Mathematics

The Ph.D. program is designed to meet the need for mathematicians who are highly qualified in both teaching and scholarship. The College provides an environment in which a doctoral candidate can pursue professional study in mathematics and prepare to be an effective teacher.

During their first year, our students develop a strong background in analysis, algebra, and topology, completing a written exam in those fields just after their first spring; they also begin exploring other areas. During their second year they continue to broaden their mathematical knowledge while studying fields related to their particular interests in more depth, completing qualifying exams in two such areas by the middle of their second spring. Students then take an intensive teaching seminar during the following summer as well as begin reading in their chosen research area and finding an advisor for their thesis. Graduate students teach one Dartmouth course independently in each of their 3rd and 4th years, as well as completing most of the research for their thesis. Most of our graduate students finish their thesis during the 5th year, the last year in which we offer financial support.

The requirements for the Ph.D. degree in mathematics are as follows:
1. Departmental certification in two advanced areas of study.
2. Admission to Ph.D. candidacy by the departmental Graduate Program Committee as a result of its second review, which takes place at the end of the spring term of the second year of graduate study. This review will take account of all the relevant information that the Graduate Program Committee can gather, such as the student’s record in courses and seminars, the student’s performance during the certification process, and an estimate of the student’s ability to write an acceptable thesis.
3. Demonstration of a reading knowledge of a foreign language normally chosen from French, German, and Russian. The Graduate Program Committee will monitor students’ progress in its annual review.
4. Completion of a doctoral thesis of acceptable quality, and its defense in an oral examination.
5. Successful completion of the teaching seminar and teaching two courses in the three years after passing to candidacy. Preparation for the teaching seminar includes such activities as tutoring in the years before admission to candidacy. This requirement is met by receiving credit for Mathematics 107 (Supervised Tutoring) once during each year preceding admission to candidacy, credit for Mathematics 147 (Teaching Seminar), and credit for Mathematics 149 (Supervised Teaching) twice during the three years following admission to candidacy.

• Online Application ]
• 3 Letters of Recommendation.
• Official General GRE scores.
• Official Mathematics GRE scores.
• Official TOEFL scores.
  • Required for all students for whom English is not their first language
• $25 Application Fee.
• Official transcripts will be required if you are offered admission to the program and accept the offer.

All of our admitted students have their tuition waived. In addition, they are supported through a Dartmouth Fellowship or other grant for five years assuming that they remain in good standing within the department. This support is in the form of a modest monthly stipend. There is nothing additional that you need to complete to receive this support. It happens automatically when you are accepted into our program.