2017

Bhonsale, Anurupa, under Dr. Doron Levy: A study of modern techniques for data analytics with applications to cancer and infectious diseases.

Romas, Christina, under Dr. Paul Smith: Using Statistical Analysis for Wildlife Management

Kevin Smith, under Dr. Tamas Darvas:Techniques in geometric analysis, including subharmonic fucntions, the Perron method, plurisubharmonic functions, the Perron-Bremmerman method, Borel measures.

Yu, Matthew, under Dr. Richard Wentworth: Exploring physics from geometry and tolopogy and devloping basic tools pertaining to fiber bundles, characteristic classes and index theorems for understanding guage theories.

2018

Aaron George, under Dr. Wojciech Czaja: Using wavelet methods to analyze the Gough map.

Sixian Liu, under Dr. Carl Miller: The study of quantum resource theory and (graphical) programming languages.

Sachin Pandey, under Dr. Larry Washington: Nim-type games on graphs.  

Linden Yuan, under Dr. Roohollah Ebrahimian: Group actions, p-groups, nilpotent and solvable gropus, Sylow theorems, simplicity of A_n, field extensions, algebraic extensions, consturctions, splitting fields and algebraic closures, separable nad inseparatelbe extentions, the Fundamental Theorem of Galois Theory.

In the Mathematics Department

The faculty are involved in research activities in various fields, including algebra, applied harmonic analysis, applied mathematics, dynamical systems, geometry, mathematical biology, number theory, partial differential equations, statistics, and topology. As such there are a number of research opportunities for undergraduates. The Department strongly encourages all its majors to consider engaging in some research activities. Such activities offer valuable skills needed to either pursue a graduate degree or to enter the workforce after graduating.

If you would like to explore some of these opportunities, follow the contact information below or talk to your professor and see if there is an appropriate research topic he/she could offer you.

• Some recent undergraduate research projects of math majors

  You can get an idea of some of the past research of math majors by looking over a list of some of their past research projects, with links to reports and in some cases published papers.

• Research Interaction Teams

  Qualified students may join a Research Interaction Team (RIT) of mathematicians at varying levels (professor, postdoctoral fellow, graduate student, undergraduate student). Please explore our current RITs.

• Directed Reading Program

  The Directed Reading Program pairs undergraduates with a graduate student mentor for semester long independent study projects. Do you want to learn some advanced math? In the Directed Reading Program (DRP), you will: work one-on-one with an interested graduate mentor, design a one-semester reading project based on your mathematical interests, present your material to an audience of your peers. You do not need to have a specific idea for a project in mind to apply!  Watch out for email announcement regarding DRP in the beginning of each semester!

• The Norbert Wiener Center

  The Norbert Wiener Center provides research opportunities to undergraduate students interested in harmonic analysis and its applications to signal and image processing, as well as in the analysis and processing of large data sets. A partial list of former undergraduate students who worked with the Center can be found here.
  
  If you are interested in learning about research opportunities at the Center, please contact the Director, Professor John Benedetto, or email

• The Experimental Geometry Lab

  The Experimental Geometry Lab allows undergraduates to work in a team environment and develop object-oriented software to explore properties of non-Euclidean geometries.

  After exploring the Experimental Geometry Lab web site, students may contact Dr. Bill Goldman for additional information.

• Daniel Sweet Undergraduate Research Fellowship

  Starting in Fall 2007, the Norbert Wiener Center will be offering a research fellowship in honor of Dan Sweet. Information about this fellowship will be available on the Norbert Wiener Center website.

• Ride the Putnam Express

  The Putnam Examination is the premier national mathematics competition. The Mathematics Department runs a course each fall, "The Putnam Express", to prepare students for this competition. Success on the exam is a great credential for graduate school admissions and financial support. Working on the challenging preparation problems is in some ways like mathematical research, and it is a useful preparation for actual mathematics research.

  Interested students may contact Dr. Roohollah Ebrahimian for additional information.

• MATH 452 Projects. In the course MATH 452 (Introduction to Dynamics and Chaos), independent student projects have the flavor of research and are usually a significant part of the course.

• Advanced coursework.

