For Prospective Students
The department typically admits 10 to 12 new students each year, and typically has a total of 50 to 55 students. We invite applications to our PhD program from all qualified applicants, and we foster a welcoming and collaborative environment. The Department would like to encourage students from diverse backgrounds (for example, race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, age, physical abilities) to apply. For these students, fee waivers can be requested and will be considered on a case-by-case basis. We kindly ask that you provide the reason for which you are requesting a fee waiver when you email us. This will allow us to assess your request and provide a decision to you in the most timely manner possible — please send all requests to the Graduate Coordinator, Tori Spalding (tspaldin@nd.edu).
Initial admissions decisions are usually made in mid-February, but we frequently admit additional students as the process proceeds. Students in good standing are guaranteed support for 5 years, and some students receive support for a 6th year. The average time required for a student to finish a PhD is 5.4 years.
Information for Applicants: Applicants should be on track to complete an undergraduate degree in mathematics or take equivalent courses. Three year degrees from Indian universities, or physics degrees with extensive mathematical physics are acceptable qualifications. Most of our successful applicants have completed:
- Two semesters of abstract algebra, or 1 semester of abstract algebra and a semester of a course that uses abstract algebra
- Two semesters of proof-based analysis, one of which can be complex variables
- Perhaps 3 or 4 additional semesters of proof-based math courses, which are frequently drawn from subjects like topology, geometry, differential equations, combinatorics, number theory, logic, or other subjects at a similar level, provided these courses are available.
We look for applicants who have taken good advantage of the opportunities available to them as undergraduates. At some institutions, this means applicants who have taken graduate courses, and at other places, it may mean reading courses, sometimes in place of a second semester of algebra or analysis.
- Application Information
- Program Interest Form
- Normal Progress
- Basic Courses
- Recently Taught Courses, Including Topics Courses
- Doctorates Awarded (Graduate Alumni)
Congratulations to our 2023 Graduates in their new positions!
| Name | Advisor | Thesis | Placement After Graduation | Website |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | ||||
| Richard Birkett | Jeff Diller | Algebraic Stability and Skew Products on the Berkovich Projective Line | UIC Postdoc | |
| Luan Doan | Brian Hall | Large-N Limit of the Segal-Bargman Transforms on the Spheres | University of Connecticut, Teaching Professor | Website |
| Eric Jovinelly | Eric Riedl | Geometric Manin's Conjecture for Fano Threefolds | Currently a one year NSF postdoc at UIC: followed by a 3 year postdoc at Brown. | |
| Nikolai Konovalov | Mark Behrens | Algebraic Goodwillie Spectral Sequence | Fellow with Max Planck in Bonn, Germany | |
| Daniel Soskin | Misha Gekhtman | Determinatal Inequalities for Totally Positive Matrices | 1 year postdoc position with Lehigh University, then multi-year postdoc at Max Planck in Leipzig | |
| Wern Yeen Yeong | Eric Riedl | Algebraic Hyperbolicityof Very General Hypersurfaces and Their Complements | UCLA Postdoc | |