This degree is the recommended degree for future community college teachers. It is also the appropriate degree for students who seek to deepen their knowledge of mathematics for work in the research and development area of industry or who plan to continue toward the PhD.
To enter this program with classified standing, a student must meet the minimum requirements for admission to the Graduate Division; have completed 24 semester units of upper-division mathematics with a grade point average of at least 3.0; and have 1-3 letters of recommendation submitted on his or her behalf. The coursework must be acceptable toward a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and may not be counted toward the MS degree.
A student who meets the minimum requirements for admission to the Graduate Division but does not satisfy the mathematics coursework requirements stated above may be admitted as conditionally classified with as few as 15 semester units of upper-division mathematics. After arrival at SJSU, the student must complete additional coursework to make up the deficiency in order to obtain classified status.
To be admitted to candidacy for the MS degree, a student must meet the all-university admission requirements as stated in this catalog. The University requires that all graduate students demonstrate competency in written English as a condition for advancement to candidacy. Please refer to the SJSU catalog section titled “Competency in Written English” for details. For graduate courses that meet the competency in written English requirement, please refer to the Graduate Studies and Research website at www.sjsu.edu/gradstudies. Students must satisfy the following Mathematics Department requirements:
1. The student must pass two qualifying examinations on fundamental ideas from undergraduate mathematics. The Basic Exam is a written exam on linear algebra and real analysis that students must take in their first year; its topics are those normally covered in MATH 129A and MATH 131A. Students may obtain guidance in preparing for this exam by enrolling in a one-unit seminar (MATH 298).
2. The Specialist Exam is an individualized exam—oral or written at the student’s election—that covers the material of two upper-division mathematics courses in one of the following areas: Geometry; Algebra and Number Theory; Linear Algebra and Matrix Theory; Differential Equations; Numerical Analysis; Probability and Statistics; Analysis and Topology; and Combinatorics and Graph Theory. Note: students must pass both the Basic Exam and the Specialist Exam before they may begin formal work on a thesis.
3. The student, with the help of the Graduate Coordinator, selects a thesis or writing project director. With that director’s help, the student chooses a topic for the thesis or writing project.
4. The student must complete the Request for Candidacy and Graduate Degree Program form for the Master of Arts degree. This form lists, among other things, all the coursework to be counted toward the master’s degree. After the form has been signed by the student’s thesis or writing project director and the Graduate Coordinator, it is forwarded to the Associate Vice President for Graduate Studies and Research for final approval. Any subsequent changes to the student’s program require approval from Graduate Studies.
As noted above, the student must choose a thesis director, who then becomes his or her advisor. A committee consisting of the director and two professors selected by the director, with the approval of the Graduate Curriculum Committee, must approve the thesis topic before work begins. The topic must be in the field of mathematics (not in the field of mathematics education). The student must register for MATH 299—typically in the semester in which he or she expects to complete the thesis. Upon completion of the thesis, the student must give a public presentation on the thesis, which is followed by an oral examination (thesis defense) conducted by the thesis committee.
Plan B differs from Plan A only in the following respect: MATH 299, Thesis, is replaced by MATH 298, Special Study. The student must write a formal paper, substantially similar, in form and content, to a thesis.
The procedure and requirements for this paper will be the same as for a thesis except that the paper will not be filed with the Associate Vice President for Graduate Studies and Research. A bound copy must be filed with the department. As with a thesis, upon completion of the writing project, the student must give a public presentation on the project; the presentation is followed by an oral examination (defense) conducted by the writing project committee.
The elective units may include a maximum of 3 units of MATH 180 and/or MATH 298. They must be in 100- or 200-level courses from the Mathematics Department, except in the following circumstances: a student who has completed 24 units of upper division mathematics courses (acceptable toward a BA - Mathematics) before beginning his or her master’s program may take a maximum of 6 units (related to mathematics and with prior department approval) outside the field of mathematics. See restrictions. Education courses applied toward the single subject credential may not be applied toward the degree. MATH 101, MATH 105, MATH 106, MATH 107A, MATH 107B, MATH 123, MATH 133A, MATH 201A and MATH 201B are also not applicable toward the M.S. degree.
| Course Requirements | |||
| Required 200-Level Courses in Mathematics | 18 | ||
| Must include a one-year sequence. | |||
| Complete eighteen units from: MATH 211A, MATH 211B, MATH 213, MATH 221A, MATH 221B, MATH 226, MATH 229, MATH 231A, MATH 231B, MATH 233A, MATH 233B, MATH 234, MATH 235, MATH 238, MATH 243A, MATH 243B, MATH 261A, MATH 261B, MATH 265, MATH 266, MATH 271A, MATH 271B, MATH 275, MATH 279A, MATH 279B, MATH 285 | |||
| Electives | 9 | ||
| Thesis or Writing Project | 3 | ||
| MATH 299 (Plan A) or MATH 298 (Plan B) | |||
| Total Units: | 30 | ||
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