  A student whose interest in mathematical research extends to getting a PhD. in Mathematics should consult carefully with department advisors on appropriate preparation. There are two ways a student may engage in advanced coursework:

  • Reading Courses

  Departmental Honors students may register for MATH 498 as a reading course. Permission to register requires a contract between the student and the instructor that specifies what the student is to accomplish during the semester and how the student's progress is to be assessed.

  • Graduate Level Courses

  It can be extremely useful for qualified students to take graduate level mathematics courses as an undergraduate. This path is one of the Departmental Honors options. This option is arranged through the Undergraduate Advisor and requires the permission of the course instructor. In addition, the College of Computers, Mathematics and Natural Sciences has a policy regarding undergraduates within CMNS taking graduate level courses.

• Be free!

  The mathematics department has put together these various structures, hoping to facilitate the research and involvement of capable students. Students: take these as opportunities, but not as limits. Always, follow the math that intrigues you, and talk to your professors. Professors like bright students who want to work. Much of the best stuff comes idiosyncratically. Let your mind grow wherever the light shines.

Elsewhere on campus

TREND is a very special summer opportunity for financially supported training and research experiences in nonlinear dynamics. Apply before the end of March.

The Maryland Center for Undergraduate Research is the campus resource center for undergraduate research, with information on Undergraduate Research Day. They also have a Maryland Student Researchers database.

Nationally and beyond

There is a large array of undergraduate research opportunities (a.k.a. REU's, research experiences for undergraduates) in mathematics . Below are some sites which have assembled REU links.

• Some of the NSF-funded REU's
  (click Mathematical Sciences or search by keyword)
• The American Mathematical Society lists
• The Lincoln List (extensive)

Here is a very incomplete list of some additional REU's (mostly for summer--with spring application deadlines). The red ** means that we know of some Maryland undergraduate who has participated and had a strongly positive experience.

• MASS ** (Penn State)
• National Security Agency** ("just down the road")
• DIMACS/DIMATIA (Rutgers and Prague)
• Budapest Semesters in Mathematics
• IBM: Summer Research program and Mathematics research.

Undergraduate Mathematics Conferences

There are several established undergraduate math conferences:

• Hudson River Undergraduate Mathematics Conference
• Rose-Hulman Undergraduate Mathematics Conference
• Nebraska Conference for Undergraduate Women
• MAA Mathfest

The Mathematics Department offers an extensive honors program, spanning all four years of the undergraduate experience. The courses at the freshman and sophomore level are offered in cooperation with the University Honors Program; they can be applied toward earning a University Honors Citation. Lower level course offerings include Honors Seminars offered by the Honors College, enhanced H-versions of the standard mathematics sequence MATH 140-141-240-241-246, as well as the special honors sequences, Math 340-341.  Visit Testudo for the current class schedules, and visit our Undergraduate Courses for syllabi and other course information.

At the junior-senior level, the department offers a program leading to a degree with Honors (or High Honors) in Mathematics. Participation in the upper level program is independent of participation in the lower level program; however, many students who complete the requirements for a University Honors Citation also enter a Departmental Honors Program. Successful completion of the Departmental Honors Program in Mathematics results in a citation on the transcript for Honors in Mathematics; it need not imply that the student majored in Mathematics.

For more information contact

• Honors Director: Professor Larry Washington, .
• Mathematics Coordinator of Undergraduate Advising, Ida Chan, Office: Math 1115, 301-405-7582. Email:

Freshman and Sophomore Honors Courses in Mathematics

The Mathematics Department offers honors courses at various levels of sophistication. Our goal is to allow every honors student (who is interested in mathematics) to find a course that provides challenging stimulation at a level that is appropriate for his or her background.

H-versions of Standard Mathematics Courses

The mathematics department offers H-versions of the standard introductory mathematics sequence for honors credit. These courses are: Math 140H, Math 141H, Math 241H, Math 246H, and Math 240H. The H-versions are open students who are in the University Honors Program.  Students who are in departmental honors programs of other departments are also welcome to join.  Students who are in other honors programs on campus may request permission to join; permission will be given on a seat-available basis beginning the first day of classes.  The basic subject matter of these courses is constrained, because each course is a prerequisite for other mathematics courses. However, instructors have considerable freedom to enrich the courses. In general, enrichment means that the instructor will present more realistic applications in greater detail, or will discuss connections with other branches of mathematics or the sciences.

