Mathematics Application for Graduate Admissions and Financial Aid

Instructions for the On-Line Application for Graduate Admissions and Financial Aid

Since August 2011, all application to graduate programs in mathematics are done online. It is not necessary to send a separate application to the Graduate School and to the Department.

This page includes information for applying to admission and financial aid to the following graduate programs:

Master of Arts in Mathematics
Master of Science in Mathematics,
Master of Statistics (Mathematics), and
Doctor of Philosophy Mathematics.

Questions about your background can be sent to Jingyi Zhu, Chair of the Graduate Recruitment Committee at or Elena Cherkaev, Director of Graduate Studies.

General questions about your application should be sent to Paula Tooman, Graduate Program Coordinator. After reading this page and the line-by-line instructions you may proceed to the Apply Yourself (AY) link. The application need not be completed in one session. Applications for financial aid for the following fall semester are due January 1.

Other programs

Instructions for applying to other programs are available as follows:

Master of Mathematics (Teaching) program:

http://www.math.utah.edu/mathed/master_mt.html
Master of Science Degree for Secondary School Teachers of Science or Mathematics (MSSST) program:

http://www.math.utah.edu/mathed/master_mt.html
Professional Master of Science and Technology (PMST) program:

http://web.utah.edu/pmst/
Master of Science in Computational Engineering and Science (CES) program:

http://www.ces.utah.edu/

Teaching Assistantships and deadlines

Most mathematics graduate students are supported by Teaching Assistantships. Others may be supported by fellowships, or Research Assistantships, depending on the source of funding.

The Mathematics Department deadline for applications for financial aid to start the following Fall Semester is January 1st. Most financial aid is in the form of Teaching Assistantships during the Fall and Spring Semesters. Alternative support from individual research grants, and additional support from summer teaching, may also be available. Financial aid is typically given only to students in the Ph.D. program.

Students are normally admitted at the beginning of the Fall Semester, and financial aid to new students is only offered at that time. It is desirable that applications for Teaching Assistantships be submitted as early as possible but should be received by January 1st in order to receive full consideration. Applications received before April 1st may considered for financial aid for the following Fall Semester if positions remain available.

The University application deadlines are November 1st for Spring admission, March 15th for Summer admission, and April 1st for Fall admission.

Prerequisites

Admission to graduate status in either a Master's or Ph.D. program requires that students hold a Bachelor's degree in Mathematics, or its equivalent, with a grade point average of at least 3.0 and that they show promise of success in graduate work. The prerequisites for the various programs vary. For the Ph.D. and Master of Arts / Master of Science degrees, qualified applicants typically possess a Bachelor's or Master's degree in mathematics. In particular, Ph.D. students should be prepared to take the courses that directly lead to qualifying exams.

GRE Exams

Applicants to the Ph.D. program are not required to submit subject or general GRE scores. However, we strongly encourage all applicants to submit this test and applications without such scores are frequently at a substantial disadvantage. Students in pure mathematics are especially encouraged to submit their subject GRE scores. If you have questions about whether to submit your scores, contact Jingyi Zhu, Chair of the Graduate Recruitment Committee or Elena Cherkaev, Director of Graduate Studies.

English tests

All applicants must meet the University of Utah's minimum requirements for English proficiency, see:

http://admissions.utah.edu/international/graduate/grad_english_proficiency.php

Additionally, successful applicants for Teaching Assistantships must be proficient in their spoken and listening English skills. Those skills are usually reflected in the submitted TOEFL scores (or equivalent). In most cases, for those subsections of the TOEFL, we look for scores of at least about 20, and optimally, of at least about 23.

For international applicants

For international applicants: the I-20 form cannot be processed until all documents and fees are submitted to the Admissions Office and the student has been admitted by the program.

