A Master of Science in Mathematical Sciences is offered jointly by the Department of Mathematics and Applied Mathematics and the Department of Statistical Sciences and Operations Research. The Master of Science in Mathematical Sciences offers specializations in several possible areas, including applied mathematics, mathematics, and operations research, statistics.
A student who has completed the requirements for one of the concentrations may request that the transcript indicate the concentration. A student who has not satisfied requirements for one of these concentrations, but who has otherwise fulfilled all the requirements for a master's degree, will be awarded a degree of Master of Science in Mathematical Sciences without any specialty concentration designation. The programs thus offer maximum flexibility by allowing each student, in consultation with a faculty advisor, to design a course of study which will best develop competence in those areas most relevant to his or her scholarly and professional objectives. Enough freedom is allowed in each degree program for students to take advantage of the diversity of the departments and the university. A student may include courses from other areas within the department, or approved courses from the university at large. Thirty semester credits are required for the degree. The student may choose either a thesis or an applied project.
THE FACULTY
The Department's faculty research interests include but are not limited to: algebra, analysis, biomathematics, combinatorics, difference equations and dynamical systems, functional analysis, graph theory, logic and mathematics education. A list of faculty members and their areas of specialization is shown on the Department Faculty page.
ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS:
A student applying for admission to the Masters of Science program is expected to have at least thirty undergraduate semester credits in the mathematical sciences or closely-related fields with at least eighteen of these credits in upper-level (junior-level or higher) courses. Students who need to remove deficiencies in their mathematical sciences education can enroll as special students prior to seeking admission to the graduate program, or may ask to be provisionally admitted to the graduate program pending completion of the appropriate courses. The department makes an effort to structure its offerings so that a student who has majored in one area may do graduate work in another. A student changing areas may be required to take additional appropriate courses. All applicants must submit a report of current scores achieved on the GRE. All international students must take the TOEFL. A minimum score of 550 is required for admission to the program. International students seeking graduate teaching assistantships should score well above 600.
THE UNIVERSITY Virginia Commonwealth University is an urban institution of higher education located in the heart of Richmond, Virginia. It is comprised of two campuses. The Health Sciences Center Campus is located near the financial, governmental, and shopping areas of downtown Richmond. The Monroe Park Campus is two miles west in a residential area that dates from the nineteenth century. The University is committed to providing an environment in which students of diverse ethnic, racial, and social backgrounds can thrive.
Today the total University enrollment is over 32,000. The University has multiple teaching hospitals and over a dozen academic schools and colleges which offer numerous undergraduate, first-professional degree, and graduate programs. VCU has been included for the past several years in the top 100 universities in the U.S. in terms of research funds received from federal agencies.
Richmond is the capital of Virginia, and has a rich historical heritage from the Civil War and Colonial times. Its central location is only two hours south of Washington, D.C., two hours west of Virginia Beach, and two hours east of the Blue Ridge mountains. It features several museums and many galleries, a symphony orchestra, a ballet company, a performing arts center, and other cultural attractions. Richmond is the location of several major corporations such as Philip Morris, Capital One, and Dominion; other companies have large facilities nearby, including Dupont and Allied Chemical.
