• Henri Berestycki wins the 2026 Schauder Medal

    Congratulations Henri Berestycki for winning the 2026 Schauder Medal.  This medal is awarded to Henri for his exceptional achievements in nonlinear analysis and for his numerous applications in many other branches of science.  Henri has been spending one semester per year in our department since 2023.  Among many other awards, Henri is an… Read More
  • Doron Levy is elected SIAM Class of 2026 Fellow

    Doron Levy was elected Fellow of the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM), class of 2026:  https://www.siam.org/publications/siam-news/articles/siam-announces-2026-class-of-fellows.   Dr. Levy is recognized for his amazingly-stellar and sustained distinguished contributions to research and training in mathematical oncology and mathematical biology.  This exceedingly well-deserved award is fantastic for our department and university. Read More
  • Artem Chernikov awarded the Bessel Research Award by the Humboldt Foundation

    This award is given annually to internationally renowned academics from outside of Germany in recognition of their research accomplishments.  This award is named after Bessel and funded by the German ministry of education and research. Congratulations Atrem Chernikov.  https://www.humboldt-foundation.de/en/apply/sponsorship-programmes/friedrich-wilhelm-bessel-research-award  Read More
  • Mapping the Mind

    Junior computer science and mathematics double major Brooke Guo analyzes neural connections to understand the causes of complex brain conditions like schizophrenia.  When Brooke Guo arrived at the University of Maryland as a freshman in 2022, she knew she wanted to help people and work in a health-related field someday.… Read More
  • Four Science Terps Awarded 2025 Goldwater Scholarships

    Four undergraduates in the University of Maryland’s College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences (CMNS) have been awarded 2025 scholarships by the Barry Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation, which encourages students to pursue advanced study and research careers in the sciences, engineering and mathematics.  Over the last 16 years, UMD’s nominations… Read More
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5


The requirements below are for students in pure mathematics, not in statistics. For students in Statistics: Qualifying Exams must be passed in Statistics, Probability, and Applied Statistics.

1. Students must pass 2 qualifying exams from the following list:

Algebra (Math 600, 601)
Analysis (Math 630, 660)
Geometry (Math 730, 740; Exam not available to students entering in 2018 or later)
Probability (Stat 600, 601)
Statistics (Stat 700, 701)

A student in pure mathematics can use at most one of Probability and Statistics to satisfy the exam requirement.

The Geometry exam will be discontinued after January 2020. Until then, it will only be available to students admitted during 2017 or earlier.

2. Students must take four additional semesters of courses from the following list, with a grade point average of 3.3 or better for the four courses used to satisfy this requirement. Courses with grades less than B cannot be included (for example, B− is not allowed).

Math 600, 601 (Algebra)
Math 630, 660 (Analysis)
Math 730, 740 (Geometry)
Stat 600, 601 (Probability)
Stat 700, 701 (Statistics)
Math 634 (Harmonic Analysis)
Math 642 (Dynamical Systems I)
Math 712, Math 713 (Logic)
Math 734 (Algebraic Topology)
Math 744 (Lie Groups)
AMSC 666, AMSC 667 (Numerical Analysis)
Math 631 (Real Analysis)
Math 670 (ODE)
Math 673, Math 674 (PDE)

The four semesters are not required to be in the same sequence of courses. For example, Math 730, Math 670, AMSC 666, and AMSC 667 would be acceptable. These four semester-long courses must be distinct from the ones supporting the qualifying exams passed in Part 1.

A student may take and pass a third (and possibly, a fourth) qualifying exam in place of taking the actual courses. For example, passing the written exams
in Algebra, Analysis, and Geometry would count as 2 exams plus 2 semesters.

One qualifying exam must be passed by January of the second year, and all requirements must be finished by January of the third year.

Students who have taken courses from the second list elsewhere may petition the graduate chair to have such courses satisfy up to two semesters of the four-semester requirement (although generally students should instead use these courses as preparation for qualifying exams).

Each course on the lists should have serious assessment methods (graded homework, projects, exams, and/or similar). There should be some significant assessment that is guaranteed to be done solely by the student (that is, an exam, not only homework).

  • 1
  • 2