Mathematics and Statistics
The Department of Mathematics and Statistics grants degrees at both the masters and doctoral level in a variety of areas of specialization. Click on the following links to get a brief description of the programs. For more information on all programs offered by the Department, see the Department Graduate Handbook.

NOTE: All procedures and rules described are subject to revision by the GraduateCommittee and the Mathematics and Statistics Department at any time.

Masters Degree Programs

The Department offers Master of Science and Master of Mathematics degrees. The Master of Science options are intended for students pursuing areas of research in pure and applied mathematics and statistics and industrial mathematics. The Master of Mathematics program is intended for students who are interested in teaching in public schools and in two and four year colleges and universities.

MS Mathematics

  • Jobs: Teach at four year colleges, prepare for Math or Stat PhD programs, Industrial jobs
  • Prerequisites: Undergraduate Math or Math Education Major
  • < strong>Degree Requirements : 24-27 Total Credits at 5000+ level, 18 Credits at 6000+, Thesis
  • Example Research Projects: Study connections between graph structure and matrices to discover properties of linear operators. Analyzing linear operator (matrix) behavior when axioms for + / x change to allow for different number systems.

MS Statistics

  • Jobs: Government and Industrial Jobs, PhD preparation in Statistics/Bioinformatics
  • Prerequisites: 24-27 Total Credits at 5000+ level, 18 Credits at 6000+, Thesis
  • Degree Requirements : 24-27 Total Credits at 5000+ level, 18 Credits at 6000+, Thesis
  • Example Research Projects: Estimating the standard error of gene expression summaries with the bootstrap. Applying computational techniques to visualize statistical properties of complicated data sets.

Master of Mathematics

  • Jobs: Careers in high school, middle school and community college teaching PhD preparation in Math/Stat
  • Prerequisites: Undergraduate Math Education or Math/Stat Majors; Utah Math certification Level 4 for teachers
  • Degree Requirements : 36 Total Credits at 5000+ level Thesis Optional
  • Example Research Projects: Examine the design and implementation of strategies for effectively teaching mathematics to public school students. Designing tightly focused, highly interactive computer-based "mathlets" to help K-12 students learn particular concepts through engagement with mathematical ideas.

Industrial/Interdisciplinary Math Masters

  • Jobs: Government and Industrial Jobs PhD preparation in Mathematics/Statistics/ Bioinformatics
  • Prerequisites: Any Undergraduate Technical Major, Calculus I-III, Linear Algebra and Differential Equations, Basic Computer Programming
  • Degree Requirements : 12 credits in applied/comp. math/stat, 9 credits at 6000+ in math/stat, 9 grad credits outside Math Summer Internship & Thesis
  • Example Research Projects: Path planning algorithms to govern robotic devices in complicated environments. Using mathematical models and dynamical systems to optimize genetic amplification technology for industrial pathogen detection. Predicting relationship between global warming and forest insect outbreaks.

Doctor of Philosophy Programs

The doctoral program in the Department has the following options. Each of these options has its own specific requirements that are described in the Graduate Handbook.

PhD in Pure & Applied Math

  • Jobs: University and College Teaching Government and Industry Research Careers
  • Prerequisites: MS in Pure or Applied Mathematics
  • Degree Requirements : 42 Credits at 6000+, 6 Credits at 7000+
    Dissertation
  • Example Research Projects: Developing new Maple software for differential geometry and its applications to mathematical physics and differential equations. Solving nonlinear partial differential equations to understand crystal patterns arising during alloy creation and nerve signal propagation.

PhD in Statistics

  • Jobs: University and College Teaching, Government and Industry Research Careers
  • Prerequisites: MS in Pure or Applied Mathematics or MS in Statistics
  • Degree Requirements : 42 Credits at 6000+, 6 Credits at 7000+
    Dissertation
  • Example Research Projects: Development and application of statistical models to forecast the spread of invasive species and epidemics. Constructing new methods to deal with the 'data deluge' of information created by consumers using electronic purchasing.

Math PhD, College Teaching Option

  • Jobs: University and College Teaching in Mathematics, Statistics and Math Education
  • Prerequisites: MS in Pure or Applied Mathematics or MS in Statistics or MS Instructional Tech.
  • Degree Requirements: 42 Credits at 6000+, 6 Credits at 7000+, 6 Credits of College Teaching Internship, Dissertation
  • Example Research Projects: Raise and address questions and issues regarding the design and implementation of strategies for effectively teaching mathematics to college and university students.

Math PhD, Interdisciplinary Option

  • Jobs: University and College Teaching, Government and Industry Research Careers
  • Prerequisites: MS in Technical field +, BS equivalent in Math/Stat
  • Degree Requirements: 42 Credits at 6000+, 6 Credits at 7000+, 10 Credits at 6000+ outside math, Dissertation
  • Example Research Projects: Developing fast homogenization methods to aid in oil reservoir modeling and simulation of enhanced oil recovery. Using integrodifference models and satellite data to predict the course of mountain pine beetle outbreaks in Idaho’s Sawtooth Valley.
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