The freshman calculus courses (Math 140H and Math 141H) are designed for the University Honors students with solid background in high school mathematics. The sophomore mathematics courses (Math 240H, Math 241H, and Math 246H) are designed primarily for University Honors students who intend to major in engineering or the sciences. (Naturally, students in other disciplines with an interest in mathematics are still welcome.) These latter courses are often taken by honors students who enter the university with two semesters of advanced placement credit for calculus.

The Honors Analysis Sequence

The primary introductory sequence of mathematics courses for freshman who have a special talent amd advanced background in mathematics consists of the honors analysis sequence Math 340 and Math 341. These courses will cover the standard material of Multi-valued Calculus, Linear Algebra and Ordinary Differential Equations at a more advanced level. The department continually strives to identify and recruit talented freshmen into these courses. Any student with an interest in these courses should contact the Honors Committee of the Department of Mathematics.

Freshman Honors Seminars

There are freshman honors courses in mathematics offered through the University Honors Program which are designed to expose the general audience to modern interesting ideas in Mathematics. Seminars that have been offered recently or are being contemplated include: Symmetry; Chaos; Cryptography; Knots; Philosophy of Mathematics. For more information see the University Honors Program page.

The Departmental Honors Program in Mathematics

The upper level Departmental Honors Program in Mathematics is open to any student who meets the admissions requirements detailed below. Students who enter the Departmental Honors Program are not required to complete the lower level program leading to a University Honors Citation, nor must they major in mathematics. The department envisions a program populated by about fifteen of the top mathematics students, together with some outstanding students from engineering, physics, and related disciplines. Good students, regardless of their majors, can benefit from a closer association with faculty. They can also benefit from belonging to a group committed to similar intellectual pursuits. The analytic and critical skills that students learn in this program will be useful whether they continue in academics or take positions in government or industry.

Admission

In order to be admitted to the Departmental Honors Program in Mathematics, a student is expected to have completed either Math 410 or Math 341 with a grade of B or better. In addition, the student must have an overall GPA of at least 3.0. A student who is interested in the Departmental Honors Program in Mathematics should contact the people noted above, usually in the sophomore or junior year. A student who is interested in the program should meet with a member of the Honors Committee to work out a realistic plan for meeting the requirements detailed below.

Good Standing

In order to remain a member in good standing of the Departmental Honors Program in Mathematics, a student must maintain a GPA of 3.3 in his or her upper-division mathematics courses. In accordance with University Honors Program requirements, the student must maintain an overall GPA of 3.0. Finally, the student must continue to make progress toward completing the program requirements.

Program Requirements

The Departmental Honors Program in Mathematics requires a minimum of 12 credit hours of honors coursework. The program is available in a thesis option and a non-thesis option. The options have a common requirement for breadth in the study in mathematics. All honors students are expected to take advanced undergraduate courses in at least two different areas of mathematics. In these courses, students will study the fundamental ideas of modern mathematics. In addition, each option has a depth requirement. The options differ primarily in the method used to ensure that the student has achieved a deep understanding of one area of mathematics.

Honors Mathematics Courses

Any course in the following list may be applied toward the requirements of the Honors Program in Mathematics: MATH 403, MATH 404, MATH 405, MATH 414, MATH 432, MATH 436, MATH 446, AMSC 472, STAT 410 or STAT 420. From time to time, the department may offer H-versions of other upper level courses for honors credit. Finally, any graduate course (600-level or above) in Mathematics (MATH), Applied Mathematics (AMSC), or Statistics (STAT) may be substituted for courses on this list.

The Thesis Option

The breadth requirement for the thesis option of the Honors Program in Mathematics will be satisfied by taking two courses from among those listed above. The depth requirement will be satisfied by six credit-hours of MATH 498 (Selected Topics in Mathematics). The first three credits of MATH 498 must be used for a reading course during which the student develops a thesis topic. This requirement may be modified, at the discretion of the Honors Committee, for a student who can demonstrate equivalent independent study (such as participation in a Research Experience for Undergraduates). The second three credits of MATH 498 must be used to write an honors thesis. In order to receive the citation for Honors in Mathematics, the student must make a successful oral defense of the thesis.

