Letter of Introduction

Thank you for your interest in the Department of Mathematical Sciences at Carnegie Mellon University.

We are rated in the top 40 Departments of mathematics in the country, and in the top 20 in applied mathematics and mathematical sciences. Our Logic Program is in the top 10 nationally. Our principal areas of research are listed in the Areas of Current Research section of this web site and are expanded upon in the Faculty Biographies section.

We are strongest in areas of applicable mathematics, which includes not only traditional areas of applied analysis, continuum mechanics, computational mathematics, scientific computing, and stochastic processes but also the fields of logic and discrete mathematics. As you might expect, we have many faculty engaged in interdisciplinary research.

Our graduate program emphasizes basic mathematical training, particularly in the early stages of a student's career, with specific applications introduced later. Specialized courses are offered both in this Department and in our sister Departments of Statistics, Computer Science and the Graduate School of Industrial Administration.

The primary intent of our graduate program is to train mathematical scientists for a variety of career opportunities. Our graduates pursue research and teaching careers in traditional university settings, conduct research in industrial and government laboratories, and work on Wall Street.

At CMU, we provide the sort of individual attention larger institutions can't offer. Our Department currently includes 35 faculty members and 45-50 graduate students. This nearly 1.5 to one ratio promotes close contact between student and faculty early in their graduate career and allows the faculty to assist students in pursuing their career goals.

In admitting students to our program, we're not greatly influenced by the major subject of applicant's bachelor's degree. Several of our recent graduates entered with engineering, science, and finance degrees. Primarily we seek students with genuine talent and interest in the mathematical sciences.

Entry to a graduate program marks the start of a transition from student to professional mathematical scientist; our small community of faculty and graduate students is very closely integrated and bound by common dedication to mathematics and its applications. The transition from learner to doer, from apprentice to colleague is exciting and challenging; we'd like to share this experience with you.

Dr. Roy Nicolaides
Department Head

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