This handbook offers guidance to students working toward advanced degrees in mathematics at Washington State University. These degrees are MS in Mathematics (which also has an Applied Mathematics Option and a Mathematics Teaching Option), PhD in Mathematics (which also has an option that allows obtaining an MS in another discipline simultaneously), and PhD in Mathematics with Teaching Emphasis.
In all of our degree programs we attempt to combine a sound general core of fundamental mathematics with electives that reflect individual interests, needs, and opportunities. People having one of these degrees will be better at some things than at others, but they will have a general grounding in mathematics that should be valuable to them in any mathematical work they do.
Graduate students should accept much of the responsibility for their own training. This includes not only planning a meaningful program of study, studying for courses and examinations, and writing a thesis, but also voluntarily and energetically devoting time to outside reading of both books and journals; attending colloquia and special lectures by local and visiting speakers; working on assigned problems; participating actively in credit and noncredit seminars and professional meetings; and frequently discussing mathematics with colleagues. Active mathematicians do these things as a matter of course, and graduate school is not too soon to develop these habits.
In reading this document, one should bear in mind that some of the regulations and requirements contained herein come from the Graduate School and are university-wide in scope, while others originate in the Department of Mathematics and pertain only to mathematics students. Among the former are rules pertaining to the Master's and Doctoral Final Oral Examinations, the oral part of the Doctoral Preliminary Examination, residency requirements, total hours required for each degree, and format of thesis or dissertation. On the other hand, specific course requirements, foreign language requirements, and rules governing the Doctoral Qualifying Examination and the written part of the Doctoral Preliminary Examination are of departmental origin. The current issue of the Graduate School Policies and Procedures Manual is the definitive source for information on Graduate School regulations and requirements, and as such statements in it take precedence over those in this guide as far as the Graduate School regulations and requirements are concerned. This guide is the official source of information concerning departmental regulations and requirements valid on the date of issue.
Departmental policies pertaining to graduate programs in mathematics are set by the graduate faculty of the Department of Mathematics. The departmental Graduate Studies Committee serves as an intermediary between the graduate students and the graduate faculty. Questions concerning the content of this document, and petitions requesting possible waiver or modification of any rule of departmental origin should be directed to this committee. Students should feel free to seek advice or assistance from any member of the mathematics faculty, and especially from the Chair of the Department, the Associate Chairs of the Department, and the members of the Graduate Studies Committee. At the present time these positions are held by the following individuals:
As will be clear from the remaining sections of this handbook, there is a substantial amount of flexibility in graduate study in mathematics at Washington State University. For students interested in more applied areas, it might be mentioned that for a number of years the department has placed considerable emphasis on the development of educational options leading to possible careers in business, industry, and government. Current options include computational mathematics, mathematical modeling, operations research and mathematics education. These options may be incorporated into programs of study leading to either an MS or a PhD degree (or both).