Program Overview

MS in Applied and Computational Mathematics

The MS in applied and computational mathematics is a Master’s program aimed at providing the graduate with the skills needed to deal with problems which typically arise in science, business, and industrial situations.

Degree Requirements

General Course Requirements

• A minimum of 35 credit hours of course work
• Math and outside courses at the 300 level and below will not be counted towards the 35 hour requirement. MATH 530 does not count toward the 35 credit hour requirement.
• A minimum of 24 credit hours taken on campus.
• A minimum of 9 of the 35 hours taken in an area of application outside mathematics (such as physics, biology, engineering, etc.) including at least 3 credit hours of statistics. The area and courses must be approved by the graduate student’s advisor.
• 6 hours of course work taken outside the department must be at the 500 level or above.
• A minimum of 18 credit hours of coursework in mathematics of 3+ credits each, at the 500+ level (excluding MATH 530, 695, 699, 798, 799 and MATH 592.001, 592.002, 592.003 and MATH 584A, 584B).
• The Seminar requirement must be satisfied, a maximum of 2 credits may be counted toward the 35 credit hour degree requirement.

Other Course Requirements

• Numerical Analysis: Students must take two courses from the following list:
  • MATH 550
  • MATH 561
  • MATH 651
  • MATH 652
• Sequence Requirement: Students must take at least one sequence from the following list:
  • MATH 510 – 520
  • MATH 517 – 617 or 519
  • MATH 540 – 640
  • MATH 535 – 540
  • MATH 545 – 546
  • MATH 560 – 532 or 561
• Modeling and Methods: Students must take at least two courses from the following list:
  • MATH 532
  • MATH 540
  • MATH 535
  • MATH 545
  • MATH 633

Final Project and Examination

A final oral examination is required for all MS degrees. The Examination is conducted by the Advisory Committee and is open to faculty and graduate students in the Department as well as other interested parties. The student must complete one of the following options for the MS.

• Thesis (plan A): The student completes a thesis that is not purely expository but reflects an element of originality on the part of the student. The student’s program of study must contain a least 6 but not more than 9 credit hours of thesis research (MATH 699).
• Paper (plan B): The student writes an expository paper under the direction of the advisor. This paper must be approved by the advisor and the committee. The student’s program of study must contain 3 credit hours of thesis research (MATH 699). The Expository Paper will not be submitted to the graduate school.

Results of the final oral examination will be reported on the GS24. Voting is limited to the members of the student’s committee, and a majority vote is necessary to pass the examination. A tie vote is interpreted as failure to pass the examination. All committee members must vote to either Pass or Fail the student; there is no option to withhold a signature. Committee members who are not academic faculty do not have a vote on the final examination.

If significant revisions to the thesis or expository paper are required by the committee after the final oral examination is complete, a reasonable amount of time must be given for committee members to re-review the thesis once the revisions have been made.

A candidate who fails the final examination may be reexamined once and, for the reexamination, may be required to complete further work. The reexamination must be held not later than 12 months after the first examination. The examination must not be held earlier than two months after the first examination unless the student agrees to a shorter time period. Failure to pass the second exam results in dismissal from the Graduate School.