Program in Mathematics School of Science Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Offerings of the Department of Mathematical Sciences

The mathematics program in the Department of Mathematical Sciences offers MS and PhD degrees in mathematics.

The program emphasizes study and development of mathematical and computational methods and their application to problems of contemporary significance to society. Research is currently being conducted in the areas of applied geometry, approximation theory, biomathematics, bioinformatics, combustion and detonation theory, dynamical systems, financial mathematics, fluid dynamics, inverse problems, mathematical programming and operations research, numerical analysis and scientific computation, and wave propagation.

The MS degree in Mathematics requires a minimum of 30 credit hours, at least 16 of which must be at the 6000 level and at least 16 must have the MATH or MATP prefix. At least 2 of the 6000 level courses must be 4 credits each with numbers in the range MATH-6000 to MATH-6390. The minimum number of credits for course work is 24; each student must also participate in a Capstone Professional Experience.

A minimum of 72 credits, split between course work and thesis work, are required for the doctoral degree. At least 1/3 of the non-thesis credits must be at the 6000 level. At least 24 non-thesis credits at the 6000 level must be earned in courses offered by the Mathematical Sciences department, and at least one 3-4 credit course must be taken from outside the department. A doctoral student must pass a written preliminary examination and an oral qualifying examination, and successfully complete an oral candidacy presentation.

In consultation with their advisers, all graduate students must develop plans of study that satisfactorily meet the institute and departmental requirements.

Application and Entrance requirements

The admission deadline for the fall semester is December 15. Basic admission requirements are: the submission of a completed application form (available online); the required application fee ($75); a statement of background and goals; official transcripts; official scores on the GRE General Test; TOEFL, IELTS, or PTE scores (if applicable); and 2 recommendations.

Financial Aid

Financial aid is available in the form of teaching and research assistantships and fellowships, which include tuition scholarships and stipends. The assistantships cover the academic year, with summer support available in some cases. Outstanding students may qualify for national and corporate fellowships, as well as university-sponsored Rensselaer Graduate Fellowships. All fellowship awards are calendar-year awards for full-time graduate students.

In 2011-12, 53 students received support, including fellowships with full tuition reimbursements available (averaging $18,000 per year), 15 research assistantships with full tuition reimbursements available (averaging $21,000 per year), and 26 teaching assistantships with full tuition reimbursements available (averaging $18,000 per year); institutionally sponsored loans also available.

Living and Housing

Graduate students at Rensselaer may choose from a variety of housing options. On campus, students can select one of the many residence halls or choose from a select number of apartments designed for graduate students only. There are abundant, affordable options off campus as well, many within easy walking distance.

Student Population

There are 53 full-time students in the MS and PhD programs, including 13 female students.

Faculty Members and their Research

Professors in the Department of Mathematical Sciences (and their areas of research interest) include:

- Bennett, K.P. -- PhD (University of Wisconsin); mathematical programming, operations research, machine learning, data mining, artificial intelligence.

- Drew, D.A. -- PhD (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute); applied mathematics, fluid mechanics, mathematical biology.

- Ecker, J.G. -- PhD (University of Michigan); mathematical programming, multiobjective programming, geometric programming, mathematical programming applications, ellipsoid algorithms.

- Herron, I. -- PhD (Johns Hopkins University); applied mathematics, fluid mechanics, hydrodynamics, stability.

- Holmes, M. -- PhD (University of California, Los Angeles); perturbation methods, biomathematics, nonlinear continuum mechanics.

- Isaacson, D. -- PhD (New York University); mathematical physics, biomedical applications.

- Kapila, A. -- PhD (Cornell University); applied mathematics, combustion, fluid mechanics.

- Kovacic, G. -- PhD (California Institute of Technology); applied mathematics, nonlinear dynamics, nonlinear optics.

- Lim, C.C. -- PhD (Brown University); mathematical modeling, vortex dynamics, applications of graph theory.

- Lvov, Y. -- PhD (University of Arizona); mathematical physics and nonlinear phenomena.

- McLaughlin, H.W. -- PhD (University of Maryland); applied geometry.

- McLaughlin, J.R. -- PhD (University of California, Riverside); inverse bioelasticity problems, inverse vibration and inverse scattering problems, wave propagation, analysis, applied mathematics.

