Information for Prospective Graduate Students

The College Park Campus of the University of Maryland, located in the suburbs of Washington, D.C., consists of 1300 acres of Georgian style buildings, trees, grassy malls and recreation fields. Although the University of Maryland was established in 1920, the College Park Campus was opened in 1859 and the Graduate School was established in 1919. The university currently has approximately 9,000 graduate students enrolled in 87 master's degree programs and 68 doctoral programs. Since 1937 the Mathematics Department has awarded more than 550 Ph.D. degrees.

The rapid growth of the University and the Mathematics Department has accompanied the development of the state as a whole. More importantly the Washington metropolitan area has become a center of intense scientific activity, in which the University of Maryland plays an important role as a focus for advanced research.

The Mathematics Department has risen to a high national ranking with a distinguished graduate faculty of about 65 persons whose research interests span many vital areas of the mathematical sciences. Several members of the Department also hold joint appointments with the Institute of Physical Science and Technology, an interdisciplinary research center at the University.

The Physics, Chemistry, and Engineering Departments occupy adjoining buildings. The Computer Science Department, the Institute for Physical Sciences and Technology, the Institute for Systems Research and the Academic Information Technology Services buildings are a few minutes away.

The Department has a network of about 150 personal computers running linnux, and other machines, all connected with the campus network. The Department houses two general-purpose computer labs for graduate students, plus a Mathematical Visualization Lab and a computer classroom. Other computer labs are scattered across campus.

The Campus has many recreation facilities including swimming pools, tennis and racquet-ball courts, gymnasia, art galleries, three theaters and two cinemas.

Though the College Park Campus is on the outskirts of Washington, D.C., it is also within a few minutes drive of the pleasant rural Maryland countryside. Downtown Washington, D.C. offers its many cultural attractions such as the Smithsonian Institution, the National Gallery of Art, and the Library of Congress. The state capital of Annapolis with its picturesque waterfront, Naval Academy and boating facilities is twenty-five miles away as are beaches on the Chesapeake Bay. Further to the east are the ocean resorts of Maryland and Delaware and to the west the Appalachian Mountains with ski resorts and public parks for hiking and camping. The city of Baltimore, with its rich ethnic heritage and culture, is only thirty miles from College Park.

The Department of Mathematics

The Mathematics Department is involved with three programs of graduate study. In addition to the Mathematics graduate program (MATH), the Department offers a program in Mathematical Statistics (STAT) and significantly participates in an interdisciplinary program in Applied Mathematics and Scientific Computation (AMSC).

The Mathematics Department offers a program of graduate study in mathematics which is rich and varied. Through course work and the writing of a thesis, the student is prepared for a career in teaching and research in the mathematical sciences and their applications. Graduate Students in any one of these programs can take courses in all three, and it is relatively simple for a student to transfer from one program to another.

Graduate Studies also play an important role in the research and teaching activities of the Department. The full-time graduate student enrollment in all three degree programs is approximately 230, of which one third are women, and one third are foreign, coming from all over the world. Many part-time students with professional positions in the local area are also enrolled.

Course offerings in the Department of Mathematics are organized into general fields: Algebra and Number Theory, Complex Analysis, Logic, Numerical Analysis, Ordinary Differential Equations and Dynamical Systems, Partial Differential Equations, Real and Functional Analysis, Statistics, Probability, and Topology and Geometry. First-year graduate courses are taught every year in each field with an average enrollment of 15-25 students. In these courses the student acquires the basic techniques necessary for research in mathematics and for work in applied areas. In addition, many advanced courses are given on specialized topics which introduce the student to areas of active research. Because of the large number of faculty members, about twenty advanced graduate courses are offered each semester. A list of faculty research interests can be seen here

The department offers a wide range of advanced undergraduate courses which provide an introduction to many areas of mathematics including probability, topology, numerical analysis, logic, and differential equations.

Degree requirements for the three programs are essentially the same. The student studying for the Ph.D. must first take a set of written qualifying examinations over material from three of the basic first year graduate courses. After successfully passing these examinations at the Ph.D. level, the student takes more advanced courses in a particular area to prepare for thesis work. A total of 36 credits (12 one semester courses) is needed for the Ph.D.  Admission to candidacy for the Ph.D. is granted when the student passes an oral examination over the more advanced course work. The dissertation is then written under the direction of a member of the faculty. The final thesis defense is an oral examination by a committee of faculty members. In addition, there are foreign language requirements which vary somewhat from one program to another

Expectations of Doctoral Students and Faculty are included in the Policies of the Graduate Program in Mathematics.

