About

MA Program

The Master of Arts Program in Mathematics at Yeshiva University was originally offered at Yeshiva University by the Belfer School of Science. It was discontinued in 1979, the year in which that unit closed, but was revived in January 2011. There is an element of continuity in that the last chair of the Department of Mathematics at the Belfer School, Arnold Lebow, remains a professor in the Department of Mathematical Sciences today.

Why Master of Arts rather than Master of Science? We use the term art in the sense of a "skill," as opposed to science, which in this context is used in the sense of "knowledge." Indeed, when the fine arts were more concerned with skill rather than expression, one was as likely to pursue mathematical research in an art studio as in a university.

Our graduate program is modeled on an apprenticeship, in which the student's mathematical arts are refined and developed through contact with problems and applications, under the supervision of highly research-active faculty mentors. Although no thesis is required, students develop their art through Problem Seminars and Topics courses, which focus on problems and topics at the frontiers of applied research. An unusual aspect of our program is the presence of a distinguished consulting faculty, who regularly assesses the relevance of the program to trends in science and in the industry.

Students may apply to be admitted in the spring, summer or fall semester. In general, courses are structured so that students can begin the program in any semester.

Admissions Requirements: please review the admissions requirements for the graduate programs in mathematics.

PhD Program

The department also offers a course of study leading to a PhD in mathematical sciences. This is a small, highly selective program that emphasizes individual study in one or more areas of research pursued by department faculty: fluid dynamics and shock waves; geometric analysis; optimization; complexity theory; partial differential equations of elliptic, hyperbolic and mixed type; the theory of risk; mathematical, theoretical and computational physics; universal algebras; operator theory; and the theory of plasma waves.

Computing facilities at the department include a 144-core Beowulf cluster. Arrangements can also be made for the use of separate computing facilities in the Department of Physics.

Admissions Requirements: Admission to the doctoral program requires 60-credit hours of graduate-level coursework. Students interested in admission to the program should contact the member of the graduate faculty with whom they wish to study or the department chair.