Program Requirements

General Program Requirements:
Number of Credits Required Beyond the Baccalaureate: 30

Required Courses:
The Master of Science degree requires 10 graduate courses at the 5000 level or higher. The program of study must be designed in coordination with a Mathematics faculty advisor and approved by the departmental Graduate Committee. With the approval of the faculty advisor and Graduate Committee, relevant courses from departments other than Mathematics may be included.

The MS degree is offered with an optional concentration in Applied and Computational Mathematics. The concentration is designed for students interested in incorporating advanced study in mathematical and computational methods into the Master of Science program. Students pursuing this concentration complete at least 15 credits of coursework in applied and computational mathematics within their 30-credit degree program.

Culminating Events:
After satisfying the 30-credit course requirement, students may choose between the following three options as the culminating event for the MS degree:

• Master's Thesis
• Master's Comprehensive Examination
• Master's Pass on the PhD Comprehensive Examination

Master's Thesis:
Students who choose to submit a master's thesis must select a faculty advisor and a thesis advisory committee. These arrangements are subject to the approval of the Mathematics Graduate Committee. The date, time and location of a thesis defense are set by the Graduate Chair in consultation with the student's advisory committee.

Master's Comprehensive Examination:
For students selecting this option, a written Master's Comprehensive Examination is composed by at least two departmental Graduate Faculty. The topics covered should correspond to the student's program of study as approved by the Graduate Committee. The exam is graded by at least two Mathematics faculty members, with grades of either Pass or Fail. Students interested in taking the Master's Comprehensive Examination are required to make a written request to the Graduate Chair at least four weeks in advance. If the examination is failed, it may be taken again once, or the student may attempt a master's pass on the PhD Comprehensive Examination.

Master's Pass on the PhD Comprehensive Examination:
Students choosing this option must take three of the separate 25-point sections of the written PhD Comprehensive Examination. A student who achieves a total score of at least 40 on the three sections of the examination, with no individual section score below 8, obtains a master's pass on the exam and has fulfilled the examination requirement for the MS degree. If one of the individual exam scores falls below 8 points, that exam may be repeated once, or the exam in a different topic may be attempted once, or the student may take the Master's Comprehensive Examination described above. Such arrangements are subject to approval by the Graduate Committee. The case of a student failing the comprehensive exam by a small margin is discussed by the department's Graduate Committee, which takes the student's whole academic record into account in its decision.