Graduate School

For most careers in mathematics, you will need some graduate education – a master degree or a doctor’s degree – beyond a university bachelor’s degree.  Persons with a master’s degree in applied mathematics, applied statistics, operations research, math modeling, etc. have a lot of career options in business, government, and education.  If you want to teach in a two-year college, you’ll need at least a master’s in mathematics, mathematics education, or in one of the applied areas.  If you want to teach in a college or university you will need a doctor’s degree.  If you’re interested in applications, there are several Universities that offer a professional master’s degree, somewhat analogous to the MBA in business.  (For more information on this, see the article in Math Horizons, February 2003, pp. 14 – 18.)  Some of you will opt to go part time, or on-line, or full-time.  But, by all means, go!

Here are some comments that relate to full-time graduate study.

·        You get paid for doing this!  That’s right, the university will pay you to work 15 – 20 hours per week while taking 2 – 3 classes.  Your duties as a graduate assistant generally involve grading papers, or teaching a recitation section of a large introductory class, or perhaps teaching your own section of an algebra or calculus class, or supervising a computer lab, etc.  Stipends vary with the size of the university, but currently run between $8,000 and $13,000 for 9 months.  See the department chairman to look at a directory of all graduate programs, giving stipends and duties.

·        In a few cases, you may get a fellowship.  This means you get as much money or more than the graduate assistantship pays, but you don’t have to do anything except go to class.

·        You get a lot of good experience in the performance of your duties, not to mention an office.

·        It’s a lot of work, but also a grand adventure as you delve more deeply into mathematics!

·        Can’t beat the networking that starts here!