Graduate Program

The Department has about twenty faculty members actively involved in research and graduate education. With a graduate student body of less than forty, we are a program of moderate size with a high faculty/student ratio providing students with unique opportunities for flexible program design and ample interaction with faculty. Classes are small and are held in an informal atmosphere enabling students and faculty to work closely together.

There is a weekly colloquium featuring invited talks by prominent visitors covering the full spectrum of mathematical disciplines. In addition, the faculty and advanced graduate students organize several weekly seminars to explore topics of current research interest. The department also sponsors the Grosswald Lectures, an annual series of lectures given by leading mathematicians.

The Department is located in Wachman Hall, a modern 12-story structure. The facilities include the Department Office, faculty and graduate student offices, departmental computer facilities, and several seminar rooms and lounges. The departmental computer facilities are primarily Mac OSX desktops coupled with Linux servers.

The Program

For new students the Graduate Program in Mathematics offers a repertoire of courses that ease the transition from undergraduate to graduate studies. These courses provide a sound mathematical background, while helping beginning students to mature mathematically. Naturally, individuals with enough maturity and knowledge need not take these more basic courses. This introductory curriculum is an example of Temple University's general philosophy. In our department this philosophy takes shape as a commitment to actively participate in our students' development as future mathematicians. We take pride in caring for our students. Our faculty is very accessible, and quite willing to talk mathematics with any inquiring student. It is this attitude towards our students that most distinguishes our program from other graduate programs in mathematics. While requiring excellence, we work hard at providing the environment for achieving it.

Our department offers a great variety of possible choices for areas of specialization, areas in which we have a strong research presence. Within pure mathematics, homological and quantum algebra, representation theory, several complex variables, harmonic analysis, global analysis, PDEs, and low dimensional geometry and topology are areas in which we have strong ongoing research. Within applied mathematics, numerical analysis, evolution equations, and mathematical biology, are well represented. Straddling pure and applied disciplines, probability and mathematical physics are areas in which research is also carried out in our department.

The Graduate Program in Mathematics primarily admits students for the Fall semester, with Spring admission possible in exceptional circumstances. Incoming classes usually consist of about ten students. Most PhD students are supported by teaching assistantships, which entail a stipend and full tuition remission, and are awarded on a yearly basis for up to five years. A small number of research assistantships are also awarded each year, funded by faculty grants. Our best applicants are often recommended for a university fellowship; these are awarded on a competitive basis, and consist of two years (the first and the fourth year) of stipend and full tuition remission.

Degree Programs and Requirements

The department offers both M.S. and Ph.D. degrees.

The M.S. Degree

The Master of Science degree is available in two versions: M.S. in Mathematics and M.S. in Mathematics with a concentration in Applied and Computational Mathematics. For more information on the latter, click here. Students enrolled in both tracks of the M.S. program must satisfactorily complete thirty credits of mathematics courses at the 5000 level or above. 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 faculty advisor and Graduate Committee, relevant courses from departments other than mathematics may be included. In particular, subject to approval, students may wish to include a limited number of relevant courses from the sciences or engineering.

After fulfilling the course requirements, students for both concentrations of the M.S. degree have the following options to complete their program:

The Graduate School Bulletin contains additional university requirements of a general nature such as residency, continuous enrollment, and transfer credits.

Promising M.S. students are encouraged to continue on to the Ph.D. program. The work done for the M.S. degree can be used towards partial fulfillment of the Ph.D. requirements.

 

The Ph.D. Degree

Students enrolled in the PhD program must complete sixteen semester graduate courses beyond the baccalaureate. For promising students, work done toward a MS degree, at Temple or elsewhere, can be used towards partial fulfillment of PhD requirements.

PhD students must pass a written comprehensive exam in three different areas, chosen from a menu of six: Algebra, Differential Geometry & Topology, Complex Analysis, Numerical Analysis, Real Analysis, and Applied Mathematics. Then, they must pass an oral exam. The oral exam is given by a faculty committee and covers advanced topics chosen in consultation with the student's advisor.

After these steps, students are admitted to PhD candidacy and begin intensive research, guided by the advisor.