Program of Study

The range of possibilities for graduate study encompasses the areas of specialization of all the faculty members in the field, who currently number more than eighty.

The faculty members are drawn from fourteen departments in the College of Engineering, the College of Arts and Sciences, the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, and the Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management. There is opportunity for further diversification on the choice of minor subjects.

Graduate students are admitted to the Field of Applied Mathematics from a variety of educational backgrounds that have a strong mathematics component. Generally, only students who wish to become candidates for the Doctor of Philosophy Degree are considered. About thirty-five students are enrolled in the program, which usually requires four or five years to complete.

Each student's program is supervised by a Special Committee of three faculty members. This committee, which is picked by the student, is responsible for developing an appropriate program of study and monitoring the student's progress. The committee chair, who is also the thesis advisor, represents the major field of applied mathematics. The other faculty members represent two minor fields; one of these must be mathematics and the other is a field outside mathematics.

The program allows great flexibility in the selection of courses. Most students design their own course sequences, subject to requirements, to meet their own interests. Courses are typically chosen from the math department and many applications departments. The course requirements in detail can be found under Requirements.

To give the prospective applicant a better idea of coursework for the program, current students in the program have assembled some examples of courses sequences:

• Students interested in nonlinear dynamics might take these courses.
• Students interested in scientific computing and numerical analysis might take these courses.
• Students interested in signal and image processing might take these courses.
• Students interested in mathematical finance might take these courses.
• Students interested in mathematical biology might take these courses.

Note that these are merely examples and each student customizes his or her own course selection. In particular, for all Applied Math students there are several options regarding first-year algebra and analysis.

A bit more than half of the graduating Ph.D.'s go into academic professions; a majority of the rest work in research laboratories.