Introduction to Graduate Studies in Mathematics

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http://www.math.buffalo.edu/gr_introduction.html

Introduction to Graduate Studies in

Mathematics
Graduate Programs

Degree Programs

The Department of Mathematics at the University of Buffalo offers rigorous graduate

programs that combine study and research opportunities under the direction of an
internationally known faculty. The Department offers two graduate degrees: the Master of
Arts and the Doctor of Philosophy. On average, it takes one and one-half to two years to
complete an M.A., and at least four years to complete a Ph.D. It is not necessary to have a
master's degree to obtain a doctorate. Also, while an applicant must have a bachelor's degree
with a strong mathematics background, it is not necessary that the bachelors degree be in
Mathematics.
The Department currently has 39 full-time faculty members and about 80 full time graduate
students. Of these students, approximately 50 are supported on assistantships or by teaching
courses. The research interests of the faculty cover a wide range of areas in pure and applied
mathematics. There are especially strong groups in algebra, analysis, topology, and applied
mathematics.
With a faculty-student ratio which is high compared to many other universities, there is
ample opportunity for students to benefit from close contact with their professors. The
Department offers an active program of seminars and colloquia where students can become
acquainted with a broad range of research areas.
In fundamental mathematics, members of the department are engaged in active research in
category theory, homological algebra, and algebraic K-theory, and arithmetic algebraic
geometry in algebra. The analysts are working in operator algebras, complex differential
geometry, synthetic differential geometry, harmonic analysis, and mathematical physics. The
applied mathematicians are working on problems from ODE's, PDE's, asymptotic analysis,
bifurcation theory, and modeling. The topologists work on problems in knot theory, low
dimensional topology, and set-theoretic topology. There is also work in cryptography,
number theory, and the Conley index.
Members of the Department participate in many interdisciplinary activities. Such
participation is, of course, most common among the applied mathematicians. Presently there
are projects involving renal physiology, chemical oscillations, multiphase flow of geologic
materials, electrical and magnetic effects in quantum mechanics, thin films, surface
propagation of liquids, computer logic, stochastic pattern recognition, and
magnetohydrodynamics. Graduate students are often involved in interdisciplinary activities
and research with faculty in other departments and the Center for Computational Research
(CCR, www.ccr.buffalo.edu), which provides state-of-the-art computing facilities for
computationally intensive research. The CCR is just one example of the commitment the
University has made to provide students and faculty with the the latest computational
resources. The University's iconnect web page http://www.buffalo.edu/iconnect/ provides

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Introduction to Graduate Studies in Mathematics

http://www.math.buffalo.edu/gr_introduction.html

students with more information about technology access on campus.

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Graduate Programs

Degree Programs

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