Research/Thesis

In addition to 30 hours of graduate courses, a student conducts a 3 hours of research under the direction of a faculty member (the Thesis Advisor). The student also completes a 3-hour Thesis course. An oral defense of the thesis is required. These are described in details below.

Thesis requirements are stated specifically in the Graduate Student Manual and the Graduate Catalog. Students are expected to obtain these documents from the College of Graduate Studies and the Registrar's Office, respectively, and to become familiar with program requirements in them.

Thesis Advisor and Committee

Before completion of 15 hours of graduate credit, the student will select a Thesis Advisor and a Thesis Committee.  The thesis Committee will consist of the Thesis Advisor, who must be a full graduate faculty member, and two other graduate faculty members.

Thesis Prospectus Form

The student should obtain a Thesis Prospectus Form from the Graduate Program Director. The student and the Thesis Advisor should complete the project prospectus form, which outlines his/her research project. The project must be approved by the Thesis Committee, and then by the Department Chair.  After that, the form will be forwarded to the College of Graduate Studies for final approval.

Thesis

The thesis will be prepared according to the guidelines of the Graduate Student Manual.

Oral Defense

The oral defense of the thesis must be conducted at least two weeks before the last day of classes for the semester; the defense must be announced to the Department of Mathematical Sciences and the Department of Computer Science at least one week before it is held. It is open to all interested faculty and students in these departments.

The defense consists of an oral presentation of the thesis and the results; following any questions by the audience, a closed session will be held with the student and the Thesis Committee. The thesis defense serves as the comprehensive examination for the MS in Mathematics degree, and the results of the defense are reported to the College of Graduate Studies on the appropriate form for a comprehensive exam.  

The Thesis Committee will decide whether the student receives "pass" or "fail"; and the results will be reported to the College of Graduate Studies according to the guidelines stated in the Graduate Student Manual.  In the event that a student should fail the defense of the project, the Thesis Advisor and the Thesis Committee must determine what action the student should take in order to correct any deficiencies and a schedule the student will follow. In the absence of official university policy regarding the number of times a defense may be attempted, the student's Thesis Committee must make these decisions on an individual basis.

Student Responsibilities

The student must make sure that all deadlines that are detailed in the Graduate Student Manual and by the College of Graduate Studies are met.

The deadline for application for graduation for a given semester is the last day of the previous semester, and is published in the applicable academic calendar.