Discipline Coordinator

Noah Rhee, (816) 235-2854, rheen@umkc.edu

Click here to see Mathematics faculty who are members of the doctoral faculty.

Mathematics is a discipline in the Interdisciplinary Ph.D. Program administered by the School of Graduate Studies.

Note: The discipline-specific requirements listed here are in addition to the requirements listed in Interdisciplinary Ph.D. Application Procedure and Minimum Criteria for Admission and Minimum Interdisciplinary Ph.D. Academic Regulations and Degree Requirements.

Discipline-Specific Admission Requirements

Mathematics as a Primary Discipline:
To get full admission, an applicant should have

1. Preferably a Master's degree in mathematics/statistics with strong records that include graduate level courses in mathematics/statistics courses offered by an accredited college or university;
2. An overall grade-point averge of at least 3.0 out of 4.0 scale;
3. At least 155 on Quantitative Reasoning in GRE;
4. In the case of foreign students, at least 80 on the internet based TOEFL test.

An applicant may be given a provisional admission if the condition (1) in the above is not met, provided one of the following two conditions is satisfied: a Bachelor’s degree in mathematics/statistics from an accredited college or university, or a Bachelor’s degree in another subject including evidence of a strong performance in at least three mathematics courses beyond Calculus I, II, and III.

Mathematics as a Co-discipline:
To get full admission, an applicant should have a Bachelor’s degree in mathematics/statistics from an accredited college or university, or a Bachelor’s degree in another subject including evidence of a strong performance in at least three mathematics courses beyond Calculus I, II, and III. An applicant with mathematics as Co-discipline may get a provisional admission if the above conditions are not fully satisfied at the time of application.

Qualifying Requirements for Students with Mathematics as a Coordinating Discipline

A student who has a Master's degree in mathematics or statistics from an accredited university with full admission may be qualified to the interdisciplinary Ph.D. program in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics if s/he has met the qualifying course requirements (if not, s/he has to take the deficient courses to be qualified). See the department website for details and  the list of Interdisciplinary Ph.D. qualifying courses.

Suggested Compatible Co-disciplines

Cell biology and biophysics, molecular biology and biochemistry, computer science, telecommunication and computer networking, electrical and computer engineering, chemistry, curriculum and instruction, physics, geosciences, and engineering.

Core Program Requirements

The requirements for the Ph.D. fall into five major categories: coursework, special requirements set by the supervisory committee, interdisciplinary work, comprehensive examination and dissertation.

Mathematics as Primary Discipline:

A student can have either mathematics or statistics as the emphasis area when the student declares mathematics as the coordinating unit.

After fully qualified, students must take the doctoral core courses in their area of emphasis, and one additional doctoral core course from the other emphasis area. For the doctoral core courses, see the department website for details. Students may need to take additional graduate elective mathematics or statistics courses deemed necessary by the Interdisciplinary Ph.D. supervisory committee of the student. Transfer credit may be accepted (in accordance with the minimum 21 credit residency requirement set by the School of Graduate Studies). Students must satisfy the co-discipline course work requirement set forth by the co-discipline.   Students must pass the comprehensive examination. Student's dissertation must represent a significant contribution to mathematics.

The student with mathematics as the primary discipline must pass a comprehensive examination in mathematics or statistics after completing the doctoral core courses and completing any special requirements and interdisciplinary requirements. An oral examination will be given after a student passes a written comprehensive examination. 

Mathematics as a Co-discipline:

The number of hours required in mathematics for a student who chooses mathematics as a co-discipline will be at least 12 graduate credit hours. Up to six of these credit hours may be at the 400-level. After completing the required course work, students must file the form entitled "Department of Mathematics and Statistics Comprehensive Examination Approval Form for Interdisciplinary Ph.D. Students with Mathematics as the Co-discipline" with the Interdisciplinary Ph.D. coordinator of Mathematics.