Mathematical Science

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Degrees:

Master of Arts, Plan B
Master of Science, Plan A and Plan B

Department Chairperson: Associate Professor Daniel Van Peursem
Graduate Director: Assistant Professor Nan Jiang

Program Description

Graduate students desiring to work toward a Master’s degree in mathematics should have completed an undergraduate major in mathematics equivalent to the one offered by USD. Students who do not have a sufficient background in mathematics may be required to complete course work that will not apply towards a Master’s degree (e.g., linear algebra and differential equations).

The department offers non-thesis M.A. (Plan B) and thesis and non-thesis M.S. programs (Plan A and Plan B, respectively).  The M.A. supports growth and professional development for high school teachers and exposure to additional math content for people who seek employment in other fields but do not have an interest in a terminal degree. The M.S. programs are intended for students who plan to pursue doctoral studies in mathematics and cover advanced topics that will prepare graduates to take qualifying exams in Math PhD programs without the need for additional coursework.  Additionally, students can prepare themselves for Ph.D. programs in related fields, such as Computational Science and Statistics.   

Graduate Faculty

Jose Flores, Professor, Ph.D., University of Iowa. Specialization: Numerical Analysis.

Catalin Georgescu, Assistant Professor, Ph.D., State University of New York-Buffalo. Specialization: Dynamical Systems.

Philip Harrington, Assistant Professor, Ph.D., University of Notre Dame-Indiana. Specialization: Complex Analysis, and PDE’s.

Nan Jiang, Assistant Professor, Ph.D., Kansas State University. Specialization: Numerical Analysis.

Yuhlong Lio, Professor, Ph.D., University of South Carolina. Specialization: Stochastic Processes, Non–parametric Function Estimation, Reliability, Iterative Processes, Survival Analysis.

Jack Maney, Assistant Professor, Ph.D., North Dakota State University-Fargo. Specialization: Commutative Algebra.

Dan D. Van Peursem, Associate Professor, Ph.D., University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Specialization: Applied Mathematics.

Violeta Vasilevska, Assistant Professor, Ph.D., University of Tennessee. Specialization: Topology.

Admission Requirements

• Completion of a baccalaureate degree in Mathematics or its equivalent. 
• International students must take the TOEFL test and have a minimum score of 550, and are recommended to attend the summer ESL institute.  Additional requirements exist for international applicants.

-       Subject to faculty approval, those who do not meet all of the criteria above may be admitted on a provisional basis.

For Additional Information

Mathematical Sciences
Dakota Hall, Room 319
414 East Clark Street
Vermillion, S.D. 57069
Phone: 605-677-5262
http://www.usd.edu/math

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