Graduate Program
Department of Mathematics, Duke University
Application Process:
In order for your application to receive consideration for fall 2009
admission we MUST receive your application materials (including GRE
scores) by January 12, 2009.
(The graduate school web page states that applications for admission
beginning in fall 2009 must be submitted by December 15, 2008.
However, it is the Mathematics Department that actually reads the
applications and makes the initial admissions decisions.)
The
graduate application
is completely electronic, and is administered by the graduate school.
The list of application materials required by the graduate school
is available at the
Duke graduate school admissions website.
The graduate school requires all of the following for a complete
application:
- The University's
electronic application
- The application fee (which is reduced; see below),
- 3 (or more) letters of recommendation,
- Official confidential transcripts from all undergraduate
institutions attended (including exchange student study),
- GRE General test (Graduate Record Examination) score(s) (report code 5156),
- GRE Mathematics subject test
- For students whose native language is not English, an
English language proficiency test (either
TOEFL or
IELTS is
accepted, but IELTS is preferred)
All application materials must be sent directly to the
Graduate School at Duke.
Please note that the GRE test scores can be at most 5 year old.
Please plan your GRE test dates so that the scores will be
reported in time for the January deadline!
For applicants to the fall 2009 semester, we are offering a
reduced application fee of $65
to all applicants to the Mathematics Ph.D. program before December
15, 2008. (Applicants who apply after December 15 will be charged $75.)
This fee may be charged to a credit card when you apply online.
If you elect to pay by check when submitting an electronic application,
send a check with your supporting documents.
You may contact the Department of Mathematics directly at dgs-math@math.duke.edu with any questions or problems
about this procedure. For general admissions questions, or questions
about the university requirements you may also contact grad-admissions@duke.edu.
Various statistics about our graduate program in mathematics
are provided on the
Duke Graduate School web site.
Overview of the Department:
Duke University Department of Mathematics has a strong graduate program.
Courses of study are offered in many areas of pure and applied
mathematics leading to careers in academics, industry, and business.
The Duke Mathematics Department currently comprises approximately
25 tenured and tenure track faculty,
8 research faculty and postdocs,
4 teaching faculty,
several visiting faculty
,
and
43 graduate students.
The faculty include leading researchers in analysis and differential
equations, applied mathematics, differential and algebraic geometry,
mathematical physics, probability, and topology.
All graduate students in the doctoral program are supported by Duke
funds, and all graduate students supported by Duke funds are in the
doctoral program.
Graduate student research interests span the research interests of the
department, which include significant areas of pure and
applied
mathematics.
More information about our collective interests can by found by
consulting our
research interests
page. You can also look at the thesis topics of recent graduates.
Duke University research centers in which members of the Department and
graduate students are active include:
You can read about some of our activities, as well as the latest awards
won by our students and faculty at the
Duke Mathematics Department News
website.
Our
recent graduates
have done well in their careers following graduate school.
Coursework and Examinations:
Graduate students typically take three years of course work and then
spend about two years on their dissertation.
Students are given two different examinations before beginning thesis
research.
The first exam is called the
qualifying examination.
This examination consists of two parts:
- written examinations in undergraduate analysis and linear
algebra
- an oral examination on two basic graduate topics chosen by the
student.
The written qualifying examinations are offered in August, December and
May of the first year of study; students are expected to pass these
examinations by May of their first year.
The oral qualifying examination is usually taken towards the end of the
first year.
Its successful completion marks entry into the doctoral program.
The student then seeks an advisor and prepares for the
preliminary exam .
This is an oral exam on material relevant to the student's intended
dissertation area.
This exam is usually taken during the third year.
After successful completion of the preliminary exam, the student does
original research and writes a dissertation which is defended in the
final exam.
Almost all of our students finish in 5 years.
Financial Support and Teaching:
All students in the
doctoral program who are making satisfactory progress toward the PhD
are fully supported financially. Students
are usually supported by a teaching assistantship or by a combination
of a teaching assistantship and a research fellowship.
First-year students begin teacher training in the fall of their
first year. The Duke teacher training
program is well-designed to prepare graduate students for
teaching calculus. By beginning teacher training in the first year,
the hope is that the incoming graduate students will begin to feel
more like mathematics professionals, rather than just advanced
students. For the year 2009-10 we expect that no first years will be
required to have any teaching responsibilities in the spring semester.
Graduate students begin teaching duties by assisting
with calculus labs.
They teach their own section of a class beginning in the year following
teacher training.
Graduate students participate in teacher training seminars
and workshops to facilitate their entry into the classroom.
The graduate student stipend for academic year 2007-08 is $$18,980.
Health insurance costs are be paid directly by
the university and do not need to be paid by the student. All
other fees (tuition, registration, etc.) are also included in the
scholarship.
In addition we have been successful the past several years in providing
summer support to all students who will be in residence during the
summer (aside from a one month vacation) and who have an approved plan
of study under supervision of a faculty member.
For summer 2008 the stipend was $3,500; grading or teaching duties are
sometimes required.
Visiting the Duke Mathematics Department:
Visits by prospective graduate students are welcomed.
It may be more beneficial to visit while classes are in session, in
order to attend selected graduate course lectures.
It is also easier to schedule interviews with the faculty when classes
are in session.
Prospective students may find the
directions to the Duke Mathematics Department
useful in planning travel.
Further Information:
Please direct requests for information to Shannon Holder, Staff
Assistant,
dgsa-math@math.duke.edu
Director of Graduate Studies,
Department of Mathematics, Duke University, Box 90320, Durham, NC 27708.
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