Student Resources
Courses
Course Descriptions: Course Catalog
Fellowships & Scholarships
SMU Office of National Fellowships
The Office of Graduate Studies has additional funding opportunities for graduate students.
Ian Gladwell and Larry Shampine Graduate Fellowships
The fellowships are named in honor of former mathematics professors Ian Gladwell and Lawrence Shampine. Gladwell worked in a variety of numerical analysis and scientific computation research areas – including ordinary differential equation initial and boundary value problems, mathematical software, and parallel computing – with an emphasis on developing tools to assist scientists and engineers with large-scale computing problems. He published several books, more than 80 peer reviewed research journal papers and several pieces of mathematical software some of which are available in the Numerical Algorithms Group (NAG). Shampine’s principal area of research is the numerical solution of ordinary differential equations with seminal work on variable-order, multi-step and Runge-Kutta methods. He is responsible for many of the ODE solvers in the widely used commercial code Matlab and in other internationally used public domain software libraries. He has written seven books, several for use in graduate classes, and has published more than 180 refereed papers.
The Gladwell and Shampine fellowships will last through the first three years of study, which typically takes the student up to the Ph.D. qualifying exams. Selection factors include outstanding results in mathematics, science and/or engineering course work, undergraduate research experience, and demonstrated scholarly qualities such as independence, self-motivation and scientific curiosity. Selected recipients must achieve a GPA of 3.5/4 or greater in each semester of study.
The Richard Haberman Graduate Fellowships
The fellowships are named in honor of former mathematics professor Richard Haberman. Haberman was a distinguished member of the faculty whose research expertise was in the analysis of highly complex nonlinear equations that describe the propagation of light in optical fibers, waves in fluids, traffic flow, and many other phenomena. He was a specialist in asymptotic methods that allow for an understanding and description of phenomena such as shocks, dispersion, and the development of chaos. Professor Haberman was also the author of textbooks in ordinary and partial differential equations and modeling that are used by undergraduate and graduate students in universities throughout the world.
There are two Haberman Fellowships: a dissertation fellowship awarded to an outstanding PhD student for completion of the dissertation; and a fellowship awarded to an incoming PhD student to enhance the department’s standard stipend, which is available to the recipient for five years as long as the student continues to make satisfactory progress on the PhD. Students interested in applying for the incoming fellowship will indicate in their application what they know about Professor Haberman’s work.
Math Department Employment Program
Apply to be a Teaching Assistant (TA)
The Department of Mathematics offers highly qualified graduate students competitive Teaching Assistantships that include a stipend, full tuition and fee coverage, a light teaching load of about 12 hours per week, and opportunities to gain teaching experience. Outstanding students may also receive additional fellowship awards beyond their TA support.
Become a Research Assistant
Students who have earned their M.S. degree and continue on for a Ph.D. are often supported as Research Assistants. These positions are supported by faculty grants and, other than course work, students work on research full time. Approximately a third to half of students are supported as RAs.
Summer Support
Summer support is not guaranteed and is dependent on departmental budget constraints. However, it is typical for students in their second summer, i.e., post the M.S. degree, to be provided one month of summer support as they begin their research. In subsequent summers—that is, after passing the Ph.D. qualifying exams—a number of our students do summer internships at National Laboratories. The others typically receive two months of summer support.
Duration of Support
Students who maintain high levels of academic achievement and progress toward their degree will be supported for five academic years at SMU
Current Math GSA representative:
Mahnprit Jutley, Clements 222
Application for Funding from the Dedman College Graduate Student Assembly
You are encouraged to apply to the GSA for funds to aid you in your research expenses. To ensure that you meet all deadlines and receive the support in a timely manner, you should talk with your GSA representative as soon as you begin planning your travel. Your representative can advise you on how to apply for support and what other avenues are available. Before applying to the GSA, however, it is recommended that you ask the Math Department if they have any funds available. You can also go to the Dean of Graduate Research after applying to the Academic Department and the GSA.
You may apply to the GSA as many times as you wish but there is a $400 per semester limit you may receive from the GSA. Please note below the amount you may request depending on your purpose. For more detailed explanations, see the by-laws or ask your department representative to the GSA.
Category I ($400): thesis and dissertation related expenditures
Category II ($150): convention expenses not covered in Category I
Category III ($50 per student/per semester): Photocopying
Category IV ($60): Fee for one-year membership
Category V ($100): Speaker related expenses
Category VI ($100): Miscellaneous awards
The GSA By-Laws (PDF)
The following forms are required to submit a request to the GSA. Turn in the completed forms to your GSA representative. If you would like to request funds before the actual event, fill out only the application form. You will turn in the expense report after the event with the appropriate receipts. If you are requesting funds after the event has taken place, fill out both the application form and the expense report and include all appropriate receipts.
Application Form (PDF)
Expense Report (PDF)
Attach all original receipts to the completed forms.
For the GSA representative:
LaTeX Templates
Beamer Poster Template
LaTeX/Beamer example poster.
This template was created by Tom Carr to share among the graduate students. For questions concerning this template, contact Prof. Carr or Prof. Reynolds.
Poster Template
LaTeX example poster.
This template was created by Kurt Stein to share among the graduate students. He has included some comments within the latex file itself containing instructions on how to build the poster from within linux. For questions concerning this process, contact Kurt Stein or Prof. Reynolds.
Thesis Template
LaTeX style file (and examples) for dissertations.
Sample output
This has been tuned for compilation on coe. Use the included Makefile, and print the resulting dvi file from the xdvi program. For questions concerning this process, contact Prof. Reynolds