Industrial and Computational Mathematics, Ph.D.

General Requirements:

• All candidates for the Doctor of Philosophy degree in Industrial and Computational Mathematics must complete the required program of courses, seminars and research described in this catalog.
• All candidates must pass the comprehensive written examination and the qualifying oral examination.
• All candidates must submit a doctoral dissertation. When the dissertation has been completed to the satisfaction of the candidate’s faculty dissertation advisor and a committee, a dissertation defense will be scheduled, at which time the student must orally defend his or her work before an appointed Doctoral Examination Committee, pursuant to the rules and regulations of such activities.
• All requirements for the doctoral degree in Industrial and Computational Mathematics must be completed within a period of seven consecutive years from the date of admission.
• All candidates must satisfy residency requirements.
• All candidates must maintain a minimum grade point average of 3.0 throughout the program.
• A candidate must demonstrate a competent reading knowledge of significant mathematical material in one foreign language.

Residency Requirements

Award of the degree is consistent upon completion of 72 credit hours of work inclusive of the Dissertation. Students with master’s degrees can transfer appropriate credits towards the requirements. The policy of transfer credit is defined by the Transfer Credit Policy of the School of Graduate Studies, Morgan State University.

All candidates must satisfy 18 credit hours of residency requirements in one of the following ways:

• Full-time candidates for the Ph.D. Degree in Industrial and Computational Mathematics must satisfy residency requirements by enrolling in nine (9) credit hours per semester, for two (2) consecutive semesters.
• Part-time candidates for the Ph.D. Degree in Industrial and Computational Mathematics must satisfy residency requirements by enrolling in six (6) credit hours per semester, for three (3) consecutive semesters.
• Upon completion of course requirements and all required examinations, the candidate must continue to register for Dissertation Guidance each semester until the dissertation is successfully completed.

Program of Study

The program of study for doctoral students is prescribed on an individual basis, usually under the direction of a faculty dissertation advisor. The objective of the program of study is to prepare the student for the production of a doctoral dissertation that contains original results in mathematics. The student’s undergraduate degree concentration, Masters degree concentration, and interests are taken into consideration in creating a program of study. However, all candidates must successfully complete the following core courses.

Course List

Examination Requirements for the Ph.D. Degree Program in Industrial and Computational Mathematics

The Mathematics Ph.D. Program examination procedure will have four components:

1. The written (comprehensive) examination
2. The oral examination (qualifying)
3. Language examination
4. The dissertation defense

The Comprehensive Written Examination

Students in the Morgan State University Ph.D. Program in Industrial and Computational Mathematics are expected to take the comprehensive examinations after completing the core courses of the program (in approximately four semesters and no later than six semesters after entering the program). The written examinations will be given in the following fields: algebra, analysis (real and complex) and topology. A student will be allowed two attempts to pass the comprehensive examinations. Failure to pass the comprehensive examinations is grounds for dismissal from the Ph.D. Program.

The (Qualifying) Oral Examination

Upon successful completion of the written, comprehensive examination, a student will select a dissertation advisor and will begin advanced study under close supervision of the faculty advisor. Also, a student must have completed one year (two semesters) of specialized work beyond the comprehensive examination materials before scheduling the oral examination. A Ph.D. Qualifying Oral Examination Committee of at least four members will be selected by the candidate and his/her faculty dissertation advisor. At least two members, besides the student’s faculty dissertation advisor, must be from the graduate faculty. One committee member must be from outside MSU. Additional members, knowledgeable in the area of intended research, may be included in the committee. The student, the faculty dissertation advisor, and the Graduate Program Director will agree on the scope and form of the Ph.D. qualifying oral examination to be administered by the committee (for example, the oral examination might partly take the form of a seminar presentation). The committee must be notified, at least two weeks in advance, of the date, time and place of the Ph.D. qualifying oral examination.

The primary purpose of this examination is to evaluate the student’s potential and preparedness for dissertation research. The passing of the oral examination is required before a student can be admitted to candidacy. A student will be allowed two attempts to pass the (qualifying) oral examination. Failure to pass the oral examination is grounds for dismissal.

Language Examination

A candidate must demonstrate proficiency in reading of mathematical literature written in a foreign language where, by a foreign language is meant a language other than English. Such a language must be one which is common in the literature of mathematics. Examples are: French, German, Russian, Chinese, Japanese, or any other language considered suitable for the purpose by the Mathematics Department.

Methods of satisfying the foreign language requirement include:

• passing a language examination prepared by the Mathematics Department in collaboration with the Foreign Languages Department or,
• obtaining at least 9 semester credits in the particular language in courses offered at an accredited institution.

The Dissertation Defense

Upon successful completion of the qualifying oral examination, a student will apply for candidacy and will begin dissertation research. Another requirement for candidacy admission is the completion of the core courses. After completing the doctoral dissertation, a student must successfully defend his/her dissertation in front of a commit-tee consisting of the faculty dissertation advisor and no less than three additional members, one of whom must be from outside MSU. The dissertation must contain original, publishable results in mathematics.

Admission to Candidacy

Before petitioning for admission to candidacy, a student must have:

• Completed half of the residence requirements.
• Maintained a minimum grade point average of 3.0 in formal course work.
• Passed the qualifying oral examination.
• Obtained the consent of a faculty member who will accept the responsibility of directing a dissertation.

After fulfilling these requirements, the student should complete the Admission to Candidacy form available in the office of the Graduate School and submit the completed form to the Mathematics Department. The department will retain a copy and the form will be forwarded to the Graduate School. Offices of the Dean of School of Computer, Mathematical and Natural Sciences (SCMNS) and the Dean of Graduate Studies could change the procedural matters involving the defense and submission of the Ph.D. dissertation, from time to time as appropriate.
 

Dissertation (Expected Student Learning Outcome)

Each student entering the Ph.D. program must produce a Ph.D. Dissertation in mathematics to be successful. The Ph.D. Dissertation must represent an original contribution to existing mathematical knowledge. It must follow the format given in the Handbook for Dissertations and Theses written by the Graduate School of MSU and available in the Office of Graduate Studies or online. After a successful dissertation defense, copies of the dissertation must be submitted to University offices and units as specified by the Handbook. It is expected that the dissertation or some modification thereof will be submitted to a mathematical journal for publication.