Graduate Program Information Page
The Brandeis Mathematics Department offers a Ph.D. and an M.A. This page contains information that will help prospective applicants decide whether or not to apply for admission to these programs. More details about the requirements of these programs can be found in the Mathematics Department's Graduate Handbook. Additional information about Brandeis, including course descriptions, can be found in the Brandeis Bulletin
Most of our graduate students are enrolled in the Ph.D. program. All students accepted into the Ph.D. program are given financial support. The Ph.D. program typically requires five years to complete, and requires writing a dissertation. The master's program usually takes three semesters, but students with strong backgrounds may complete it in two. Teaching fellowships are not available to master's students, but tuition reductions of 25% to 50% may be available.
The Ph.D. program in Mathematics at Brandeis is fairly small and highly selective. The department recruits outstanding students from around the world and trains them to be effective teachers and cutting-edge researchers. Our faculty members work in the areas of algebra, analysis, topology, and combinatorics; we do not offer programs in applied mathematics or statistics.
Application Procedure
Information about the application process can be found on the web site of the Graduate School. The Graduate School prefers applicants to submit their applications electronically, but paper applications are also accepted. Application requirements for both the Ph.D. and master's program can be found here. The deadline for Ph.D. applications is January 15. Applications received after this date will be accepted, but may not receive full consideration. There is no specific deadline for the master's program.
Interested applicants are invited to visit our department. We have some funds available to subsidize visits of accepted applicants.
Financial Aid
The Graduate School is committed to providing doctoral students with the appropriate resources that will support academic success. All Ph.D. candidates are awarded, through University or external funding sources, a 100% tuition scholarship, a stipend (currently $17,000), and health insurance coverage. The tuition scholarship and fellowship may be renewed on an annual basis for up to five years based on superior academic performance and satisfactory progress to the degree.
Eligible students are encouraged to apply for a GAANN fellowship, which is described in detail on the GAANN information page.
Prospects
Obtaining a job after graduation is a primary concern for graduate students. Recent Brandeis graduates have generally been quite successful in finding desirable positions. Here is a list of the first job placements of recent Brandeis graduates.
Program of Study
The normal first year of study for Ph.D. students, consists of MATH 101a and b (Algebra I and II), 111a and b (Real Analysis and Complex Analysis), and 121a and b (Topology). With the permission of the graduate advisor, a student with superior preparation may omit one or more of these courses and elect higher level courses instead. In this case he or she must take an examination in the equivalent material during the first two weeks of the course. The second year's work will normally consist of MATH 110a and higher level courses in addition to preparation for the qualifying examinations described below, and participation in the second-year seminar. Upon completion of the qualifying examinations, the student will choose a dissertation advisor and begin work on a thesis. This should be accompanied by several advanced courses and seminars.
Master's students take the same first-year courses as Ph.D. students. The only additional course requirement is MATH 110a, usually taken in the first semester of the second year.
Residence Requirement
The minimum residence requirement is three years for the Ph.D. and one year for the master's degree.
Language Requirement
The Ph.D. requires proficiency in reading two languages, one of which must be French, German, or Russian. Only one language is required for the master's degree. A detailed discussion of the language exam can be found in the Language Exam Handbook.
Qualifying Examination
The qualifying examination consists of two parts: A major examination and a minor examination. Both are normally taken on the latter part of the second year but may occasionally be postponed until early in the third year. For the major examination the student will choose a limited area of mathematics and a major examiner from among the faculty. Together they will plan a program of study and a subsequent examination in that material. The aim of this study is to prepare the student for research towards the Ph.D. The minor examination will be more limited in scope and less advance in content. The procedures are similar to those for the major examination, but its subject matter should be significantly different from that of the major examination.
No qualifying examination is required for the master's degree.
Dissertation and Defense
The doctoral degree will be awarded only after the submission and acceptance of an approved dissertation and the successful defense of that dissertation. No dissertation is required for the master's degree.
Teaching
Teaching is an important part of graduate student life in the mathematics department. Graduate students are not asked to teach during their first year in the department; instead they are encouraged to devote their time to the first-year courses and to adjusting to life as a graduate student. During the spring semester of their first year, Ph.D. students participate in a three-week teaching apprenticeship program. This program pairs each prospective graduate student instructor (the “apprentice”) with one who is currently teaching (“the coach”); the apprentice first visits a number of the coach's classes, and then—working closely with the coach at each step—teaches three of his or her classes. The program is supervised by the Elementary Mathematics Coordinator, a regular faculty member who oversees all aspects of graduate student teaching.
In the fall of their second year, graduate students begin teaching their own sections (20–25 students) of pre-calculus or calculus. Graduate student instructors work closely with the faculty member overseeing each course (usually the Elementary Mathematics Coordinator), but nonetheless each graduate student has full responsbility for his or her section; this means preparing lectures, writing and grading quizzes, holding office hours, and participating in the writing and grading of common exams. The Elementary Mathematics Coordinator is always available to graduate students who have questions about teaching or who are trying to improve their teaching skills.
Graduate students usually teach for four semesters. As a result, when they enter the job market they are in an unusually strong position with respect to teaching: they have a lot of experience teaching their own classes and they have received a great deal of training from the Elementary Mathematics Coordinator, who can write very detailed letters of recommendation for each graduate student.