Carnegie Initiative on the Doctorate Team –Matt Koetz –Jim Lewis –John Meakin

Ideas for strengthening the graduate program Support the transition from 1 st year to advanced graduate student. Add an interdisciplinary option to our graduate program. Create an environment that is supportive of minority graduate students in mathematics.

The Graduate Program at Nebraska 32 permanent faculty 4-6 postdocs and visitors per year 65 graduate students –19 masters; 46 doctoral 24 PhDs in last 4 years –12 women; 19 U.S. citizens Recent time to degree – 6 years, 4 months

Graduate Programs Areas of Emphasis Algebra and Discrete Mathematics –algebraic geometry – commutative algebra –coding theory – geometric group theory –combinatorics – low-dimensional topology Pure and Applied Analysis –control theory – operator algebras –functional analysis – ODEs and difference eq. –mathematical modeling – partial differential equations

Transition from 1 st year to advanced student Goal: To provide needed support as students make the transition from 1 st year students to advanced students who have qualified for the PhD program and are beginning to do mathematical research. Challenges: Qualifying Exam is a significant barrier Students have difficulty getting started in research

Transition from 1 st year to advanced student Qualifying Exam Workshop Summer research experiences –Small groups reading research papers Internal funding of research assistantships

Participation in Interdisciplinary Research Goals: To broaden the doctoral education of our students. To prepare research mathematicians capable of contributing to interdisciplinary research teams.

Participation in Interdisciplinary Research This is a long term goal First step – an interdisciplinary applied math masters degree External affiliates

A supportive environment for minorities Goal: To be successful at attracting and mentoring minority graduate students. Past History: Department has earned a reputation for being supportive of female graduate students. Challenge: Recruiting a critical mass of minority graduate students.