Examinations and Course Requirements

Upcoming Exam Dates

January 2026 Qualifying Exams Schedule. All exams will be located in Kirwan Hall 3206.

Friday, January 16
Algebra 9:00am -1:00pm 
Mathematical Statistics 9:00am -1:00pm

Tuesday, January 20
Analysis 9:00am -1:00pm 
Applied Statistics 9:00am -1:00pm

Thursday, January 22
Probability 9:00am -1:00pm 
Geometry 9:00am -1:00pm

Snow Date: Friday, January 23

Please note the following: 

  • Students in the pure math program who entered the program prior to Fall 2025 are required to pass 2 exams by January of their third year (fifth semester in the program). 
  • Students in the pure math program who enter the program Fall 2025 or after are required to pass 2 exams by January of their second year (third semester in the program).

Please contact or if you have any questions.

Requirements for the Ph.D. in Mathematics (Exams and Courses)

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. 

To receive a Ph.D. degree in mathematics a student must display a high level of scholarship shown by the ability to do original research and should possess a broad knowledge of the major fields of modern mathematics.  It is not necessary to have a master's degree before obtaining the doctorate.

Residence Requirements. The equivalent of at least three full years of graduate study is required of which at least one must be in residence at The University of  Maryland campus. At least 18 hours of course work must be taken at The University of Maryland, plus 12 hours of credit research at the Ph.D.  level.

Minimum Requirements. In order to receive a Ph.D. degree, the student must have:

  • Taken at least 36 hours of formal coursework (at least 27 at the 600/700/800 level) with an average of "B" or better.  Please note that Math 898 and 899 do not count toward the 36 credit requirement. Courses used as part of a master's program may be used in fulfillment of this requirement. At least 18 hours must be taken in the Department of Mathematics (MATH/STAT/AMSC). Grades of "D" and "F" count at 0 quality points and the courses in which they are obtained cannot be used to fulfill degree requirements;
  • Taken at least 12 hours of Mathematics 899;
  • Passed the written examination requirements (exams and courses);
  • Fulfilled specific requirements by the field committee that represents the student's principal mathematical interests. The student must demonstrate that he or she has obtained a sufficient depth of mathematical knowledge and has the ability to write a dissertation on a topic in the field in question.
  • Been admitted to candidacy during the semester previous to the one in which the degree is granted or earlier;
  • Prepared a dissertation representing an original contribution to existing mathematical knowledge;
  • Passed the final oral examination.

1. MATH students must pass at least 2 exams from the following list: 

*Algebra (Math 600, 601)
*Analysis (Math 630, 660)
Probability (Stat 600, 601)
Statistics (Stat 700, 701)
Geometry (Math 730, 740)

*One of the 2 exams should be Algebra, Analysis, OR Geometry/Topology

2. Each student must pass an equivalent of 8 courses via coursework or qualifying exams

Each qualifying exam counts for two courses, the exam and its corresponding courses can be seen above. However, no more than 4 courses (including those counted via passing qualifying exams) can come from the same list: 

More information (including 2 examples) can be found here.

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Important note: The qualifying requirements for the Scientific Computation concentration of the AMSC program are  different. In addition, students in the Applied Mathematics concentration of the AMSC program usually must take one or more exams outside of the mathematics department; see here for further information.