If you are interested in studying mathematics at the University of Texas, it is likely that you should apply to the Department of Mathematics. However, there are other programs that may be more appropriate, depending on your interest. You may want to explore the Computational and Applied Mathematics Program, the Science and Mathematics Education Program or the UTeach Summer Master's in Math Program before making your decision.

We have 130 Mathematic Ph.D. Students, 8 Actuarial Master's Students, 4 Mathematic Master's Students and 22 Statistics Masters students for a total of 164 graduate students in our program. We have seventy international students from 23 countries and ninety students from 30 of our 50 United States.

Note that the number of Master's students is quite small. We generally do not accept Master's applicants in Pure Mathematics. The Masters program in Pure Mathematics exists mainly for students whose ultimate goal is a Ph.D., but whose undergraduate preparation has gaps. We do however accept Master's students in Actuarial Mathematics and Statistics.

Admission to the Department of Mathematics is highly competitive. For Fall 2008, 253 students applied to the Ph.D. program, 49 were accepted and 20 enrolled. Eighty five students applied to the Master's program in which 20 were accepted and 20 enrolled. Outstanding students should not be deterred by these numbers, however, and we encourage you to apply.

• For the Ph.D. program, the average scores of recent successful applicants have been: GRE: 600 verbal, 772 quantitative, 4.2 analytical. TOEFL: 633 paper/109 internet based. GPA: 3.7 (on a 4.0 scale).
• For the Master's program, the average scores of recent successful applicants to this program have been: GRE: 540 verbal, 780 quantitative, 4.5 analytical. TOEFL: 631 paper/270 computer version. The average undergraduate GPA has been 3.7 (on a 4.0 scale).

It would, in fact, be difficult to gain admission to our Ph.D. program without the following minimum set of classes: two semesters of real analysis, two semesters of abstract algebra and one semester of undergraduate topology. Of course, we want to see very strong performances in those classes. Many of our applicants have graduate classes on their transcripts, but that is not critical.

Criteria for admission and award of financial aid:

The Department's Graduate Admissions and Financial Aid Committee will consider the following factors, with no particular weight assigned to any single factor, in arriving at its decision concerning the admission of and awarding of financial aid to an applicant: undergraduate academic record, especially performance in upper-division, conceptually oriented mathematics classes; performance in prior graduate mathematics courses (if applicable); letters of recommendation; the contents of the personal statement, especially as they relate to the intellectual preparedness of the applicant to undertake graduate studies in mathematics or to special circumstances in an applicant's background that might indicate the potential for success in a graduate mathematics program; undergraduate research experience; performance on the Graduate Record Exam; performance on the TOEFL Exam (if applicable).

If you are accepted for admission to our graduate program, you will automatically be considered for financial assistance; no separate application for financial assistance is required. Although there are a small number of fellowships, most of our beginning graduate students are supported by Teaching Assistantships.

Application Instructions

All applicants need to apply to two different offices: The Graduate and International Admissions Center (GIAC) and the Department of Mathematics. Different items go to each office and it is vital that all applicants follow these directions carefully, sending the required materials to each office. This is true for all applicants, even those from UT-Austin.

The Department of Mathematics Admissions Committee will review the materials submitted online on our department's site, regardless of your official GIAC file's status. The online application status only refers to your file with GIAC, not with the department. It is the applicant's responsibility to check that each office has the materials it requires.

NOTE: The deadline for applying for Fall is January 15; we do not admit new students in the Spring or Summer semesters. This deadline is for the application only. Other supporting materials may arrive in our office after this date.

To begin, apply electronically on the GIAC website. Note: You may ignore the request for the e-mail of those who will provide letters of recommendation on the GIAC website. We prefer that you use our Department Application form for this process. You also have the option of mailing the hard copies to our Mathematics Department address listed below.

There are two forms of identification that you will get when you fill out the Texas Common Application (via the GIAC web site). First, you will be given an application number. Second, within 24-48 hours (longer on weekends and holidays), you will receive an email with the UT EID the system has assigned to you. This is an identifier UT Austin uses for applicants and students. Do not create an EID on their site. You must use the one assigned to you.

Note: University offices will be closed Dec. 24 through Jan. 2.  You will not be able to get your UTEID during this holiday period.

These two forms of identification are very helpful to our office and to GIAC's. The UT EID is the preferred and main identifier you will need to keep handy. When you go to fill out the Departmental Application online, it will ask you to provide your UT EID before you can begin using the application.

If you are a previous or current student of UT-Austin, you should use your existing UT EID.

You do not need to provide a "Statement of Purpose" on the GIAC web site, only on ours. You may either leave it blank or simply write "submitted to Department of Mathematics".

To submit your application electronically use the Department Application form. Please note that this is a separate application form from the Texas Common Application. All applicants must fill out both application forms (Texas Common and ours).

