Mathematical Science

Associate Professor Dan Van Peursem, Department Chair
Associate Professor Nan Jiang, Graduate Director
Department of Mathematical Sciences
Dakota Hall
414 East Clark Street
Vermillion, SD 57069
(605) 677-5262
math@usd.edu
http://www.usd.edu/math

Degrees:

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

Graduate Faculty

Professors:
José Flores, Ph.D., University of Iowa. Specialization: Numerical Analysis.
Yuhlong Lio, Ph.D., University of South Carolina. Specialization: Stochastic Processes, Non–parametric Function Estimation, Reliability, Iterative Processes, Survival Analysis.

Associate Professors:
Nan Jiang, Ph.D., Kansas State University. Specialization: Numerical Analysis.
Dan D. Van Peursem, Ph.D., University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Specialization: Applied Mathematics.

Assistant Professors:
Catalin Georgescu, Ph.D., State University of New York-Buffalo. Specialization: Dynamical Systems.
Gabriel Picioroaga, Ph.D., University of Iowa. Specialization: Operator Algebras and Wavelets.
Violeta Vasilevska, Ph.D., University of Tennessee. Specialization: Topology.

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 Ph.D. 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.

Admission Requirements

An undergraduate degree from an accredited institution with a GPA of at least 2.7 or graduate GPA of at least 3.0.
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.

Scholarships

Nelontine Maxwell Larsen Award (available to graduate students majoring in the mathematical sciences)

Wallace Raab Memorial Scholarship (provides student memberships in the Mathematical Association of America for graduate students working toward an advanced degree in the mathematical sciences during their years of graduate study at USD. Excess earnings can be used for scholarships for selected graduate students.)