A student must present their dissertation work within 4 years of advancing to candidacy. Time extensions may be made on a case-by-case basis.
All Math and Math Stat students must contact the Office of Graduate Studies (OGS) when scheduling their final oral (defense) exams. The OGS will assist you with the processing of departmental forms and the necessary paperwork for the Office of the Registrar and the Graduate School. Please contact Trystan Denhard and Jemma Natanson (Kirwan 1106/1108) / for further details.
You must attend a graduation information session, which are advertised each semester.
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Admission to candidacy for the doctoral degree is granted by the Graduate School upon the recommendation of the MATH Graduate Committee. A student must be admitted to candidacy within five years after admission to the doctoral program and at least six months before the date on which the doctoral degree will be conferred. Before a student applies for admission to candidacy he or she must have:
Please contact the Office of Graduate Studies to request information on preliminary exams, candidacy forms and the application for candidacy (j and ).
The Oral Candidacy Examination: The candidacy examination serves as an oral test of the detailed preparation of a student in the area of specialization. The candidate should have a deep understanding of relevant research literature in the field and the skills to carry out the research for the dissertation. The examination is taken before a student embarks on serious dissertation research. The examination assumes further advanced course work beyond that required for the qualifying exams.
Planning the Exam: To plan the examination, the student, with the help and approval of the prospective dissertation advisor, must prepare a prospectus for the examination. This prospectus defines the primary and related areas to be covered in the examination. These areas should be identified by course citations, literature citations, tables of contents, or other appropriate means. The prospectus should be filed with the Graduate Office before the examination is scheduled, and should also record the proposed format for the examination. Typical formats for the examination are either a seminar-type presentation by the student (or possibly two such talks) on one or more recent research papers, followed by questions from the committee on the presentation and related background material, or else a more traditional oral examination on subjects or courses listed in the prospectus.
Examination Committee: The examination committee is appointed by the Graduate Director (or if the Graduate Director is unavailable for an extended period, his or her designated representative) upon recommendation of the student's prospective dissertation advisor. The Graduate Director may if necessary consult with one or more field committee chairs in the area of specialization. The examination committee must consist of at least three members, at least one (usually the prospective dissertation advisor) representing the area in which the student plans to specialize. Usually all three of these will be faculty members from the Mathematics Department, but when there is a good academic reason, the student can petition the Graduate Committee to allow one to be from a related department (such as physics or computer science) or an outside institution (such as another university, NASA, NIH, NIST, NCHS, etc.). Disputes regarding the makeup of the examination committee will be referred to the Graduate Committee. Each committee member must agree to abide by the prospectus for the examination.
Possible Outcomes: Upon completion of the examination, the examination committee decides to pass, fail, or defer a decision on the student. In the last-named case, the manner in which the decision is to be resolved must be specified in the report of the committee. The distinction between "fail" and "defer a decision" is based on the committee's evaluation of the probability of successful completion of the Ph.D. degree.
Repeating the Exam: Upon failure, the Candidacy Examination may be repeated only once. Exceptions to this rule are granted only under extraordinary circumstances and upon petition to the Graduate Committee.
Graduate Students in the MATH, STAT, or AMSC programs are expected to make reasonable progress toward their degrees. In the following charts, a supported student is one who receives funding from the Mathematics Department, either as a TA, GA or as a fellow.
Notes:
1. The time limits for support by the Mathematics Department apply even if the student is not supported by the Mathematics Department for some intervening period.
2. In the absence of exceptional circumstances, students who do not pass all of their written qualifying exams by the end of the January cycle of their THIRD year will be dropped from the program.
3. In some cases, upon admission, the Graduate Director can negotiate a slower timetable. Examples include part-time students, and students that would benefit from taking 400-level courses in their first year.
4. Since the requirements in the Scientific Computation concentration of the AMSC program are somewhat different, there is a separate set of charts for students in this concentration.
5. For students in the Applied Mathematics concentration of the AMSC program, "qualifying exam" may in some cases be replaced by its equivalent in other departments. In BMGT, this may mean two written examinations (since they only cover one semester of material each), and in CMSC this may mean "qualifying requirement". 6. Please note that it is a University requirement that a student be registered during the semester that they plan on completing their degree/graduating.
| By the end of: | Ideal progress | To maintain support | To remain in program |
| 1st Year | Prepare for and pass 2 qualifying exams | Pass 12 credit hours with at least a 2.75 gpa | Pass 24 units each term with at least a 2.75 gpa |
| 2nd Year | Finish the 4 courses and choose field/advisor | Pass 1 exam by January, and pass 24 credit hours, at least 15 at 600 level, with 3.0 gpa | Pass 24 units each term with at least a 3.0 gpa |
| 3rd Year | Advance to candidacy, start working on dissertation | Pass all exams and course requirements by January | Pass all exams and course requirements by January |
| 4th Year | Make good progress toward dissertation | Reach candidacy by March 1 | Pass 24 units each term with at least 3.0 gpa |
| 5th Year | Finish dissertation, publish paper(s) and apply for jobs | Make good progress toward finishing dissertation | Pass 24 units each term with at least a 3.0 gpa and reach candidacy |
| 6th Year |
| Last year of support eligibility | Have a further 4 years to complete Ph.D. |
| By end of: | Expected progress |
| 1st Year | Prepare for and pass 1 qualifying exam and complete at least 12 credits at the 600 level with 3.0 gpa |
| 2nd Year | Complete course requirements and complete qualifying exams (exams must be completed by January). Must be registered during final semester. |
(International students usually need to complete the Masters degree in 2 years because of visa requirements.)
| By end of: | Ideal progress | To remain in program |
| 1st Year | Prepare for and pass 1 qualifying exam (non-thesis option), or complete at least 12 credits at the 600 level with 3.0 gpa (thesis option) | Pass 48 units each term with at least a 3.0 gpa |
| 2nd Year | Complete course requirements and qualifying exam requirements (non-thesis option). Choose advisor and begin serious work on thesis (thesis option) | Pass 48 units each term with at least 3.0 gpa |
| 3rd Year | Complete scholarly paper (non-thesis option) or thesis, receive degree | Pass 48 units each term with at least 3.0 gpa, pass 2 exams (non-thesis option) and complete course requirements. |
| 4th Year and beyond |
| Pass final exam by end of 4th year. Complete M.A. or M.S. by end of 5th year. Must be registered during final semester. |
| By end of: | Ideal progress | To remain in program |
| 1st Year | Pass AMSC 660-663, plus one Core Science Course, with 3.5 gpa | Pass 48 units each term with at least a 3.0 gpa |
| 2nd Year | Complete core requirements, with 3.5 gpa | Pass 48 units each term with at least 3.0 gpa |
| 3rd Year | Complete electives and scholarly paper (non-thesis option) or thesis, receive degree | Pass 48 units each term with at least 3.0 gpa. Must be registered during final semester. |