The Application Form Line-by-Line

AY Application Instructions
You will find advice about the University of Utah's prerequisites for applying to the Graduate Admissions Office including deadlines. Additional specific requirements of the Department of Mathematics are spelled out in the Mathematics Graduate Bulletin The Department of Mathematics deadline for applications for Teaching Assistantships of the next fall semester is January 1. The deadlines for admission are March 15 for the next fall semester and November 1 for the next spring semester. You can find information in the Bulletin about satisfying the University of Utah's language requirements for non–native-English-speaking graduate students and the TOEFL tests.
AY Home
AY access history.
Basic Information — All University Applicants
- Personal Data
  Name, address, email, social security number and emergency contact. You may fill in ethnic origin, veteran and language information.
- Program Information
  - Program of Interest
    Select one of Mathematics MA (Master of Arts in Mathematics), Mathematics MS (Master of Science in Mathematics), Mathematics MST (Master of Statistics — Mathematics) or Mathematics PhD (Doctor of Philosophy Mathematics). Students who are prepared to do PhD level classwork should check Mathematics PhD, otherwise students should select masters program. If you are unsure about which program is appropriate, check Mathematics MS. Students in the MS and PhD programs take classes and exams together. Students in the MS program may apply for admission to the PhD program in their second year. Students making good progress will find a seamless transition to the PhD. Students interested in Master of Mathematics (Teaching) should select Mathematics MS and follow different instructions on the Master of Mathematics (Teaching) page. For other programs, please go to the specific program page and follow their instructions, e.g., MSSST applicants should choose Science Program for Secondary School Teachers (MS).
  - Emphasis Area
    Select your most likely area of study in the Department of Mathematics. For example, if you are interested in geometric group theory, then please indicate geometry/topology. If you are not sure about what your area will be, or if you don't see your interest listed, please check undecided, and describe your emphasis in your Statement of Purpose.
  - Undergraduate Major
    Indicate major of your undergraduate degree.
  - Application Term and Year
    Indicate the term for which you are applying. For most applicants to the mathematics programs this will be next year's Fall Semester. Teaching Assistantships are offered beginning in the fall semester only.
- Education History
  List your previous graduate study experiences including any study at the University of Utah. You will be asked to list all universities attended including all graduate programs with dates.
  - Test Scores
    The Department of Mathematics strongly recommends that you submit your score on the GRE Math subject test. While the Department will consider applications without a GRE subject score, your application may be at a disadvantage. If you have questions about whether you should take the subject test, please contact Elena Cherkaev, Director of Graduate Studies, or Jingyi Zhu, Director of Graduate Recruitment.
    Neither the MStat (Mathematics) nor the Masters of Mathematics (Teaching) programs require the GRE. Masters of Mathematics (Teaching) submit Praxis scores instead of GRE scores — see specific Master of Mathematics (Teaching) instructions.
  - Colleges and Universities
    You will be asked to enter the Colleges and Universities you've attended and upload copies of transcripts. The recruitment committee will want to see your grades from the Fall 2017. If they will not be available until after January 1st please contact us to let us know.
- Residency
  For Residency for Tuition Purposes, supply your residency information and describe your employment history. You may supply information about your parents and your American Indian affiliation.
- Academic Interests and Background
  - Curriculum Vita
    Please upload your CV.
  - Statement of Purpose
    The Mathematics Department now requires that you also upload a Statement of Purpose where you may describe your educational and career objectives. We are more interested in hearing about your current interests in mathematics, and why Utah is a good fit, then in why you decided to study mathematics. This is also the place where you can discuss any teaching experience you may have. If you are interested in applying for a fellowship in one of the the departments two RTG grants (http://www.math.utah.edu/rtg_grants.html) you should also mention that here.
  - Course Description
    You may choose to include a list of the mathematics courses (or related courses) that you have taken, along with a short description of the syllabus or course text. This is particularly useful if the Recruitment Committee is not familiar with your undergraduate institution.
  - Writing Sample
    The Mathematics Department does not require a writing sample. But if you wish to upload mathematical papers or a link to your publications, you may do so here.
  - Faculty
    In this optional field you may specify a professor in the Department of Mathematics with whom you would like to work.
  - Financial Support
    Please indicate whether you are applying for financial support from the Department of Mathematics. Usually the financial support available to first year students consists of a teaching assistant ship which pays a stipend and a tuition waiver. Teaching Assistants are assigned various duties including teaching classes, running recitation or lab sections and grading.
  - Applicant Survey
    You may tell us where you found out about Graduate Mathematics Programs at Utah.
  - Full Time/Part Time
    Indicate whether you intend to complete your degree as a full-time/part-time student.
  - Comments
    You may supply any additional information here.
- Full Time Employee Page
  Fill in this page if you are full-time employee of the University of Utah.
College of Science page — Mathematics Applicants
This information is required from applicants to departments in the college: Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics, and Physics & Astronomy,
- GPA
  Estimate your grade point average from STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) classes.
- Additional Information
  If you have received any scholastic honors or awards, you may mention them here. If you have any publications that you have authored or coauthored, you may list them here. If you have had teaching positions, you may list them here. If you wish to tell us about any unusual circumstances, you may do so here.
Recommendations
For each person providing you a letter of recommendation, please enter their names and email contact information. AY will email your referees and ask them to upload their recommendation. The Department of Mathematics requires at least three letters of recommendation. The most valuable letters are from professors of your advanced mathematics classes and mentors of research projects.
- Download Forms
  If you wish to give your referee a paper recommendation form to send to the Department of Mathematics, please use Recommendation Form 6 which you can download (there are several letter styles).