Additional Course Requirements

Advising

The Graduate Program Director will advise all new students. The Thesis Advisor, upon appointment, will assume the duties of advisement, but the Graduate Program Director must approve the course selections for each semester.

The Program of Study Form lists all courses that have been/will be taken toward the degree; a copy of this form should be updated each semester by the Graduate Program Director as an indication that the courses the student is registering for are acceptable to the MS in Mathematics degree. The form, signed by the student, the Graduate Program Director, and the Chair of the Department of Mathematical Sciences, is submitted to the College of Graduate Studies no later than the end of the semester prior to the students expected graduation. The form may be submitted earlier, in which case it will reflect intended courses; if any change in the approved program of study is required, an Amended Program of Study Form signed by the advisor must be submitted to the College of Graduate Studies for approval.  Theses form can be downloaded from http://cogs.georgiasouthern.edu/ (under “Applications and Forms”).

Information on deadlines for submitting this, and other forms, are on the College of Graduate Studies Web site; it is the student’s responsibility to ensure that all COGS procedures are followed.

Course Work

The MS Degree in Mathematics requires 36 credit hours, including four core courses (12 credits), six elective courses (18 credits) and 6 research/thesis credits.  The College of Graduate Studies requires 18 of the 36 credit hours (half) to be at the level 7000 or above, including core and elective courses, and the 6 research/thesis credits.  This leaves 12 credits (four courses) of course work at this level (core and elective).  In particular, a student who takes a 7*** level course in their core needs only three additional 7*** level courses as electives.  Typically, our students take more 7*** level courses than needed.

Core Courses

In order to acquire a broad perspective, each student is required to take the following four core courses (12 credits):   MATH 7231: Advanced Numerical Analysis I;  MATH 5332: Analysis II; MATH 5335, Intermediate Linear Algebra; STAT 5531: Statistical Methods I

Core courses may be exempted only if the student has had equivalent course work. A student who has taken any of the core courses as an undergraduate student at GSU is neither expected, nor allowed, to take them again as a graduate student.

Any such courses are replaced by an elective from the students’ concentration area; the elective must be at the same level as the exempted course or higher (in order to ensure that at least ½ of the credits for the degree are at the 7xxx level).

Equivalent Courses

In general, the 5xxx and 5xxxG versions of GSU Math courses are considered to be equivalent; a student who has taken a course as an undergraduate may not repeat the course as a graduate student.  Students who have taken courses at another institution that may be equivalent to courses here should contact the Graduate Program Director for more information.

Previous course work may be used to satisfy the core requirement of an area, in which case an elective is substituted for a core course. 

Elective Courses

Students must complete six elective courses (18 credits).  At most two may be taken from outside the student’s concentration; however, these (as for all courses) must be approved by the student’s Thesis Advisor and the Graduate Program Director.

All courses must be approved by the student's Thesis Advisor.

Courseload

The normal course load for graduate students is nine credit hours per semester. 

Graduate assistants must be registered for a minimum of nine credit hours of graduate course work, of which 6 hours must count toward their degree, during each semester which an assistantship is held.

Overloads (more than 9 semester hours) are granted rarely and only after approval by the advisor, the department chair, and the Dean of the College of Graduate Studies.

Grading

All graduate students are required to maintain the minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.0 as required by the College of Graduate Studies. No grade below a C may apply toward a graduate degree.

The policy concerning a grade of incomplete (I) is dictated by the College of Graduate Studies and published in the Graduate Assistant Handbook.

A grade of “S” or “U” is assigned for Research and Thesis once they are completed. Otherwise, the grade of “IP” is assigned.

Student Responsibilities

It is expected that graduate students will become familiar with academic standards and regulations as stated in the Graduate Catalog.

Graduate assistants should also become familiar with guidelines that are detailed in the Graduate Assistant Handbook.

Special Admission Status

Students who take classes under NON-DEGREE STUDENT classification should convert to DEGREE STUDENT classification (either REGULAR or PROVISIONAL) during the first semester. A maximum of nine hours of course work can be taken under the NON-DEGREE STUDENT classification.

It is the responsibility of the student to complete all forms regarding this and other requirements of the College of Graduate Studies. The student must be classified as DEGREE REGULAR before a Thesis Advisor is selected.