In addition to providing basic information using the online application, you will need to provide the following to the Department of Mathematics:

1. Statement of Purpose
2. Three letters of reference (These will be submitted by your recommenders). An email is sent to them automatically by the system.  The letters may also be sent directly to the Math Department. There are recommendation letter forms downloadable on the GIAC website. We do not require these forms, all we need is the letter.
   
3. Official or photocopy of all college transcripts Note: We do not accept print-outs from university web sites. Only photocopies or faxes of official transcript or the original transcript will be accepted. It is not necessary to mail a hard copy of your transcript if you upload a copy electronically on our Departmental application.
4. Photocopy of test score reports: GRE and TOEFL

The statement of purpose and letters of recommendation must be submitted online in either ASCII text (.txt) or PDf (.pdf) format. You may either mail hard copies of your test scores and transcripts directly to the Math Department or upload scanned copies of the originals using the online application. It is not necessary to mail hard copies if you submitted scanned copies electronically. 

The Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) is required of all international students whose native country's primary language is not English. Only international students who hold (or will hold by the time of enrollment) a bachelor's degree from an accredited institution in the U.S., or another English-only speaking country, qualify for the TOEFL to be waived. Please go to this GIAC site for more information.

International students must be able to speak fluent English in order to receive a Teaching Assistantship. We expect international students to score at least 630 on the TOEFL paper test or 109 on the internet-based test and pass an oral English assessment exam administered after they arrive at the University of Texas in order for them to receive Teaching Assistantships. If you do not have these minimum TOEFL scores your chances of acceptance are small. If you are an international student and you expect to receive fellowship or scholarship assistance from a government agency in your home country, you should mention that in your Statement of Purpose.

If you have not yet received the test results, write your test date(s) on the Math Department application form.

We do not require the Subject GRE score, only the general score.

Your application will be processed more quickly if you send us a photocopy of your score report (or electronic download), in addition to having the official scores reported to UT-Austin.

Applicants who would like to submit transcripts for the Math Department and for GIAC together in one envelope to save on postage cost, should make sure to mail that envelope directly to the Math Department since our deadlines are more stringent than GIAC's. We will gladly forward the transcript for GIAC to their office.

Mail the transcripts and photocopies of score reports to:

The Department of Mathematics Admissions Committee will only review the materials submitted on our department's web site (we will upload the transcripts that you mail directly to our department.)

If you have any questions, please contact us.

To check your Department Application status:

http://www.ma.utexas.edu/grad_application

Follow these steps to complete your application to the Graduate School (GIAC):

1. Request official transcript(s) to be sent from all universities and colleges you have attended.
2. Request official test scores to be sent. The UT-Austin Institution code is: 6882. We do not require the TWE nor TSE. Official test score reports are always sent by ETS directly to GIAC first; the GIAC office forwards it to the department.

GIAC does not need to receive your letters of recommendation, statement of purpose, resume, or similar documents. They do not review such materials for admission to our department -- we do. Those materials should be submitted only to our department.

GIAC mailing address:

International applicants need to read information for prospective students at http://www.utexas.edu/student/admissions/gradintl/.

To check your GIAC application status:

http://utdirect.utexas.edu/nr/appstat.html

Notification of Admission Decisions

Notification of admit decisions will be made by email, followed by a hard copy letter, as soon as a decision has been reached by the Department of Mathematics Admissions Committee. Decisions can be viewed on the GIAC application status check. Decisions are usually made mid-March.

Council of Graduate Schools Resolution (renewed Sept. 2004 by most U.S. Universities)

Acceptance of an offer of financial support (such as a graduate scholarship, fellowship, traineeship, or assistantship) for the next academic year by a prospective or enrolled graduate student completes an agreement that both student and graduate school expect to honor.

Students are under no obligation to respond to offers of financial support prior to April 15; earlier deadlines for acceptance of such offers violate the intent of this Resolution.  In those instances in which a student accepts an offer before April 15, and subsequently desires to withdraw that acceptance, the student may submit in writing a resignation of the appointment at any time through April 15.  However, an acceptance given or left in force after April 15 commits the student not to accept another offer without first obtaining a written release from the institution to which a commitment has been made.  Similarly, an offer by an institution after April 15 is conditional on presentation by the student of the written release from any previously accepted offer.

Transfers within UT-Austin

The Department of Mathematics considers requests for transfers from other departments within UT-Austin. Applicants for transfer are expected to conform to the same entrance standards as applicants from outside of the University. The same application materials must be provided and the application deadline must be met. The application for the GIAC office is the only difference.

Select the 'Change of Graduate Major' application from The Graduate and International Admissions Center (GIAC) web site. It is downloadable, not electronic. Turn it in to the GIAC office. If an application fee is due, send it to GIAC online or by mail.

For questions about the Department of Mathematic's graduate program please contact the graduate advisor:

gradadv@math.utexas.edu
http://www.math.utexas.edu
telephone: (512) 475-8141
fax: (512) 471-9038

For questions about our application procedures please contact the graduate coordinator:

email: gradcoordinator@math.utexas.edu
Phone: (512) 475-8138