Master of Arts (M.A.) Degree Programs
The department offers an M.A. in Mathematics. The master's programs are based on a two-year curriculum of study culminating with a comprehensive examination or a thesis. Graduates from these programs are well prepared both for doctoral studies and for employment in academic and non-academic settings.
M.A. in Mathematics
- Designed to provide a comprehensive introduction to the fundamental concepts of modern mathematics and is appropriate for students who wish to pursue a career teaching at the community of junior college level or for those who intend to enter a doctoral program.
- The program requires 30 semester hours of course work that must include the two-semester introductory courses in algebra, topology, and real analysis and one semester of complex analysis. In addition, students are required to complete one upper level sequence in algebra, topology, differential geometry, differential equations, real or complex analysis.
- Elective courses can be chosen from other graduate level courses in mathematics.
More in-depth information can be found in the Graduate Guide.
Examination and Thesis Project
All masters programs culminate in a written comprehensive examination or a thesis project.
- The M.A. examination consists of two three-hour exams (one in Real and Complex Analysis and one in Algebra) and a third two-hour exam in one of the areas of Topology, Differential Equations or Probability and Statistics.
- The M.S. (applied math) examination consists of two three-hour exams (one in Real and Complex Analysis and one in Differential Equations).
- The M.S. (statistics) examination consists of two three-hour exams (one in Probability and Statistical Theory and one in Applied Statistics) plus a take-home project.
All of the examinations are generally scheduled a week apart in the student's fourth semester of study. Students in the M.A. and M.S. applied programs who intend to pursue a doctoral degree in the department may also satisfy the M.A. and M.S. exam requirements by passing the corresponding doctoral exam at the M.A. or M.S. level.
The thesis option is available in the M.A. and M.S. (applied mathematics) programs only. Thesis writing and research takes place during the student's second year of study under the supervision of a faculty advisor. Recent master's thesis topics include: "applications of nonlinear programming to optimal control", "exotic containers", "closed geodesics on Jacobi surfaces" and "matroids".