The State of the Graduate Program

This year's entering class of 16 Ph.D. and 6 Master's students brings our current graduate enrollment to 82, including 73 Ph.D. and 9 Master's students, 17 women, and 23 international students representing 13 nationalities. Our graduate students are as talented and enthusiastic as any that I have seen since I arrived at the UW twenty-five years ago.

To successfully compete for these top students with other leading universities, we need a well-designed recruitment and support plan, and careful mentoring and advising to facilitate the difficult transitions from college to graduate school, from course-work to reading current research papers, and finally from reading papers to doing research in mathematics.

We began to formulate our current recruitment and retention plan in 1997 when it became apparent that our old strategy was not working. Since then, we have instituted a number of changes to our program, which, together with other factors, are responsible for our success. For example, we revised our evaluation procedure for applicants. The Graduate Admissions Committee reads each application and scores it on a four-point scale, with a score of 3.5 or above for applicants whom the Committee judges to be exceptionally strong. Students rated in this top group are routinely recruited by leading universities such as the University of Michigan and UC Berkeley. We use funds from the Graduate School together with internal departmental funds to bring our top candidates here for visits. Our own students are the best publicity for our program, so each visiting applicant is hosted by an advanced graduate student.

Another major change is the development of a support plan guaranteeing adequate financial support to our top students; this is a critical component of our recruitment efforts. These efforts are working: this year for the first time, everyone in our entering Ph.D. class was rated 3.5 or above by the Admissions Committee.

Our advising and mentoring program is also the result of a multi-year effort. We have designed a three-day orientation program for new students and teaching assistants. Each new student meets individually with the Graduate Program Coordinator, is given an introduction to our graduate program, and participates in a TA training program. In addition, each student is mentored by an experienced TA during her/his first quarter of teaching.

Mentoring and advising continues throughout our program. Each student is assigned a preliminary advisor who helps to map out the student's course of study. To ensure that students get sound advice, we have compiled a "Handbook for Advisors and Instructors of First Year Students." The Graduate Program Coordinator meets annually with every student during each of the first three years of study.

Our system of three preliminary examinations is designed to encourage a smooth and timely transition from course-work to research. Students can enroll in summer tutorial sessions designed to prepare them for the prelims, which are given in mid-September of each year. Strong performance in any one of our five "core courses" can be used in lieu of one exam, and those students who have passed two exams and established a research focus can choose an "Oral Prelim Option" in place of their third exam. Although we expect our doctoral students to complete prelims by the beginning of their third year, this year the majority of our second year students have already completed them.

The department sponsors numerous activities designed to acquaint students with current research in mathematics as well as with current topics related to the profession. In addition to regular colloquia, formal and informal seminars, and reading groups, graduate students organize the Current Problems Seminar where faculty and advanced graduate students discuss their own research. This year the department received funds from the University's ADVANCE program to sponsor a series of visits by well known women mathematicians. In addition to formal talks, the department sponsors lunches with colloquium and ADVANCE speakers, and "brown-bag lunches" to discuss issues related to the teaching of mathematics. Approximately twice each quarter the department sponsors an informal dinner where a small group of students and faculty meet to explore ways to improve our graduate program.

Tom Duchamp