Mathematics Department

MS - Mathematics

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.

Requirements for Admission to Classified Standing

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 course work must be acceptable toward a bachelor's degree in mathematics and may not be counted toward the MS degree.

Requirements for Admission to Conditionally Classified Standing

A student who meets the minimum requirements for admission to the Graduate Division but does not satisfy the mathematics course work 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 course work to make up the deficiency in order to obtain classified status.

Requirements for Admission to Candidacy for the MS - Mathematics

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 Admissions and Program Evaluations (GAPE) website at www.sjsu.edu/gape. Students must satisfy the following Mathematics Department requirements:

1. The student, with the assistance of the Graduate Coordinator, finds a Department faculty member willing to serve as a thesis or writing project director. With that director's help, the student chooses a topic for the thesis or writing project.

2. The student must pass a Qualifying Examination--oral or written at the student's election--that covers material generally relevant to the area of the proposed thesis or writing project. Specific details about the material to be covered will be determined in consultation with the three-person committee of faculty members who will examine the student. Note: students must pass this Qualifying Examination before they may begin formal work on a thesis or writing project.

3. The student must complete the Petition for Advancement to Graduate Candidacy form. This form lists, among other things all the course work 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 GAPE.

Completing Requirements for the MS - Mathematics

Plan A (with Thesis)

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 (with Writing Project)

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.

Electives

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.