Dear Math Students,
For those of you considering graduate school in mathematics, I have
attached below some information points about the process and benefits. One
important point that many students do not realize: in math, unlike many
areas including math education, students are almost always supported by an
assistantship that pays full tuition and a small salary in exchange for
teaching or research. If you are considering an MS in math education you
should also be aware that, unlike an MS in math, an MS in math education
generally doesn't qualify you for employment beyond teaching high school
(with an MS in math there are jobs in industry as well as teaching as an
instructor at a university or community college.
Attached is a spreadsheet containing the newest NRC (National Research
Council) rankings of research and *graduate* programs for math. What
follows is general information about the NRC rankings and how you may use
this information. If you would like information on other areas you may
download a monster master spreadsheet with all areas from
http://www.nap.edu/rdp/
Please note that you may have to change your settings to view the master
spreadsheet--but I'm not an expert on these things so please don't ask me
for advice if you can't make it work. :) The attached spreadsheet should
be easily usable with Excel.
How should you choose where to apply? Use the guidelines in #5 below to
decide where you fall in the spectrum (paying some attention also to the
1995 rankings). Apply to at least 6 departments in that category, and at
least 4 more in lower categories. You may also apply to higher categories,
but getting an assistantship will be more difficult. Your decision may be
partly influenced by geographical/family, or other non-math
considerations. That shouldn't be a problem since there are universities
of all ranks in most parts of the country. If you are interested in a
particular area of mathematics, make sure the area is well represented
where you apply (visit the website!).
1) The attached spreadsheet has the universities ranked by an average
score on several measures of scholarly quality--I'll explain a little more
below for those who are interested. Since there is a header on the
spreadsheet, the rank is the row minus 1. So for example UT is ranked 52.
2) The 1995 ranking column is the last NRC ranking of each program. So for
example, UT was ranked 73, which I'm happy to point out indicates that we
have gone up 21 places since 1995.
3) Universities within 10 or so places of each other are generally
comparable.
4) For math graduate school, you should seek not only admission, but an
assistantship that pays both tuition and a living stipend in exchange for
teaching classes. It is unwise to go to graduate school in math without an
assistantship; in other, especially non-science areas, assistantships are
more rare and students often go deeply into debt to get a graduate degree.
5) Here are some very rough guidelines based on my experience with UT
undergraduates, concerning what level of program you can expect to get
into (meaning an assistantship). Note that we have a very strong
undergraduate program, including very good sequence/breadth requirements.
Top 20: Near perfect grades in math classes, preferably including some
graduate courses. Fairly high subject GRE score. Excellent quality
research project, published in a regular journal if possible.
Next 20: Excellent grades in math classes, including at least an upper
division honors sequence; graduate courses help. Reasonably high subject
GRE score often good. Very good quality research/thesis project.
Next 25: Mostly A's in math classes, preferably nothing below B-. Very
good overall GPA. Some schools may require subject GRE, but not all.
Research project or honors thesis can definitely help.
Below 65: varies, but good grades in upper division math classes are
always necessary.
6) You should also consider the 1995 rankings: Universities that have
fallen (e.g. UNC-Chapel Hill) a lot may still be relatively harder to get
into due to their former ranking. Similarly, ones that have moved up a lot
may be relatively easier to get into. Note that the 1995 rankings were
based on a "reputation" survey while the current rankings are based more
on quantitative measures related to research and teaching qualities.
Programs might have a high reputation based on the work of 2-3 world class
faculty, but overall be less productive and hence have a shortage of
quality thesis advisers. If you are able to work with one of the 2-3,
that's great; if not, that's not so great. That's partly why the NRC
changed methodologies.
7) On the other hand, no ranking is perfect, and some universities do seem
a bit out of place (e.g. Chicago and UNC-Chapel Hill seem too low and
Delaware too high). So don't let the rankings completely determine your
choices.
8) In general, large public universities will be easier to get
assistantships at than smaller private universities of similar rank.
9) The last column in the spreadsheet is a rough ranking of "student
support and outcomes" on a scale from 1-16. Low is better. Don't read too
much into this because, for example, a department can get worse scores if
it graduates a lot of MS students and fewer PhD students--even though it
may support its students very well. However, if a fairly highly ranked
university (which mainly produces PhD students) has a score above 7 you
should perhaps be concerned that PhD students aren't finishing quickly
and/or are losing their financial support. Along these lines, certain
states, particularly California, are dealing with budget crises that may
jeopardize student support.
10) Notes on spreadsheet headings: 9,95 are percentiles. S and R are two
NRC ranking criteria. RT is the sum of the four columns preceding it. The
spreadsheet is initially ranked by the RT column; if you know how to sort
a spreadsheet then you may sort it as you please. RA refers to a measure
of research activity, and SO is a measure of student support and outcomes.
The formula for the last column may be found by clicking on any cell.
Conrad Plaut
Professor, Director of UT Math Honors
Math Department
Aconda Ct. 104
1534 Cumberland Ave.
University of Tennessee
Knoxville, TN 37996-0612
Office: Aconda Ct. 401A
Phone: 865-974-4319
http://web.utk.edu/~cplaut
This e-mail list is intended for those who have an interest in mathematics at the University of Tennessee. All current UT math majors and minors should be on this list in order not to miss important announcements. To add or remove yourself from the list, visit listserv.utk.edu.
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