The graduate program in Mathematics offers students a variety of rigorous pure mathematics and applied mathematics courses.

Recent graduates of the MS program in Mathematics have continued their studies of mathematics at the PhD level, at institutions including University of California Berkeley, University of Minnesota, State University of New York at Albany, University of Virginia, etc.; found academic jobs at institutions like Loyola University Chicago, Central Washington University, etc.; or found jobs in "the real world", like a trader at Group One Trading, a mathematical testing engineer at WMS Gaming, a financial analyst at Henderson Global Investors, a statistical analyst at the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, etc.

The M.S. in Mathematics degree can be obtained in 1.5 years of study (the typical student begins this 30 credit program in our Fall semester with 10 credits, then takes 9 and 11 credits, respectively, over the following Spring and Fall semesters). The starting semester and schedule are flexible, and students may switch between full-time and part-time status.

Our curriculum allows students to tailor their program to their needs and interests, which may include some classes offered by the graduate programs in Applied Statistics and Computer Science—including Statistics offerings in our Summer session. The modest size of the program ensures easy access to the faculty.

A limited number of teaching assistantships and merit scholarships are available.

There are two active research groups among the faculty. A group in analysis, featuring interests in calculus of variations, control theory, game theory, optimization, partial differential equations, and nonlinear analysis in general, and a group in abstract algebra, featuring interests in combinatorics, coding theory, cryptography, knot theory, quantum groups, and representation theory. Numerous faculty members receive recognition for the quality of their research by regularly obtaining competitive grants from agencies such as the National Science Foundation, the Air Force Office of Scientific Research, the National Security Agency, etc.

Students admitted to the graduate program with backgrounds other than Mathematics, such as Engineering, Chemistry, Physics, or Economics, may be required to complete prerequisite undergraduate courses before embarking upon graduate studies.

Further Information

If you have additional questions about the program, please contact Dr. Aaron Lauve, Graduate Program Director for Mathematics.