The Non-Thesis Option

With the approval of the Honors Committee, honors students may choose not to write a thesis. The oral defense of the thesis is replaced by a two-hour written comprehensive examination. Students choosing the non-thesis option satisfy the breadth requirement by taking two courses from those listed above. The depth requirement will be satisfied by taking two additional courses. One of the additional courses must be a graduate course (600-level or above). The other course must be

1. a reading course (three credit-hours of MATH 498), or
2. a course listed above.

Research

• Mathematics Department Honors Program
• Research Opportunities for Undergraduates
• Directed Reading Program

Competitions

• William Lowell Putnam Competition
• Maryland Mathematical Modeling Contest

Scholarships, Awards, and Fellowships

• Administered by CMNS
• Administered by the Mathematics Department, Past Math Award Winners
• Daniel Sweet Undergraduate Research Fellowship

Other opportunities

• Teaching as an undergraduate: UTA program, Strauss TA
• SPIRAL - Summer Program In Research And Learning

Clubs

• Actuarial Club
• Math Club! 
• Women in Math
• Mathematical Modelling Club
  
  

After Maryland

• Careers in Mathematics
• Internships and External Financial Aid
• Local Employers Hiring MATH/STAT/AMSC Majors
• BLS Information on Careers in Math and Related Areas
• Masters in Data Science

• What is the Developmental Math Program? 

Each student graduating from UMCP, unless exempted, must have passed the Fundamental Studies Mathematics requirement. In order to determine the student's mathematical preparation for taking one of the courses satisfying this requirement, or a math course satisfying a major requirement, all entering students must take the Mathematics Placement Test (except for students entering with college level calculus credits, either through AP or another college). Using the results of this test the student is placed into one of the Mathematics Department's courses. Students who do not place into the desired credit bearing courses (Math 107, 113, 115 or higher) must take the developmental math course Math 003 or a combined developmental-fundamental course as described below.

• What is Math 003? 

Math 003 covers high school algebra I and II. A student receives no academic credit for Math 003 but will receive three "institutional" credits that count toward full time status at the university and for use in qualifying for scholarships and loans. A student must pay a special fee to take Math 003.  It is a full semester course.

• How are students placed? 

Placement is based on a student's score on the Mathematics Placement Test. The "upper half" of the students who place into the Developmental Math Program will be invited to take a one semester course which will combine the appropriate Developmental Algebra course with a credit bearing course that will satisfy the Fundamental Studies Math requirement. The "lower half" of these students will be enrolled into Math 003 which will be taught using a self-paced computer program. (The actual determination of what is meant by "upper half" and "lower half" depends on the level of sophistication of the course for which the student is preparing.)

• How do the combined courses work?

The courses Math 007, 013 and 015 are combined developmental/fundamental courses for Math 107, Math 113, and Math 115 (respectively). The purpose of the combined courses is to give a student the opportunity to get through both the developmental prerequisite and the credit-bearing course itself in a single semester.

For example, suppose a student arrives at UMCP and wants to take Math 107 but qualifies only for the combined version of Math 107, and elects to take this course. The course will meet for 5 hours a week. The initial 5 weeks will be spent reviewing and teaching the algebra skills necessary to succeed in Math 107. The student will officially be enrolled in Math 007 during this time. At the end of the five week period, the student will retake the Placement Test. If this time around the student qualifies for Math 107 (as the great majority should) then she/he will continue in the class and the regular curriculum in Math 107 will be covered over the remainder of the semester. The student's registration will automatically change from Math 007 to Math 107.  It willmeet with the same intsructor and at the same time, in the same room.

On the other hand, if after retaking the Placement Test the student still does not qualify for Math 107, then that student must go to the computer based developmental math course Math 003 for further work on the basic algebra skills.  Then the following semester, with successful completion of Math 003, the student may enroll in Math 107.  The student who qualifies into Math 107 after five weeks and is successful in completing Math 101 will receive 3 credits and a grade just as if she/he had started the semester in Math 107. And the student will have finished their math requirement in one semester instead of the two required to take Math 003 followed by Math 107. The special developmental math fee charged to students taking Math 003 will also be charged to students taking one of the combined courses.

• How are prerequisites met in Math 003? 

