The CID at UIUC (Mathematics)

CONTENTS OF THIS PAGE

Who Are We?

Pictured is Altgeld Hall, home of the Dept. of Mathematics. It is named for John Peter Altgeld, governor of Illinois, 1893-97.

UIUC stands for University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. UIUC Mathematics is a Partner Department in the CID.

Ppeople involved with the CID at UIUC are:

* Steven Bradlow (Director of Graduate Studies, 217-333-3354)

UIUC Math Department Home Page

Math Graduate Program Web Page

What We Want to Accomplish in the CID

The Mathematics Department at UIUC hopes to use the CID to encourage meaningful discussion about our graduate program and to aid in the implementation of several new VIGRE programs. We will improve our data base of past and current graduate students and use it for assessment. We want our program to provide meaningful preparation for various careers within the mathematics enterprise while still insisting upon a first rate research thesis.

One of the goals in our participation in the CID is to find ways to better link our graduate program with the research agenda of the department. Many related ideas have been developed as part of our VIGRE grant.

The purpose of the PhD
Click here to see some selected faculty opinions.

More About Our Department

The Mathematics Dept. at UIUC is one of the largest in the world.

We do research in nearly all areas of mathematics, and we teach over 10,000 students each year.

Our department produces from 15-20 PhDs each year. See the department web page, whose link is below the picture of Altgeld Hall, for a complete list of current faculty. From the graduate student web page you can link to a list of all UIUC PhDs since 1900.

Key Ideas PowerPoint

Key Ideas PDF

Commonalities PDF
Commonalities presentation from 2003 convening.

UIUC CID Annual Report 2003-4 (PDF file)

GAC Activities
This is a summary of the activities of the Graduate Affairs Committee for 2003-04.

CID Timeline

UIUC Plans for the CID in 2004:

1. Create DATABASE (past and present)

2. Create new PATHWAYS into mathematics

3. Foster INTERACTIONS

4. Expand and share the REGS program

CID Convening 2004

Click here to see what we learned from the convening.

What Are We Doing?

Well, some of us are squandering our time playing Go....

Here are some of the things the Department is doing:

1) VIGRE

VIGRE stands for Vertical Integration of Research and Education, and is a program funded by the NSF. UIUC has a 5 year VIGRE grant which will expire in 2005. Our VIGRE program funded graduate student fellowships and postdoctoral positions, and also introduced RAPS, REUs, and TTUs. Three years into the program, and encouraged by CID discussions, we created REGS.

To view the department VIGRE report to the NSF, click here.

2) The REGS Program

REGS stands for Research Experiences for Graduate Students. The idea is to provide some kind of early esearch experience for graduate students. Graduate Students receive summer support, usually at the end of the first year, but also in later summers in some cases, to participate in a summer research experience.

Click here for more information.

3) Alumni Database

A data base exists for graduate students in our department, but it has not been updated. Beginning in fall 2004, the department will be making a concerted effort to improve the data base, and to track graduate students long after they leave the program.

4) Transition Course for Graduate Students

Beginning in Fall 2004 Marius Junge will teach a new kind of first year graduate course that will serve as a transition from undergraduate to graduate mathematics. It will cover various topics in analysis and algebra including linear algebra and some functional analysis. It will be broader than typical courses and will help integrate several subjects that seem to appear disjoint to many graduate students.

The REGS Program
Follow this link for a description of our Research Experience for Graduate Students (REGS) program.

Math 499
Description and testimonials for Math 499 (formerly math 400), a course designed to expose new grad students to many areas of mathematics.

VIGRE Annual Report 2003-4 (pdf file)

Transition Course for Graduate Students
This is the publicized description of the new Transitions course.

The Buddy System
Description of the buddy system, created to help orient incoming students, by a former graduate student.

COUNCIL of GRADUATE SCHOOLS STUDY

The Council of Graduate Schools Announces Partner Universities for Ph. D Completion Project.

(Project funded by grants from Pfizer Inc. and the Ford Foundation)

THE CGS has named 21 Research Partners for this study, including UIUC.

The bibliography includes four papers by Chris Golde