The Math Department PhD program is intended for students with a solid background in undergraduate mathematics and a strong interest in research. Most of our students intend to pursue academic careers or find other kinds of positions, for example in industry or finance.
We aim to provide a supportive environment for teaching, learning, and creating mathematics. The relatively small size (about 40+ graduate students and 25+ faculty and postdocs) allows for close contact with faculty and a sense of community. The program is flexible enough to accommodate a range of levels of preparation. More than 85% of students admitted receive their PhD.
For more information on admission and program requirements, please visit the following website:
https://www.brown.edu/academics/math/graduate
5th Year Masters Program
The program is only available as a 5th year masters program and only open to current Brown undergraduates, who must apply before graduating.
To earn a fifth year masters degree, the student must complete eight 2000-level courses with a grade of B or higher.
Students must complete at least three of the following “core” courses, which are offered in the fall.
| MATH 2110 | Introduction to Manifolds | 1 |
| MATH 2210 | Real Function Theory | 1 |
| MATH 2250 | Complex Function Theory | 1 |
| MATH 2410 | Topology | 1 |
| MATH 2510 | Algebra | 1 |
Other eligible courses, beyond the mimimum three core courses from above, are the following spring term courses:
| MATH 2010 | Differential Geometry | 1 |
| MATH 2220 | Real Function Theory | 1 |
| MATH 2260 | Complex Function Theory | 1 |
| MATH 2420 | Algebraic Topology | 1 |
| MATH 2520 | Algebra | 1 |
There are also the below advanced graduate courses. In order for one of these to be counted toward the fifth year Master’s, it must be taken for “qualifying credit”. This means that the student must notify the instructor in advance that he/she desires to earn qualifying credit, and then the instructor will assign suitable written work or an oral presentation.
| MATH 2050 | Algebraic Geometry | 1 |
| MATH 2060 | Algebraic Geometry | 1 |
| MATH 2370 | Partial Differential Equations | 1 |
| MATH 2380 | Partial Differential Equations | 1 |
| MATH 2530 | Number Theory | 1 |
| MATH 2540 | Number Theory | 1 |
| MATH 2630 | Probability | 1 |
| MATH 2640 | Probability | 1 |
| A course in the 2710-2720 Topics Series | ||
With permission of the Director of Graduate Studies, up to two graduate level courses in Applied Mathematics may also be counted.
A Master’s thesis is not required, nor are there any additional exams beyond the final exams for each of the courses.
Up to two of the eight courses may be graduate-level Mathematics courses which the student has already taken as an undergraduate.