Each student enrolled in this course will work individually, using a self-paced computer course. Students will be in sections that meet 6 hours per week in dedicated computer labs. Each section will be under the close supervision of an instructor who will place the students at the appropriate level in the program, help the students with questions on their work, present tutorials and mini-lectures on difficult points, administer homework, quizzes and exams, and certify the students' success or failure during and at the end of the course. There will always be someone in the room to assist the students. All students, regardless of their level of algebra skills, will be in the same section of Math 003. They will be working in different parts of the computer program depending on their skills and goals. There will be five distinct modules, subsets of the program, that the students will be working on. Completing one of these will be necessary for passing Math 003. The modules will be preparation for taking Math 107, 113, 115 or Stat 100.  There is an additional module for students that equire pre-algebra review and may need a full year complete Math 003

There has been extensive experimentation with the computer program we use, and it has been successful in preparing students who conscientiously attend and work on it with the assisatance in the labs.
In addition to the students being able to place into other courses as indicated above by passing one of the modules, the students will also be given the Math Placement Test again at the end of the term. The students' score on that test at that time will be allowed to override the placement determined by the modules.
The course Math 003 was developed to replace two previous courses, Math 001 and 002 (corresponding to high school algebra I and II). Because students may begin Math 003 at different mathematical levels, a student is allowed to pass Math 003 twice for institutional credit.

• What changed in the developmental math program?

Before Fall 2001, there were two courses (Math 001 and 002) instead of Math 003, and these courses were taught in a standard classroom environment. Math 003 uses the self-paced computer program to meet needs more individually, promote student involvement, and allow accelerated progress through developmental mathematics. Also before Fall 2001, there was no combined course alternatives; for example, a student needing Math 113 for calculus but not placing into Math 113 would be forced to spend a semester on developmental math before spending a semester on Math 113.

Fall 2024

The mandatory advising email was sent on 10/4/24.

Walk-in Hours and Location

Unless otherwise noted***, our walk-in hours will be as follows:

MTuWThF:   9 - 12 and 2 - 4 

MTH1113 or MTH1115

*** Online only (email  for zoom appt): Jan 9, Jan 13, Jan 16

*** Walk-in hours for Jan 8, 14-15, 17: 9AM-3PM; Jan 10: 9AM-12PM

Please note that walk-in hours are subject to change without advanced notice to accommodate irregularly-scheduled events.  You are welcome to call first to make sure we are in, or email  for an appointment.

You are also welcome to contact us via email.  In fact, the best way to reach us is via email:

Please also note that in order to accommodate mandatory advising, we are able to offer only limited advising services from mid October to early December, and also from mid March to early May.  In particular, we will not be accepting new majors or new minors during those times.  This means that for fall 2024, October 18 will be the last day we take new majors or minors, and we will resume taking new majors and minors beginning  December 10.  Also, depending on our workload, we may not be able to accept new majors the week before classes start; we definitely will not be able to accept new majors during schedule adjustment (the first two weeks of classes).   In addition, per CMNS policy, first-semester students must wait till their first-semester grades have posted before they may declare a double major with math.  Finally, note that we will not be lifting mandatory advising blocks in person.  

General Advising Information and Statement

The mathematics department is committed to offering the best possible communication between the faculty and the students. The Undergraduate Advising Office is always happy to make arrangements to meet with all students to discuss both specific course issues as well as to field general questions about the mathematics curriculum and content.

Math Major Advising

In order to keep up good communication with our mathematics majors, as well as multiple majors, we insist upon one-on-one advising communication each semester in which both the present educational and future employment desires and plans of the students come together in the consideration and planning of the student's schedule.

Every semester, each math major is required to submit an advising form to the Undergraduate Advising Office to discuss the student's past and present progress, as well as future plans. We also have faculty advisors from various disciplines so that a student with specific interests may consult with a faculty advisor who has a good understanding of the student's personal goals and desires.

Advising usually takes place during a specific time period each semester, at which point the department and the student have a good idea of how the current semester is progressing. The Undergraduate Advising Office is always available, however, to address any issues that a student might wish to discuss. 

We maintain an email list for our mathematics majors and other interested persons, through which we send up-to-date information regarding the program as well as employment and financial aid opportunities. If you are not on this list and would like to join it, please contact .