Graduate Program

Program Overview

The Department of Mathematics offers a 36-hour nonthesis program leading to a Master of Science in Mathematics. Students within the program select one of two concentrations, Mathematics Teaching and Mathematical Sciences. These options are designed to prepare students to pursue a career in professional areas requiring advanced mathematics education and mathematics, respectively, and to prepare students for advanced graduate studies in their area of specialization.  

Objectives Of The Program

The Master of Science in Mathematics consists of two options: Mathematics Teaching and Mathematical Sciences. Neither option will prepare students for any license or certification.

Educational Objectives for the Mathematics Teaching option:

1. to provide instruction for secondary mathematics teachers to upgrade their knowledge of mathematics and to improve their pedagogical skills;
2. to prepare secondary mathematics teachers to become leaders within their school district in the areas of mathematics curriculum and instruction; and
3. to prepare students for advanced graduate study in mathematics education

Admission

All students applying for admission to this program must meet the University's requirements for admission to graduate studies and hold a bachelor-level degree in mathematics or related field. Those students interested in meeting the requirements of the mathematics teaching option but who do not have an undergraduate preparation equivalent to that required by University of Texas-Pan American for teacher certification must complete the appropriate undergraduate course work for teacher certification.

Admission is a two-step process:

1. Apply for graduate admission to UTPA.  Admission information, requirements, and forms can be obtained through the Office of Admissions and Records, the Graduate Office, or through the UTPA web site for prospective students. 
2. Apply for admission to the Mathematics Graduate Program.  Send a completed application form ( PDF) and copies of transcripts of all college work to:  Graduate Program Coordinator, Department of Mathematics, The University of Texas - Pan American, Edinburg TX 78539.

For details on the University's graduate admission policies, see the Graduate Catalog of the University of Texas-Pan American.

Program Requirements

Core Courses

An 18 semester-hour core is required of all students and consists of 

Other Courses for the Mathematics Teaching Option

Students choosing the mathematics teaching option must be certified to teach mathematics once the core is completed.  In addition to the required core courses, the Mathematics Teaching option requires 

• Math 6308 Teaching of Algebraic Concepts  
• Math 6312 Teaching of Geometric Concepts  
• Math 6390 Mathematics Seminar 
• Math 6310 Topics in Mathematics Teaching.

and six hours of approved electives.

Other Courses for the Mathematical Sciences Option

In addition to the required core courses, a student selecting the Mathematical Sciences option must complete four courses from the following list, 

• Math 6360 Ordinary Differential Equations  
• Math 6361 Partial Differential Equations
• Math 6362 Fourier Analysis 
• Math 6364 Statistical Methods  
• Math 6366 Mathematical Statistics  
• Math 6370 Topology  
• Math 6388 Discrete Mathematics

and six hours of approved electives.

Other Degree Requirements and Scheduling of Courses

The degree is a non-thesis program. Every student is required to complete 36 semester hours and satisfy the course requirements for their selected option.  Students must complete a comprehensive exam prior to graduation.

The graduate courses for both options are offered on a rotating basis so that most courses can be offered every two years, including summer sessions.  A majority of the graduate classes are taught at night. It is estimated that a typical student will require 2-4 years to complete the program.

Advising And Degree Plan

Once accepted into the program, students are encouraged to meet with the Graduate Program Coordinator to develop a preliminary degree plan.  Students may choose a graduate advisor from the list of graduate faculty in the Department of Mathematics. The graduate advisor will track the progress of the student through the program and after graduation. 

Teaching Assistantships

Part-time teaching is available for a limited number of graduate students in the form of teaching assistantships. Those applicants to the program who are interested in part time teaching can request further information by contacting the Department Chair or Graduate Program Coordinator.

Graduate Faculty

Bernard, John.  Ph.D., University of Texas-Austin, mathematics education. Teaching and research interests include the teaching of algebra, geometry, and Statistics, and use of computers in the teaching of mathematics.

Balogh, Andras.  Ph.D. Texas Tech University.  Interests include the synthesis of control laws for nonlinear partial differential equations governing fluid flows and analysis of resulting dynamical system with emphasis on boundary feedback stabilization/control.

Bede, Barnabas.  Ph.D.University Babes-Bolyai. Interests include  Fuzzy Differential Equations and Fuzzy Partial Differential Equations,Modeling under Epistemic Uncertainty, Fuzzy Numbers, Soft Computing in Image Processing,Nuclear Safety Assessments

Bhatta, Dambaru. Ph.D. in Applied Mathematics, Dalhousie University. Interests include Wave-structure Interactions, Numerical Solutions of Differential Equations (ODEs, PDEs, and FDEs), Fluid Flow, Computational Mathematics.

Bose,Ramendra Krishna. Ph.D. in Applied Mathematics, State University of New York at Stony Brook.Interests include Linear and Nonlinear Functional Analysis; Applied Functional Analysis; Fixed Point Theory.

Bracken, Paul. Ph.D. in Applied Mathematics, University of Waterloo. Interests include Differential Equations, and Geometry applied to problems in Mathematical Physics and Physics, Integrable systems quantum field theory and quantization.

Chakraborty, Santanu. Ph.D. in Statistics, Indian Statistical Institute. Interests include Random Iterations and Dynamical Systems, Invariant measures, Population Genetics, and their applications in Biology.

Debnath, Lokenath. Ph.D., University of London, applied mathematics; Ph.D., University of Calcutta, pure mathematics. Interests include mathematical physics, solid and fluid mechanics, ordinary and partial differential equations, integral transforms, special functions, wavelets and signal analysis.

