“You Can Create a Program of Study Tailored To You”: One Math Alum’s Personalized Journey
August 19, 2022
Sydney Adams | Graduate School of Arts and Sciences
Before she began her journey at Brandeis, Rose Morris-Wright PhD’20 studied, taught, and researched mathematics at the high-school and collegiate levels. “[I enjoyed] sharing my love of math with others and I was a high-school math teacher for a short time,” she says. It was during her teaching years that Morris-Wright realized that she wanted more. “I wanted the opportunity to teach more advanced math and to work with more mature students,” she says. She chose to pursue a PhD in Mathematics at Brandeis. What put Brandeis above all other schools was that the program “offers a lot more teacher training than many other Math PhD programs. At Brandeis I had many opportunities to teach as the instructor of record… but I also had the support and mentorship I needed to make teaching into a [fulfilling] and rewarding experience for both myself and the students.”
Morris-Wright says her favorite part of the PhD program was Brandeis’ small size, which offers “a lot of flexibility and individual attention given to graduate students,” she says, “If you advocate for yourself and explain your past experiences and goals to the faculty you can create a program of study tailored to you.” Morris-Wright’s research interests and academic goals were further supported by faculty in the Math department, she points to Professors Ruth Charney, Carolyn Abbott, and Rebbeca Torrey. Morris-Wright thanks Professor Charney for “gradually giving me more independence and setting me up for success even after graduation.” She says, Professor Abbott, “has helped me a lot in the transition from grad school into being a post-doc.” Additionally, Morris-Wright thanks Professor Torrey for being “a faculty mentor and friend who guided me to be the teacher I am today.” Morris-Wright says these professors “taught me a lot about navigating the politics of academia and dealing with being a woman in a male-dominated field, something that is unfortunately a necessity.”
Prior to working as Visiting Assistant Professor at Middlebury College, Morris-Wright was a Postdoctoral Assistant Adjunct Professor at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where she continued a research project that she initially developed at Brandeis. This project’s goal, Morris-Wright says, is “to move away from traditional exam based grades and towards alternative grading methods that give students more opportunities to show they have learned the material, while still tying their grade to rigorous academic standards.” While teaching at UCLA, Morris-Wright received a $30,000 grant to implement this grading method that reached approximately “500 students per term.” Morris-Wrights says, “I plan to continue to experiment with this new technique now that I have moved on to Middlebury College.”
As for advice for students interested in pursuing a degree from Brandeis’ Mathematics program, Morris-Wright says, “Reach out and make friends with people outside the math department. Graduate school is pretty insular, and I wish I had known the other graduate students better. The Math department is a wonderful and friendly place, but having this emotional support and social network outside the Math department will be really important for your mental health.”