The
Graduate Program - Overview
The Department of Mathematical Sciences offers M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in
- Mathematics
- Statistics
- Mathematics Education
The department provides unique
opportunities for innovative instruction
and cooperative
research. With approximately 30 Ph.D.
faculty and 70 graduate students, the department is large enough
to attract and retain the most capable faculty, but small enough
to allow faculty and graduate students an intimate atmosphere for the
easy exchange of ideas.
The department
offers programs of study in both pure and applied mathematics. Programs
of study focus on mathematics which provides appropriate training for
employment
in academia, industry, or government. Pure areas of emphasis include
dynamical
systems, topology, complex analysis and global analysis. Applied areas
of emphasis include mathematical biology, computational mathematics,
inverse
and ill-posed problems, numerical analysis, and sensitivity theory.
Interdisciplinary
research opportunities in biological, engineering and physical
applications
are encouraged in the applied program component.
The graduate programs
in statistics strike a balance between statistical theory and methods.
Graduates are prepared for employment as consultants, researchers and
teachers. Areas of emphasis include mathematical statistics,
probability, applied probability, linear models, multivariate analysis,
time series, spatial analysis, sampling, experimental design,
biostatistics, response surface methodology, and statistical modeling.
Our statistics programs provide experience in practical problem solving
and computational statistics; this experience is gained, in part,
through a consulting seminar program in which all graduate students
participate. Programs are individually tailored and may emphasize
applications to other disciplines such as biology, medicine,
engineering, and the social sciences.
The mathematics education faculty in the
department characterizes its work as "applied mathematics education,"
oriented toward the preparation and professional development of
mathematics teachers and the development of effective school
mathematics curriculum. The faculty actively pursues grants to fund
research and creative activity focused on delivering effective professional development and
developing curriculum materials for K-12 mathematics teachers. Areas
of emphasis include teacher preparation, coaching, and mentoring
in-service teachers, on-line learning among practicing teachers,
technology-supported classroom instruction, problem-based learning,
and curriculum development for K-12 mathematics. Graduate students
design research projects in alignment with faculty interests and
current projects. Students in the masters degree option will engage
in school-based action research, while the doctoral program includes
both qualitative and quantitative experimental research.
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