Requirements

Cooperative Doctoral Program

Details of admission and degree requirements should be discussed with the program director. In the case of a student wishing to write a Ph.D. for a Youngstown State University graduate faculty, the joint approval of the student, thesis topic, and Youngstown State University faculty thesis supervisor will be made by Rhodes University and may require the passing of preliminary examinations by the student.

The overall degree requirement is the writing of a doctoral thesis that represents a substantial, original contribution to the mathematical literature as assessed by Rhodes University doctoral faculty and external readers prominent in the mathematical discipline represented by the thesis. A student writing a Ph.D. for a Youngstown State University graduate faculty will be required to serve a six-month internship/residency at Rhodes University, at the conclusion of which will be the formal thesis defense before a committee comprising Rhodes University doctoral faculty and the student's Youngstown State University thesis supervisor.

Masters Admission Requirements

In addition to the minimum School of Graduate Studies admission requirements, students must also have:

1) An unrecalculated undergraduate cumulative grade-point average of at least 3.0 (on a 4.0 scale) in all undergraduate mathematics, statistics, and computer science courses.
2) A completed sequence in standard calculus comparable to 1571, 1572, 2673, including multivariable calculus.
3) Previous courses in discrete structures and linear algebra comparable to Math 2683 and Math 3720.
4) Evidence of success in abstract, mathematical reasoning.

Students not satisfying all of the above may be admitted with provisional status subject to the approval of the graduate program director and the graduate dean.

Masters Degree Requirements

1) A minimum of 33 semester hours of credit.
2) A cumulative grade-point average of at least 3.0.
3) Students entering without a prior course in abstract algebra must include 5821 in their program, to be taken in the earliest available semester; and students entering without a prior course in theoretical analysis must include 5851 in their program, to be taken in the earliest available semester. These courses are not included in the 33 semester hour minimum requirement.
4) The student's combined undergraduate and graduate programs must include a mathematics core comprising the following courses or their equivalent:

    a) Math 5825 (advanced linear algebra);
    b) Math 5852 (theoretical multivariable analysis);
    c) Math 6915 or Math 5880/5884 (foundations/ topology);
    d) Math 5822 (second semester abstract algebra);
    e) graduate level course in an applied mathematical science; and
    f) Math 6996 or 6999 (project or thesis).

5) Satisfactory performance on written and oral examinations. The subject matter for these examinations should in part reflect both the core curriculum of (4) above and the option selected (see Description of Options below) and must be approved by the Graduate Executive Committee. Additionally, the following distribution requirements apply:

    a) written exams on 3 courses;
    b) oral exam on thesis, or oral exam on a project and two courses; and
    c) at least half of the hours of the courses examined must be at the 6900 level.

6) Before completing 12 semester hours, the student should submit, through an advisor, the entire degree program for approval by the Graduate Executive Committee in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics. Subsequent revisions to this program must be approved by the Graduate Executive Committee. An abstract of the proposed thesis for 6 semester hours, or project for 3 semester hours, must be submitted for approval prior to registering for these hours.

7) At least half the hours of the student's approved program must be at the 6900 level.

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