 9 hours of graduate work outside the mathematics department, by 6 credit hours for a directed project in an area of application, or by a combination of external coursework and directed project in an area of application totaling 9 credit hours.

Each student will have a dissertation an advisory committee appointed by the department Graduate Committee in consultation with the student and approved by the Dean of the Graduate SchoolDepartment Chair. It includes the prospective dissertation advisor, as well as a department co-advisor, if the dissertation advisor is not a member of the Department of Mathematics and Statistics. The dissertation advisory committee should be appointed as soon as is feasible, usually within a year after passing the Qualifying Preliminary Examination. Once formed, it will have the responsibility of constructing and approving the program of study which includes the minor. Prior to the appointment of the dissertation advisory committee the student will be advised by a graduate faculty member appointed by the department Graduate Committee.

Grades

A student is expected to achieve A’s or B’s in all courses included in the program of study and must have at least a 3.0 GPA to graduate. The dissertation is graded on a pass/unsatisfactory basis and, therefore, will not be included in the cumulative average. An accumulation of more than two marginal (C) grades will result in suspension of the student’s enrollment in the program. If a student makes a grade of U on any course, enrollment will be suspended and the student cannot take further graduate work without being readmitted to the program. Readmission to the program requires approval of the Dean of the Graduate School upon the recommendation of the department Graduate Committee.

Transfer Credit

Only courses with grades of A or B may be accepted for transfer credit. Transfer credit must be recommended by the department Graduate Committee and approved by the Dean of the Graduate School. The amount of transfer credit cannot exceed the limit set by the Graduate School.

Qualifying Preliminary Examination

The student is expected to take the preliminary examination within three semesters of being admitted to the Ph.D. program. The examination consists of two parts: a written examination based on Real Analysis I and II (8143-8144) and a written examination based on two other related courses chosen by the student and approved by the department Graduate Committee. At the discretion of the department Graduate Committee, the student may be allowed to retake a portion of the preliminary examination a second time if the student does not pass that portion on the first attempt. A student who does not complete the preliminary examination after two attempts is terminated from the Ph.D. program.

After being admitted to the Ph.D. program, a student is expected to take the qualifying examination within three semesters. This time limit may be extended for up to two additional semesters in certain cases, depending on the background of the student and with program approval. The qualifying examination consists of two parts: the first part is a written examination based on Real Analysis I and II (MATH 8143-MATH 8144) or Probability Theory I and Real Analysis I (MATH 8120-MATH 8143), the latter intended for a student with a statistics focus. The second part is a written examination based on two other courses chosen by the student to be specifically related to the student’s intended specialty and approved by the department Graduate Committee. The student may be allowed to retake a portion of the qualifying examination a second time if the student does not pass that portion on the first attempt within the guidelines of the Graduate School regulations pertaining to the qualifying examination and as overseen by the department Graduate Committee. A student who does not complete the qualifying examination as per the regulations of the Graduate School is terminated from the Ph.D. program.

Qualifying Examination and Admission to Candidacy

Each student must pass a comprehensive oral examination covering her/his chosen field of research and related advanced coursework. The exam is conducted by the student’s Advisory Committee and may include an additional written examination. The exam is open to the graduate faculty of the department. The student is expected to take the qualifying examination within two years of the appointment of the student’s Advisory Committee. A student who fails the qualifying examination twice is terminated from the Ph.D. program. The dissertation topic may be proposed after the student has passed the qualifying examination. A doctoral student advances to candidacy after the dissertation topic has been approved by the student’s advisory committee and the Dean of the Graduate School.

Topic Approval Defense and Admission to Candidacy

After the student completes the qualifying examination and advanced coursework deemed necessary for the student’s research as approved by the student’s doctoral dissertation committee, the student, in consultation with the student’s dissertation advisor, may propose a dissertation topic. The dissertation topic proposal must be articulated and defended at a meeting of the student’s dissertation committee. A written dissertation proposal must be submitted to the dissertation committee at least two weeks prior to the scheduled defense. The student is expected during the course of the topic defense to outline and demonstrate sufficient proficiency with the advanced knowledge and techniques to be used in the conduct of the research. The topic approval defense and the committee’s deliberations in this regard are to be conducted according to the pertinent regulations of the Graduate School. A doctoral student advances to candidacy after the student’s dissertation committee and the Dean of the Graduate School have approved the dissertation topic proposal.

Assistantships

A number of graduate assistantships are available each year (with nationally-competitive stipends) for qualified applicants. A limited number of fellowship awards can be applied to supplement these stipends or provide stand-alone stipends for up to $25,000 for especially qualified students.

Dissertation

The student must complete and defend a dissertation based on a research program approved by the student’s dissertation advisor which results in a high quality, original and substantial piece of research. The student must orally present and successfully defend the dissertation before the student’s doctoral dissertation committee Advisory Committee in a defense that is open to the public. A copy of the dissertation must be made available to the graduate faculty of the department at least two weeks prior to the public defense. The dissertation will be graded on a pass/unsatisfactory basis by the dissertation committee Advisory Committee and must be approved by the Department Graduate Coordinator and the Dean of the Graduate School.

Residency Requirement

The full-time Ph.D. student must enroll for one continuous full-time year (i.e., two consecutive semesters of at least nine graduate credit hours in each semester) following admission to the program.

Language and Research Tool Requirements

Each student must demonstrate a reading knowledge of French, German or Russian by passing a written translation exam in one of these languages conducted by the Mathematics Department. In addition, the student must demonstrate significant computer expertise applicable to research or teaching in his or her major field as approved by the student’s Advisory Committee. The computer expertise requirement may include coursework or work on a project and may overlap with the minor requirement.

Time Limit for Degree Completion

The student must achieve admission to candidacy within six years after admission to the program and complete all requirements within six years after admission to candidacy for the Ph.D. degree. All requirements for the degree must be completed within eight years after first registration as a doctoral student.

COURSES IN MATHEMATICS,

MATHEMATICS EDUCATION,

OPERATIONS RESEARCH, AND

STATISTICS

Mathematics (MATH)

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MATH 8050. Topics in Mathematics. (2-3) See MATH 7050 7071 for Course Description.

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MATH 8144. Real Analysis II. (3) See MATH 7144 7147 for Course Description.

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MATH 8275. Dynamical Systems I. (3) See MATH 7275 7276 for Course Description.

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Statistics (STAT)

STAT 8110. Applied Biostatistics: Regression. (3) See HSRD 8110 for Course Description.

STAT 8111. Applied Biostatistics: Multivariate Methods. (3) See HSRD 8111 for Course Description.