Mathematics, MA

The Master of Arts degree in Mathematics covers the basic graduate curriculum in Mathematics, and also allows students to undertake some more specialized training in an area of interest. A typical program of study will include fundamental courses in real analysis and linear algebra, followed by more advanced graduate courses in pure and applied mathematics. With a good educational background, it takes approximately two years to complete the requirements for a Master's degree.

Admissions

In addition to the minimum Graduate School admission requirements, to be considered for regular admission an application must include:

A resume/CV

3 letters of recommendation.

Scores on the general test of the GRE are optional. We encourage applicants to submit GRE scores if they think doing so will boost their chance of getting admitted. However, applications with and without GRE scores will both get full consideration.

See the Admission Criteria section of this catalog for more information.

Curricular Requirements

All students are required to take four master's core courses and one PhD year-long core sequence. In addition, there is a breadth requirement under which students need to take at least one more graduate level course in mathematics at the 500-level or 600-level, with the exception of courses beginning with 50 and MATH 551and MATH 552. Students may fulfill the remaining credits by taking other Mathematics courses. With the approval of the Graduate Program Director, students may take courses in related areas such as Computer Science, Education, Finance, or Physics. Students should consult the Director of Graduate Programs if they wish to place out of any of the above requirements. The list of requirements is given below.

Course Requirements		Hours
Master's Core Courses		12
MATH 572	Linear Algebra
MATH 586	Intro Real Analysis I
MATH 537 or	Data Science and Programming
MATH 570	Prin Modern Algebra I
MATH 587	Intro Real Analysis II
Select one of the following PhD core sequences		6
Algebra
MATH 571 & MATH 573	Prin Modern Algebra II and Abstract Algebra I
Real Analysis
MATH 580 & MATH 681	Real Analysis I and Real Analysis II
Topology
MATH 565 & MATH 566	Intro General Topology and Intro Algebraic Topology
Numerical Analysis
MATH 511 & MATH 512	Numerical Analysis I and Numerical Analysis II
Optimization
MATH 520 & MATH 521	Linear Optimization Theory and Non-Linear Optimization Theory
Mathematical Statistics
MATH 554 & MATH 555	Advanced Math Statistics I and Advanced Math Statistics II
Partial Differential Equations
MATH 541 & MATH 642	Boundary Value Problems and Partial Differential Equations
Breadth Requirement		3
One additional 3 hour course in mathematics at the 500-level or 600-level with the exception of courses beginning with 50 and MATH 551 and MATH 552.
Research Requirements		6
Under Plan I, students will take 6 hours of MATH 599. Under Plan II, students will take one more elective course and 3 hours of MATH 598
Elective Courses		3
Elective courses of approved graduate level coursework. This include all math courses at the 500-level and 600-level with the exception of courses beginning with 50 and MATH 551 and MATH 552. Non-Math courses include but not limited to AEM 520, BER 642, BER 646, EC 570, EC 660, FI 519, ST 531, ST 552, or ST 561.
Credit Hours Subtotal:		30
Master's en route to PhD
Students pursuing a PhD degree in Mathematics may be awarded a Master’s degree after passing the PhD Qualifying Exams or Comprehensive Exam, completing 30 hours in graduate coursework and fulfilling the core course requirements. See the Graduate School policy on Master's En Route for more information.

Transfer Credit

See the Graduate School policy.

Accelerated Master's Program

See the Accelerated Master's Program.

Plan I Requirements

Plan I requires successful completion of 24 semester hours of course work, and a thesis (6 hours of MATH 599) supervised by a graduate faculty member in Mathematics. A student planning to graduate in the Spring semester ought to start thinking about the thesis topic as early as possible, and no later than in early Fall of the preceding year. The thesis must be defended in front of a committee, and then submitted electronically on line through ProQuest once it has been approved by the committee. See the student guide on preparing electronic theses. Please note that a copy of the thesis or project must be available to each committee member at least two weeks prior to the presentation.

Plan II Requirements

Plan II requires 27 semester hours of courses and 3 hours of work (MATH 598) devoted to a project supervised by a member of the graduate faculty in Mathematics. The project does not have to be based on original work, and can be an extensive literature review of a particular field of Mathematics. The project can be started in the semester that a student plans to graduate. A copy of the project approved by a faculty member must be provided to the main office. the student should also provide a pdf file. The project should be in 12pt font and single-spaced. Students are required to write their theses in LaTeX, which they should have used in many of their courses. A workshop on how to use LaTeX and its derivatives is offered (by the University Library specifically for graduate students in mathematics) at the beginning of each academic year. A skeleton template LaTeX file can be obtained from the UA Box to help students get started.