Program Website: http://math.clemson.edu/graduate/
Introduction
The Department of Mathematical Sciences offers the MS and PhD degrees. The MS program is designed to prepare students for immediate employment in the nonacademic sector and for further graduate study at the doctoral level. The emphasis on breadth of training and computational skills has been a model for other programs nationally. The PhD program also emphasizes in-depth course work and dissertation research in a particular concentration area (algebra, applied analysis, operations research, computational mathematics or probability and statistics).
Programs of Study
MS The master’s degree program requires breadth of exposure in the mathematical sciences and depth of concentration in one particular area. For breadth, you will have the opportunity to select courses to satisfy certain distributional requirements across the spectrum of mathematical sciences. For depth, you will, in consultation with your faculty adviser, choose courses which comprise a meaningful concentration in some specialty within the mathematical sciences. Your overall program must contain courses with a significant modeling component. A minimum of 37 credit hours of courses are needed to complete the master’s program (12 three-credit courses plus the one-credit master’s project course). Typical MS programs total 40 hours.
The curriculum includes foundation courses (advanced calculus, modern algebra, probability and discrete computing courses), often taken prior to entering the master’s program. The breadth requirement consists of six graduate courses: one from each of algebra/combinatorics, analysis, computation, operations research and statistics plus one additional course in operations research or statistics. In addition, six courses are selected to define an identifiable concentration area. Your individual program of study must include at least one course, possibly chosen from outside the department, that emphasizes mathematical modeling. As a means of integrating your program of diverse study, your master’s project must be completed by the end of the second year. You will also be required to give both oral and written presentations of your master’s degree project.
PhD The doctoral program is similar in structure to the MS program in that it contains both breadth and depth components. Including the course work completed for the master’s
degree, a doctoral program incorporates two courses from each of the major areas of the mathematical sciences (algebra/combinatorics, analysis, computation, operations research and statistics) as well as other courses in your selected concentration area. A doctoral program generally consists of 60 or more hours of graduate course work.
Students are admitted to candidacy for the PhD degree upon successful completion of the preliminary examination and the comprehensive examination. The preliminary examination consists of tests in three areas chosen from algebra, analysis, computation, operations research, statistics and stochastic processes. Upon completion of the preliminary examination, you will choose a research committee and advisor and submit a plan of study. The comprehensive exam will assess your readiness to perform independent research and your competency in advanced graduate material. It usually includes a thesis proposal and will be administered by your advisory committee. A final examination will be administered by your committee prior to the awarding of the doctoral degree.
Centers, Institutes and Facilities
The department maintains a computer laboratory for the exclusive use of its graduate students. Access is provided to the campus-wide PC-based network as well as to a network of Sun workstations. Specialized mathematical and statistical software is maintained on both of these platforms for student use. Most PhD students have direct access to these networks via workstations situated in their (two-person) offices.
The department is an active member of the NSF-sponsored Center for Advanced Engineering Fibers and Films. Research students have access to the extensive physical laboratories associated with the Center. In particular, students have access to the W. M. Keck Visualization/Virtual Reality and Computation Laboratory and the Clemson Computational Minigrid Supercomputing Facility.
International Study Opportunity
The Department of Mathematical Sciences, Clemson University and the Department of Mathematics at the University of Kaiserslautern in Kaiserslautern, Germany, offer a graduate exchange program in mathematical sciences. This is an innovative exchange program enabling Clemson students to obtain two graduate degrees and a cross-cultural, educational experience from Germany. If you participate in this program, you will obtain a Master of Science degree in mathematical sciences from Clemson University and a master’s degree or germandiploma in mathematics international from the University of Kaiserslautern.
The University of Kaiserslautern is located in the state of Rheinland-Pflaz, 70 miles from Frankfurt. Participants in the
program are German and foreign students in approximately equal numbers. All lectures are held in English, which makes Kaiserslautern a unique place in Germany, and most likely in Europe, with this kind of program. For further information, see www.mathematik.uni-kl.de/grad_school/master.html.
Financial Aid
Teaching assistantships carry a stipend of $16,000 for MS studemts and $17,000 for PhD students and involve instructing or assisting in the instruction of a maximum of 10 semester credit hours per year. Research assistantships, with yearly stipends of $16,000 to $20,000, are available to students with required qualifications. Outstanding students may also qualify for University fellowships ($5,000-$15,000). The College of Engineering and Science also offers the dean’s scholars program, which provides supplementary three-year awards to exceptional PhD students. SC Graduate Incentive Fellowships are available to graduate students who are members of minority groups; these renewable awards provide $10,000 per year for doctoral students.
Student Outcomes
Graduates have followed successful career paths in academic positions, often at liberal arts colleges and universities. Nonacademic employment has included financial institutions, government laboratories, consulting firms, telecommunications, transportation, medical research and manufacturing. The broad training in the Clemson program, as well as the emphasis on computational and communication skills, has provided a great advantage to students in obtaining employment after graduation.