The M.A degree is granted to students who take 24 credits of course work and write a master's thesis. The non-thesis option for the M.A. requires the student to take 30 credits of course work and and to pass the written qualifying examinations at the master's level.

The Department of Mathematics at the University of Maryland is not divided into an "applied" department and a "pure" department. As can be seen from the faculty listing, the research interests of the faculty range from areas such as number theory, topology and logic to partial differential equations, probability theory and numerical analysis. The faculty share the common belief that good mathematics in all areas requires imagination coupled with rigorous thinking. The graduate programs try to instill this philosophy in the student, as well as provide a strong, broad background in basic areas of mathematics. The diversity of research interests represented by the faculty exposes students to many points of view, enabling students to see the same problem treated with quite different techniques.

The curriculum in the Mathematics Program is determined in part by the student's choice of written qualifying examinations. To help prepare for these written examinations, the department offers beginning graduate courses. After taking these basic courses, the student studying for either the Ph.D. or M.A. can choose from an exceptionally broad range of courses in advanced topic. The Office of Graduate Studies is happy to advise students. Because of the wide scope of faculty research interests, students can find faculty members with whom a thesis can be written.

In addition to attaining a strong background in basic areas of mathematics and developing skills as research mathematicians, students are encouraged to become effective teachers and communicators of mathematics. Many graduate students obtain teaching experience as teaching assistants. Graduate teaching assistants go through a week of intensive teacher training before the beginning of their first semester of teaching and are assigned a supervisor during the first year to help them deal with problems and develop their skills. In their first semester, new teaching assistants attend a weekly course on how to teach effectively. The Mathematics Department is actively involved in the current national effort to improve undergraduate mathematics education, including calculus reform and the use of technology in the classroom. Graduate teaching assistants have the opportunity to participate in these programs and learn innovative teaching techniques.

Requirements of the MATH graduate program are described in "Educational Policies of the Mathematics Graduate Program."

The Mathematical Statistics Program STAT

Statistics and probability are areas concerned with the modeling and interpretation of data generated by random phenomena. The STAT program combines training in the real world application of statistics and its mathematical foundations.

Graduate students in statistics at Maryland combine courses in statistics, probability, applied statistics, and mathematics in a program leading to the M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in Mathematical Statistics. The course of study may emphasize statistical methodology, mathematical theory of statistics, probability theory, or stochastic processes, depending on the interests of the student. All programs include core courses in mathematical statistics and probability.

An applied statistics option is offered for both Ph.D. and Master's students planning a career in industry or government. Coursework in applied statistical topics may be combined with the study of computational methods or statistical applications in other disciplines to prepare for professional employment in statistics.

Several statistics courses are offered on a regular basis during the late afternoon and early evening hours to enable part-time students to obtain a Master's degree in Statistics. All after hours courses are taught by regular members of the University of Maryland faculty.

The Statistics program, in cooperation with the Computer Science Center, operates the Statistics Laboratory. It provides statistical expertise and data analysis to University and external researchers. The Laboratory offers students an opportunity to apply textbook knowledge to real life situations.

More information on the STAT graduate program is described in STAT Program

The Applied Mathematics and Scientific Computation Program AMSC

For information on the AMSC graduate program, see the AMSC Website.

Research Climate

An effective graduate program requires a climate of research activity in which the student is constantly exposed to the most recent developments in mathematics. The research interests of the faculty span a wide range of topics. The Mathematics Department is a very dynamic research center, currently running about 14 seminars in various specialized areas that meet on a weekly basis. Speakers from around the world are invited to these seminars to complement the contributions of the resident faculty and graduate students. The Friday colloquium is devoted to lectures by distinguished faculty members and visitors on their latest research projects. In addition, we have a graduate minicourse series to introduce beginning students to the broad range of research and professional activities available to them, and "Research Interaction Teams" to get students involved in research early in their graduate careers.

In addition the department has a tradition of hosting distinguished long-term visitors who give series of seminar talks or teach semester-long courses.

Many faculty members and students regularly interact with the faculty of other departments and institutes, such as the physics and computer science departments, the Institute for Physical Science and Technology, the Institute for Systems Research, and the Institute for Advanced Computer Studies.

The STAT Program conducts a seminar program featuring topics in mathematical statistics, applied statistics and probability. Seminar speakers include faculty members from other universities and researchers from the many government laboratories in the Washington area. Statistics faculty cooperate frequently with applied scientists in the federal research establishment on statistical problems arising in areas such as medicine, engineering, agriculture and biology.

Computing Resources

Applications

Interested in applying to the Mathematics, Applied Mathematics or Statistics graduate program? Questions? Go on to the admissions page or send e-mail to mathgrad@deans.umd.edu with your questions or requests for application forms.