Program: Mathematical Sciences - Mathematics Concentration, (MS) - University of Memphis

MS Degree Program

Program objectives are (1) development of thorough background in mathematical sciences, including retention and integration of core knowledge; (2) development of research skills in mathematics; and (3) development of interdisciplinary opportunities and good oral and written communication skills.

General Program Prerequisites

An undergraduate degree with a major in mathematics or statistics is required. The minimum GPA is 2.5 on a 4.0 scale. Students whose major was not in mathematics or statistics will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
Letters of recommendation recommendation need to be submitted upon request.
IELTS or TOEFL scores are required for students whose native language is not English.

General Program Requirements

Satisfactory completion of 33 credit hours of graduate course work in a program approved by the department is required. Not more than 9 hours of course work at the 6000 level can be applied to the degree. At least 24 credit hours of course work have to be at the 7000 level or higher. At least 21 credit hours of course work have to be earned from courses offered by the Department of Mathematical Sciences.
Not more than three credit hours from graduate level seminars can be used to satisfy degree requirements.
The courses MATH 6050 , MATH 6051 , MATH 7281 , MATH 7282 , MATH 7383 , MATH 7384 , MATH 7385 , MATH 7391 , and MATH 7601 can only be used to satisfy degree requirements in the Teaching of Mathematics concentration.
A passing grade on a comprehensive examination is required. Students may choose a thesis or non-thesis option.

Non-thesis Option

Under this option the comprehensive examination consists of the student preparing and giving a master’s presentation with a short, written summary on the topic of an independent study project, carried out under the guidance of a faculty member. The topic of the project must be approved in advance by a designated committee of graduate faculty. The master’s presentation includes the opportunity for questions and is given before the committee of graduate faculty charged with assessing the satisfactory completion of the comprehensive examination requirement.

An acceptable alternative to the master’s presentation requirement is the satisfactory performance on the Ph.D. qualifying exams. A performance on these exams deemed satisfactory at the master’s level will be counted as passing the comprehensive examination.

Thesis Option

Each student must identify a thesis advisor, enroll in at least three credit hours of MATH 7996 and submit a written thesis acceptable to the student’s advisory committee. A student must present and defend the thesis before the advisory committee. The oral defense of the thesis will encompass material contained in the thesis and learned during course work and will count as the comprehensive examination. Up to six credit hours of MATH 7996 can be used to satisfy degree requirements.

Note:

Students should familiarize themselves with the Thesis/Dissertation Preparation Guide before starting to write.

Specific Degree Requirements

Mathematics Concentration

To ensure foundational knowledge, several 6000-level courses are required. If the corresponding 4000-level cognate of a required 6000-level course was taken for credit before, the 6000-level course need not be taken again. For that course the requirement is considered satisfied.

The following 6000-level courses are required:

To ensure in-depth knowledge in Mathematics, several 7000-level courses are required. Corresponding 8000-level cognates may be used to substitute for 7000-level courses.

Academic Catalog

Mathematical Sciences - Mathematics Concentration, (MS)