1. Who can help me? Who's in charge of what?
2. How can I prepare for the Comps?
3. Can you tell me about faculty research areas?
4. How do I prepare my MS thesis or my PhD dissertation?
5. Is there money for attending conferences and similar scientific events?
6. Where's my office? (Do I have one?)
7. How is office space assigned?
8. How much do I need to pay in tuition and fees?
9. How many courses do I need to take to be a full-time student?
10. I would like to take a reading course with Prof. X on subject Y. How can I arrange this?
11. I need a letter about my academic status, my financial support, etc. (For example to help get an apartment, visa, or financial support, or to defer military duties or conform to requirements of some agency.)
12. I am a graduate student in another department at Georgia Tech, and I am interested in getting a MS in Mathematics at the same time. What needs to be done?
13. How do oral exams work?
14. Resources for making a Career in Mathematics.
15. Resources for Teaching Mathematics at Georgia Tech.

Answers:

1. Who can help me? Who's in charge of what?

   Luca Dieci is the Associate Chairman for Graduate Studies in Mathematics. Russell Todres is Academic Assistant and the administrative assistant is Ms. Genola Turner. The Graduate Office is in Room 125. To reach the Associate Chair's office by e-mail, it is best to write to grad-coordinator at math. Other faculty who are involved include Prof. Rena Brakebill, who coordinates the GTA assignments, and our language specialist, Prof. Cathy Jacobson. The Graduate Committee's student representative is Ian Palmer, and the faculty members on it are Profs. Baker, Basu Goldsztein, McCuan, and Thomas. For a description of the program, admissions, etc., please go to the official School of Mathematics Graduate Studies Page
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2. How can I prepare for the Comps?

   Here are a study guide, and some other materials.
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3. Can you tell me about faculty research areas?

   It's all on the Research Page.
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4. How do I prepare my MS thesis or my PhD dissertation?

   Consult Tech's thesis manual
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5. Is there money for attending conferences and similar scientific events?

   In order to more efficiently address your requests, there is now a web page set up explicitly for the purpose of streamlining travel support. You can access it from www.math.gatech.edu/academic/graduate/ by clicking on "Travel Request".

   VIGRE Trainees have a travel allowance of $1000 over the five-year period of the Traineeship. In order to apply for this, short petition should be submitted to the Graduate Committee, containing a standard travel authority request, as well as a specific description of the nature of the student's participation in the meeting (or other event) and the benefits of the travel.
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6. Where's my office? (Do I have one?)

   All Georgia Tech Mathematics TAs and thesis students should have an office assignment. If you are aware of any omissions or errors in the assignments please write to Dr. Todres. Please return old keys and pick up new ones at Ms. Lewis's office.
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7. How is office space assigned?

   We are a little short of office space, but we attempt to provide space at least for all teaching assistants and all PhD students.
   There are several smaller offices, which are considered more desirable. Space in the small offices will be offered to doctoral students with priority to finishing PhD students and otherwise by seniority as judged by progress in the program.
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8. How much do I need to pay in tuition and fees?

   If you are receiving a stipend from us, a tuition waiver is granted. In a few cases a tuition waiver is promised with admission, but the number of tuition waivers is very small and usually connected with some contractual obligation of the Institute. Tuition depends on your residency status, and some fees are assessed in addition to tuition. Current figures are available from the Bursar's Office.
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9. How many courses do I need to take to be a full-time student?

   For detailed information of this sort, check with the Registrar's Office. The short answer is: 12 hours, normally 4 courses. However, 3 can be audit credit for Math 8997 or Math 8998. In the summer, up to six hours can be audited. DON'T MESS THIS UP OR GEORGIA TECH WILL TERMINATE YOUR TUITION WAIVER. IF YOU ARE AN INTERNATIONAL STUDENT YOU WILL PROBABLY LOSE YOUR VISA.
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10. I would like to take a reading course with Prof. X on subject Y. How can I arrange this?

    Reading courses can be excellent experiences for graduate students, and faculty are often more than happy to direct them, especially if the student is preparing for a dissertation in the professor's specialty. Professors do not receive credit or payment for reading courses, however, and so they are not always able to direct them. Usually, reading courses have the heading of Math 8900.

    If you plan to take a reading course with a member of the School of Mathematics faculty, you must meet with the professor in advance for

    1. permission from the professor (absolutely necessary)
       and to come to a clear common understanding of
    2. the mumber of credits. Any amount is possible, but ordinarily a reading course is for 1-3 credits. The number of course credist should be in proportion to the amount of time spent on the course. The course can be taken as a letter-grade of Pass-Fail basis.
    3. the reading list (or similar plan of study)
    4. the schedule for meeting and amount of time to be spent
    5. exams, term papers, or other "deliverables"
    Then you go onto OSCAR and sign up for the course with a number such as MATH 8900 .
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11. I need a letter about my academic status, my financial support, etc. (For example to help get an apartment, visa, or financial support, or to defer military duties or conform to requirements of some agency.)

    Please use the Template for Support Letters to draft the letter you want and send it to the Graduate Coordinator for review.
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12. I am a graduate student in another department at Georgia Tech, and I am interested in getting a MS in Mathematics at the same time. What needs to be done?

    If you are taking a lot of mathematics courses, this may be straightforward. It is not necessary to apply through Graduate Admissions.

    1. Begin by reading the degree requirements and sketching out a plan for which courses you will want to take. Check with your department's graduate coordinator to make sure that counting a course towards your secondary MS in Mathematics does not interfere with your requirements for the primary degree. Normally this is a more serious problem if your major is another MS degree than if it is a doctoral degree.
    2. Prepare a course of study to be submitted to the School of Mathematics. Then bring this to Prof. Dieci in Skiles 215 during his office periods for his approval. We prefer an unofficial course of study until late enough in your degree plans that modifications are unlikely. Eventually, a formal course of study should be filed with the Graduate Office.
    3. Find a Mathematics Professor who is willing to chair your oral examination committee.
    4. Mark your calendar for all deadlines, especially the oral examination and the petition for the degree. These are your responsibility, and we are unable to send reminders.
    
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13. How do oral exams work?

    Consult the oral exam webpage.
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14. Resources for making a career in Mathematics

    • The best link for jobs in higher education and research in the US is available through the American Mathematical Society.
    • Georgia Tech also has an Office of Career Services
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15. Resources for teaching at Georgia Tech

    • The School of Mathematics has many on-line resources
    • Here is a link with some advice to pass on to Tech Freshmen.
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