- Mitchell, J.E. -- PhD (Cornell University); mathematical programming, integer programming, interior point methods, column generation methods, financial optimization, stochastic programming.

- Roytburd, V. -- PhD (University of California, Berkeley); applied mathematics, combustion theory.

- Siegmann, W.L. -- PhD (Massachusetts Institute of Technology); applied mathematics, wave propagation.

- Schwendeman, D.W. -- PhD (California Institute of Technology); applied mathematics, scientific computing.

- Zuker, M. -- PhD (Massachusetts Institute of Technology); bioinformatics.

Associate Professors in the Department of Mathematical Sciences include:

- Kramer, P.R. -- PhD (Princeton University); turbulent diffusion, stochastic processes.

- Li, F. -- PhD (Brown University); numerical analysis and scientific computing; finite element methods; discontinuous Galerkin methods; numerical methods for Maxwell equations, conservation laws, Hamilton-Jacobi equations, magneto-hydrodynamics equations.

- Piper, B.R. -- PhD (University of Utah); computer-aided geometric design, numerical analysis, computer graphics.

The Clinical Associate Professor in the Department of Mathematical Sciences is:

- Kiehl, M. -- PhD (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute); biomathematics.

The Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Mathematical Sciences is:

- Schmidt, D.A. -- PhD (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute); graph theory, qualitative matrix analysis, mathematics education.

Visiting Faculty Members

- Cheney, M. -- PhD (Indiana University); inverse problems, wave propagation, applications in engineering and biology, partial differential equations.

• Degrees Offered
• Major Degree Levels Offered
• Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
  Master of Science (MS)

• Degrees Awarded
• Master's Degrees 11
• Doctoral Degrees 8
• First Professional Degrees Not reported
• Other Advanced Degrees Not reported
• * Shows the number of degrees awarded for the last academic year that data was reported.

• Earning Your Degree
• Part-time study available? Yes
• Evening/weekend programs available? No
• Distance learning programs available? No
• Terminal master's degree available? Yes

• Degree Requirements
• Master's Degrees Not reported
• Doctoral Degrees Required, Required and preliminary exam, candidacy presentation
• First Professional Degrees Not reported
• Other Advanced Degrees Not reported

• Acceptance Rate
• Applied123
• Accepted45
• Acceptance Rate36%
• Enrolled16
• Applying
• Application Fee - Domestic $75
• Application Fee - International $75
• Electronic applications accepted? Yes
• Applications processed on a rolling basis? Yes
• Application Deadlines
• Type Domestic International Priority Date
• Fall deadline January 15th January 15th Yes
• Winter deadline Not Reported Not Reported Not Reported
• Spring deadline Not Reported Not Reported Not Reported
• Entrance Requirements
• Master's DegreesGRE General Test
• Doctoral's DegreesGRE General Test
• First-Professional's DegreesNot Reported
• Other Advanced DegreesNot Reported
• International DegreesTOEFL required

• Tuition & Fees
• In-state tuition *$39,600
• Out-of-state tuition *$39,600
• International student tuitionNot Reported
• * Tuition for full-time graduate student per academic year
• Fees
• Per-academic year fees$1,896.00
• Per-term feesNot Reported
• One-time feeNot Reported
• * Fees for full-time graduate students
• Financial Support
• Financial award applicants must submitNot Reported
• Application deadlines for financial awardsFebruary 1
• Types of financial support availableResearch Assitantships, Teaching Assistantships, Institutionally-sponsored Loans

• Gender
• Total Graduate Students54
• Female Percentage33%
• Male Percentage67%
• Participation
• Total Graduate Students54
• Part-time Percentage6%
• Full-time Percentage94%
• Ethnicity
• Hispanic / Latino2%
• Black / African American2%
• White / Caucasian76%
• American Indian / Alaskan Native0%
• Asian7%
• Native Hawaiian / Other Pacific Islander0%
• Two or more races0%
• Unknown13%

• Faculty Breakout
• Total Faculty27
• Full-time Percentage85%
• Part-time Percentage15%
• Female Percentage15%
• Male Percentage85%

• Existing Research
• Focus of faculty researchInverse problems, biomathematics, operations research, applied mathematics, mathematical modeling
• Externally sponsored research expenditures last yearNot Reported