Faculty Listing*
• Warren P. Adams, Professor; PhD, Virginia Tech. Operations Research.
• David Ambrose, Professor; PhD, Duke. Analysis.
• Alexander Aue, Professor; PhD, Cologne. Operations Research.
• James R. Brannan, Professor; PhD, Rensselaer. Analysis.
• Neil J. Calkin, Associate Professor; PhD, Waterloo (Canada). Algebra and Discrete Mathematics.
• Christopher L. Cox, Associate Professor; PhD, Carnegie-Mellon. Computational Mathematics.
• Perino M. Dearing Jr., Professor; PhD, Florida. Operations Research.
• Elena Dimitrova, Professor; PhD, Virginia Tech. Bioinformatics.
• Vincent J. Ervin, Professor; PhD, Georgia Tech. Computational Mathematics.
• Colin M. Gallagher, Assistant Professor; PhD, California-Santa Barbara. Statistics.
• Susan L. Ganter, Associate Professor; PhD, California-Santa Barbara. Education Administration and Mathematics Education.
• Xuhong Gao, Professor; PhD, Waterloo. Algebra and Discrete Mathematics.
• Joan A. Hoffacker, Assistant Professor; PhD, Nebraska-Lincoln. Analysis.
• Paul D. Hyden, Assistant Professor; PhD, Cornell. Operations Research.
• Kevin L. James, Assistant Professor; PhD, Georgia. Algebra and Discrete Mathematics.
• Robert E. Jamison, Professor; PhD, Washington (Seattle). Algebra and Discrete Mathematics.
• James P. Jarvis, Professor; PhD, MIT. Operations Research.
• Eleanor W. Jenkins, Assistant Professor; PhD, North Carolina State. Computational Mathematics.
• Jennifer D. Key, Professor; PhD, London. Algebra and Discrete Mathematics.
• Taufiquar Rahman Khan, Assistant Professor; PhD, USC. Analysis.
• Peter C. Kiessler, Associate Professor; PhD, Virginia Tech. Stochastic Processes.
• Michael M. Kostreva, Professor; PhD, Rensselaer. Operations Research.• K. B. Kulasekera, Professor; PhD, Nebraska-Lincoln. Statistics.
• Hyesuk K. Lee, Associate Professor; PhD, Virginia Tech. Computational Mathematics.
• Robert B. Lund, Professor; PhD, North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Statistics.
• Hugh MacMillan, Professor; PhD, Colorado. Analysis.
• Hiren Maharaj, Assistant Professor; PhD, Penn State. Algebra & Discrete Mathematics.
• Gretchen L. Matthews, Assistant Professor; PhD, LSU. Algebra & Discrete Mathematics.
• William F. Moss, Professor; PhD, Delaware. Computational Mathematics.
• Chanseok Park, Assistant Professor; PhD, Penn State. Statistics.
• James K. Peterson, Associate Professor; PhD, Colorado. Analysis.
• Matthew J. Saltzman, Associate Professor; PhD, Carnegie-Mellon. Operations Research.
• Herman F. Senter, Associate Professor; PhD, North Carolina State. Statistics.
• Douglas R. Shier, Professor; PhD, London School of Economics. Operations Research.
• Shuyu Sun, Professor; PhD, Texas-Austin. Computational Mathematics.
• Xiaoqian Sun, Professor; PhD, Missouri-Columbia. Statistics.
• Robert L. Taylor, Professor and Department Chair; PhD, Florida State. Statistics.
• Francisco Vera, Professor; PhD, South Carolina. Statistics.
• Daniel D. Warner, Professor; PhD, California-San Diego. Computational Mathematics.
• Margaret Maria Wiecek, Professor; PhD, University of Mining and Metallurgy (Poland). Operations Research.
• Calvin L. Williams, Associate Professor; PhD, Medical University of South Carolina. Biometry (biostatistics).
• Hui Xue, Professor; PhD, Columbia. Algebra.
• Jeong-Rock Yoon, Professor; PhD, Korea Advanced Institutue of Science and Technology. Analysis.
*For individual research interests please visit www.math.clemson.edu/main/fac_list.html.
Student Group
The MS program has approximately 50 students. Forty-three percent are women, 90 percent attend full-time, and 35 percent are international students. The PhD program has approximately 43 students. Thirty percent are women, 93 percent attend full-time, and 50 percent are international students.
Applying
The department seeks students with interests in the broad mathematical sciences. Since most of the financial assistance is in the form of teaching assistantships, strong communication skills are required. You may apply on the web at www.grad.clemson.edu/Admission.php. Applications, along with a $55 nonrefundable fee, should be received no later than five weeks prior to registration. Every required item in support of your application must be on file by that date.
For More Information
Dr. K.B. Kulasekera, Graduate Program Coordinator
Department of Mathematical Sciences
O-101 Martin Hall
Box 340975
Clemson University
Clemson, South Carolina 29634-0975
Telephone: 864-656-1516
Fax: 864-656-5230
Email: mthgrad@clemson.edu
08/07
