University of California, Irvine 10/21/09

 Preparing for graduate school  Choosing a graduate school  Applying to graduate school ◦ Application form ◦ Personal statement ◦ Transcripts ◦ GRE exams ◦ Letters of recommendation  Going to graduate school

 Take lots of math courses!!!  Take Math 205 and 206 (Analysis & Algebra)  Consider Math 147 (Complex Variables)  Consider Math 210 and 230 your senior year if you took 205 and 206 early enough  Do the Math Honors Program  Find a math research opportunity  Apply for REU or semester abroad in math  Attend a math conference  Attend math talks outside of class  Get excellent grades in your math courses  Talk to your professors  Study for the GRE subject test in math

 Do your research ◦ Look at websites comparing schools ◦ Look at math department websites ◦ Look at AMS website materials  Apply to many schools (10+ often good)  Apply to schools of varying prestige  Talk to faculty about schools you are considering  Know how competitive you will be at the schools you are considering

 Things to consider ◦ Size of department (faculty, grad students) ◦ Areas of faculty research ◦ Colloquiums and seminars ◦ Degree requirements ◦ Graduate funding ◦ Career placement of graduates ◦ Particular faculty members of interest ◦ Prestige of degree ◦ Average time to degree ◦ Attrition rate ◦ Graduate student housing ◦ Location

 Application form  Personal statement ◦ Avoid cliches and generic statements ◦ Use specific examples ◦ Talk about your accomplishments ◦ Mention areas of possible research interest ◦ Talk about research experience or interesting courses ◦ Avoid listing courses you want to take, instead talk about what areas of math excite you ◦ Make yourself sound unique and motivated ◦ Discuss why you wish to attend grad school ◦ Mention your interest in department in particular ◦ Get someone to proof read

 Transcripts ◦ Request these early ◦ Make sure they contain as many A’s as possible  GRE exams ◦ Take the regular GRE anytime ◦ You should get a great score on math portion ◦ Take the GRE subject test by the Fall of senior year (the registration deadline is early!!!) ◦ Study for the GRE subject test in Mathematics (Dr. Dennis Eichhorn has a study group for this!!!)  Letters of Recommendation ◦ Ask faculty members a minimum of 1 month in advance ◦ Give letter writers nicely organized information ◦ Ask someone who knows you well ◦ Ask someone in whose class you did very well ◦ Letter writer will be asked to rank you ◦ You can “prewrite” part of the letter by giving materials

 You should receive a full scholarship plus be paid a stipend to either TA, RA or fellowship  Most students take a core set of courses the first year or two  Most schools have some sort of comprehensive or qualifying exam in the first couple of years  After year two, you begin to do research in addition to taking courses in your chosen area  You select an advisor  Many schools have some sort of oral exam early on in your dissertation research  You write and defend your dissertation  You may have to do foreign language exam  Most PhD degrees take about 5 years  You look for a job when finished!