Information for Current Students
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Welcome letter for new students, 2008
If you will be a new student in Fall, 2008, this document contains important information on activities taking place during the week before classes begin.
You can download this presentation from 2008 and open it in PowerPoint or in OpenOffice
Information on Fall, 2008 Courses
A listing of fall courses, with brief descriptions on how these courses fit into our graduate program. More detailed information will be added later in the summer.
Institute for Mathematics Learning: Teaching Seminar
This seminar is run by the Institute for Mathematics Learning and is taken for one academic year by Graduate Teaching Assistants. This is the syllabus from 2004-2005, but it should give you an idea of course content and requirements. New GTA's begin the Teaching Seminar in the spring semester of their first year.
Any graduate teaching assistant (GTA) whose native language is not English and who has not taken the Test of Spoken English (TSE) with a score of 50 or higher is required to take the SPEAK Test at WVU, given on multiple occasions the week before classes begin. It is also recommended for international students who are research assistants or who are supported by tuition waivers as they may become teaching assistants in the future. GTA’s who do not pass the SPEAK test will be required to take English classes as recommended, based on the results, and their duties, as assigned by the Department, will not involve working directly with students. Information about this test is available at the international student orientation; the link above is the information from last year. You can also make an appointment for the test directly with Karen Allen, SPEAK Test Coordinator, at karen.allen@mail.wvu.edu . There is a fee for the test which will be paid for you by the Department. The relevant University language policy may be viewed at http://www.wvu.edu/~graduate/spoken_english.html .
Professional Development Workshop for new GTA's
All new GTA's must attend a workshops run by the University. It will be held on August 16, 2008 beginning at 8:00AM in Brooks Hall.
Supplemental Health Insurance for Graduate Assistants and other Graduate Students
The University pays for a supplemental health insurance policy for Graduate Assistants. Other graduate students can enroll in this program by paying the appropriate fee. This policy, or an equivalent coverage, is mandatory for international students (more information available at the Office of International Students and Scholars ). Informational workshops for graduate assistants will be given at the start of the semester. Note that all graduate students pay the Health Service fee which entitles you to care at the University Health Service.
The tuition and fees page from the Admissions Office. If you are a part-time student or have part of your tuition waived, you can get an idea of your costs per credit hour by dividing the graduate tuition and fees by 9.
Complete listing of mathematics graduate courses from graduate catalog
Basic exam in Advanced Calculus and Linear Algebra .
A description of the basic exam. Also appears in the Graduate Handbook.
Ph.D. Entrance exam/M.S. Advanced Exam
You can find administrative details of this exam in the Graduate Handbook. You choose two areas to be examined from Real Analysis, Topology, Algebra, Differential Equations.
Graduate Handbook
The complete graduate handbook, updated for 2008, with details on program requirements and exams.
Special Admission to the Ph.D. program
Admission to the Ph.D. program normally requires an M.S. degree in mathematics, or an equivalent degree. In some cases, when students have an unusually strong undergraduate background, and/or perform exceptionally well during their first year of M.S. study, provisional admission to the Ph.D. program can be granted without an M.S. degree. This document discusses the details of the relevant policy.
The graduate seminar (Math 696) has been re-designed to include a one-semester course in “professional tools” (for all graduate students), a series of three talks by doctoral students, and attendance at mathematics presentations during the year. Doctoral students enroll for one credit hour of graduate seminar each semester they are in residence. A form to record presentations attended and given can be obtained here.
Travel Support for Graduate Students
There are several linked sources for travel support for students to attend conferences. Usually funds are restricted to students presenting a paper, although other types of participation can sometimes be supported. There is a program funded by the College and a program funded through University administration. Applications and guidelines are in the linked documents. The applications are filled out and routed through the Mathematics Department Chair, who is usually able to commit some department funds toward the travel. The total support can potentially range upwards of $500, sometimes more depending on plans. There is also support for travel related to dissertation research, although such travel is less common in mathematics than in some other disciplines. Also, the Department receives through the College every other year, the Vehse travel award, which is $1000 in travel funds that is generally split between two students. In general, it is best to make your plans and submit your application as soon as things are definite, as funds for these programs are limited. Your advisor can give you more information on conference presentations and travel. Occasionally several students and/or faculty will travel together to a conference, enabling significant savings through the sharing of travel and hotel costs. Sometimes conferences have special funding available for the support of attending graduate students.
Survey for Exiting Graduate Students
This survey is for students who are graduating or otherwise leaving the graduate program. We would also appreciate you letting us know what you will be doing next, and your contact information, which you can easily do by email, in connection with the survey, or otherwise.
The survey can be done at any time. In particular, you may want to wait until you have definitely settled on a new job or other option, and have contact information available. When you finish the survey, you can email it back to Joann in the main office, at email address mayhew@math.wvu.edu, with subject line "graduate survey". The survey will be separated from your email and stored separately, so you can include as little or as much identifying information on the survey as you like.
Policy Statement on Teaching and Training of Graduate Teaching Assistants
Institute for Combinatorial Computing and Discrete Mathematics
The CCDM Institute draws together faculty and students in the Department of Mathematics, and the Department of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering, working in areas of joint interest such as graph theory, combinatorics, and algorithms. The CCDM seminar is held weekly, usually at the Mathematics Department.
CCDM program in mathematics (Approval pending)
The CCDM program is a joint effort of the Departments of Mathematics, Computer Science and Electrical Engineering, and Statistics whose goal is to train Ph.D. students in the multidisciplinary area of CCDM, drawing on the resources of the three departments and providing a common core of basic courses. Mathematics students in the CCDM program will receive a Ph.D. in mathematics with Combinatorial Computing and Discrete Mathematics as a designated area of emphasis. Program requirements specific to mathematics students can be found in the linked document
Please send any questions or comments to gradprog@math.wvu.edu