Feng, Bao-Feng. Ph.D. in Applied Mathematics, Kyoto University. Interests include Numerical solutions for partial differential equations, Nonlinear waves and perturbation methods, Pattern formation, Intrinsic localized modes in lattices, Nonlinear optics and optical fiber communications.

Feng, Zhaosheng. Ph.D. in Mathematics, Texas A&M University. Interests include Nonlinear Analysis of Differential Equations (ODEs and PDEs), Chaotic Dynamical Systems, Computational Methods, Mathematical Physics, and Mathematical Biology.

Galstyan, Anahit. Ph.D., University of Cincinnati, applied Mathematics; Ph.D., Yerevan State University, pure mathematics.   Interests include linear and nonlinear partial differential equations, pseudo-differential operators, bifurcations theory, numerical solutions of partial differential equations.

Gkioulekas, Eleftherios. Ph.D. in Applied Mathematics, University of Washington. Interests include applied PDEs, stochastic dynamical systems, scientific computing. Specializations: hydrodynamic turbulence, two-dimensional turbulence, geophysical turbulence, computational fluid dynamics.

Huber, Tim. Ph.D. in Mathematics, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Interests include Analytic Number Theory.

Knobel, Roger. Ph.D., Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, mathematics.  Interests include Inverse problems, differential equations, applied analysis.

Lawton, Sean. Ph.D. in Mathematics, The University of Maryland.Interests include Moduli of Lie group valued representations of ?nitely generated groups. In particular, the classical topology, geometry,singularity theory, algebraic geometry, and Poisson geometry of character varieties.

Maruno, Kenichi. Ph.D. in Mathematical Physics, Kyushu University.Interests include Integrable Systems, Soliton, Nonlinear Wave, Nonlinear Optics, Water Wave, Pattern Formation, Discrete Mathematics.

Mukherjea, Arunava. Ph.D. in Probability and Statistics, Wayne State University. Interests include Probability measures on algebraic structures, Weak convergence of their convolution products, and random walks.

Nguyen, Mau Nam. Ph.D. in Mathematics, Wayne State University. Interests include Variational Analysis and Optimization, Mathematical Programming, Control Theory, Nonlinear Analysis.

Onica, Constantin. Ph.D. in Mathematics, Texas A&M University. Interests include Navier-Stokes Equations, Fluid Dynamics, and Operator Theory.

Pierce, Virgil. Ph.D. in Mathematics, The University of Arizona. Interests include Random matrices, nonlinear wave equations, combinatorics, and mathematical physics.

Poletaeva, Elena. Ph.D. in Mathematics, Pennsylvania State University.The representation theory of Lie algebras and Lie superalgebras, mathematical physics, differential geometry.

Qiao, Zhijun. Ph.D., Fudan University, Nonlinear partial differential equations, Integrable systems, Soliton Theory, Integrable symplectic mapping, Discrete Lattice systems, R-matrix theory, Lie Group and Lie Algebra, and Imaging processing.

Riahi, Daniel. Ph.D. in Applied Mathematics, Florida State University. Interests include Applied Partial Differential Equations, Perturbation & Asymptotic Methods, Fluid Mechanics, Convective Heat & Mass Transfer, Hydrodynamic Stability, Solidification Processes, Wave Interactions, Stability Analysis, Weakly Nonlinear Methods.

Roy, Ranadhir. Ph.D. Mathematics, Hertfordshire University. Interests include inverse problem, Unconstrained and constrained optimization techniques, Optical tomography, Impedance tomography, Bioluminescence Imaging, Numerical solution of partial differential equation (Finite element and Boundary element methods).

Roychowdhury, Mrinal Kanti. Ph.D. in Mathematics, Wesleyan University. Interests include Applied Mathematics, Dynamical Systems and Fractals.

Taylor, Monty B. Ph.D., University of Houston.  Interests include Commutative algebra and multiplicative lattices.

Tsay, Jenq-Jong. Ph.D. in Mathematics Education, University of Northern Colorado.Mathematics Education, Cognition in Mathematics Learning, Curriculum Development.

Varlamov, Vladimir. Ph.D., Moscow State University, applied mathematics; Dr.Sc., University of Wroclaw, mathematics.  Interests include applied analysis, partial differential equations, special functions, and asymptotic expansions.

Villalobos, Cristina. Ph.D., Rice University.   Interests include linear and nonlinear optimization, Newton's method, interior-point methods, trust-region methods,  applications involving optimization.

Wang, Xiaohui. Ph.D. in Statistics, Texas A&M University.  Interests include Hierarchical Bayesian Modeling, Functional Data Analysis, Multivariate Analysis, Mixed Model, Semiparametric/Nonparametric Methods, MCMC Algorithms, Statistical Computation, Mathematical Biology, High-dimensional Problems and Large Data Sets Problems arising in the areas of Public Health, Biostatistics, Bioinformatics and Business.

Yanev, George. Ph.D. in Statistics, University of South Florida.Branching sotchastic processes: regeneration, extrema, trees, and statistics;characterizations of probability distributions using records;statistical modeling in biology and ecology; applied statistics.

Yoon, Jasang. Ph.D. in Mathematics, The University of Iowa.Interests include Functional Analysis, Operator Theory, Several Complex Variables.

Contacts

For additional information concerning the Master of Science in Mathematics, please contact: 

Dr. Lokenath Debnath, Chair  
Department of Mathematics  
University of Texas-Pan American  
Edinburg, Texas 78539  
phone (956) 381-3452  
e-mail debnathl@utpa.edu

Dr.Paul Bracken, Graduate Program Coordinator  
Department of Mathematics  
University of Texas-Pan American  
Edinburg, Texas 78539  
Phone (956) 381-3457  
E-mail bracken@utpa.edu