General Information for Students

GRADUATE SCHOOL IN MATHEMATICS OR STATISTICS AT MIAMI

Miami's Mathematics and Statistics Departments offer a Master of Arts and a Master of Science degree in Mathematics, a Master of Science degree with an option in Operations Research, a Master of Science degree in Statistics, and a Master of Arts in Teaching. Graduate teaching assistantships in all programs are available with a stipend of approximately $15,200, remission of the instructional fee, and up to$1,800 summer support.

You should be aware of the departments' five-year Master's degree programs. By carefully planning your program before or during your sophomore year, you can earn a Bachelor's degree in four years and a Master's degree in one more year. Normally, two years are required for a Master's degree after graduation with the A.B. or B.S. However, the masters can be completed in one year plus 2 full summers. Undergraduates or recent graduates who have completed almost all of the requirements for certification (except perhaps for student teaching and a course or two) may be able to complete these requirements and obtain a Master's degree in two academic years.

Students interested in graduate study at Miami or elsewhere may wish to consult with Professor Doug Ward for mathematics programs (529-3534, 285 BAC, wardde@miamioh.edu) or Professor Doug Noe for statistics programs (529-5838, 305B UPH, noeda@miamioh.edu).

CAREER PLANNING

If you are interested in the available jobs in mathematics, statistics, and operations research, see books such as Great Jobs for Math Majors, 101 Careers in Mathematics and Peterson's Guide to Engineering, Science, and Computer Jobs. Some of these may be available for loan from one of the Chief Departmental Advisers. Also, check the information boards in Bachelor Hall and Upham Hall. As a Mathematics or Statistics major, you are in a unique position. After mastering the abstract and demanding rigor of mathematics and statistics, you are perceived by employers as someone who is intelligent, can recognize patterns, generalize, and adapt to ideas and procedures in new areas.

Students who desire assistance in finding internships and jobs should register with the Office of Career Services (OCS) in 200 Hoyt Hall or on-line at www.miamioh.edu/careers/. The beginning of the sophomore year is a good time to start looking for possible internship experiences. This office also provides job-search assistance for graduate students.

Among the OCS's more popular services are on-campus interviews with visiting employers and graduate schools, workshops on career planning and job finding, individual career counseling, assistance with resume preparation, video-taped "practice" interviews, credential services, and weekly Employment Opportunity Bulletins. The OCS also maintains a comprehensive Career Resource Center which contains material on a wide variety of careers, as well as employment directories, summer job and internship information, graduate school guides, and "recruiting literature" from literally hundreds of employers.

Students should make every attempt to attend the OCS workshop series, and appointments for career counseling should be scheduled 2-3 weeks prior to the desired appointment time.

ACTUARIAL SCIENCE

If you are interested becoming an actuary, you should consider the Minor in Actuarial Science. Also, plan to take the first actuarial exam, which is given two times each year at Miami. The syllabus of this exam is in the area of probability and statistics. See Professor Byran Smucker (317 UPH, 9-0955, smuckerb@miamioh.edu) for details.

Various jobs are available in the Department of Mathematics, the Department of Statistics, and the Office of Learning Assistance. For further information, ask the secretaries in the department offices 123 BAC or 311 UPH.

MATHEMATICS AND STATISTICS COLLOQUIA AND CONFERENCES

Every fall, the Department of Mathematics and the Department of Statistics host a conference focusing on some topic of interest to the math/stat community. Nationally recognized speakers are invited, and many talks are also given by other attendees. In addition, there are special sessions of talks presented by students from Miami and other universities, with no restriction on the topic. Miami students are welcome to attend all presentations associated with the conference.

PROBLEMS SEMINARS

Problems Seminars [MTH 330, 430; STA 471] are small informal classes concerned with challenging, nonroutine problems similar to those found on competitive exams. Problem solving skills developed or sharpened in these courses should be helpful in any mathematical research work, in consulting in business and industry, or in taking competitive exams. The mathematics courses change each semester and are open to students at all levels. STA 471 requires completion of, or concurrent registration in, STA 462.

COMPETITIVE EXAMS

Each year, the department enters a team in the Putnam Competition, a challenging national mathematics examination taken by thousands of college students. See Professor Dan Pritikin (289 BAC, 529-5842) for more information. In addition we enter teams in the annual COMAP national mathematical modeling competition. See Professor Doug Ward (285 BAC, 529-3534) for details. Also, on a local note, the Patterson Examination and the Pi Mu Epsilon Examination are given each spring for first and second year Miami students. See below.

PI MU EPSILON

The purpose of Pi Mu Epsilon, the national mathematics honorary, is the promotion of scholarly activities in mathematics and statistics and service to the Mathematics and Statistics Departments. At the monthly meetings, invited speakers present topics of interest to the members, generally at the undergraduate level, or discuss graduate school, jobs in industry, or material in new courses. Cash awards of up to $100 are made each year to sophomores scoring highest on an examination prepared and graded by the chapter. Members are funded to attend the national convention each summer. Each fall the chapter holds a regional student conference at Miami. Members of the chapter are undergraduate and graduate students and faculty. An undergraduate must have completed Calculus III and either Linear Algebra (MTH 222) or Elements of Discrete Mathematics (MTH 231) or equivalents, have a cumulative average of at least 3.0 in Mathematics and Statistics, and an overall GPA of at least 3.0. Initiation dues are$35.00, which includes both the national and local levels. This also includes two issues of the national Pi Mu Epsilon Journal. There are no other dues. Undergraduates meeting the requirements are invited to join; please contact the department secretaries for details (529-5818, 123 BAC).