Students may obtain an MA/MS degree as either an undergraduate student through the concurrent bachelor's/master's degree program (see below) or as a graduate student.
As a rule, graduate students are admitted to the PhD program in Mathematics and earn an MA or MS when they complete their PhD comprehensive exam. Students may choose to leave the program with MA/MS degree. Under certain circumstances, students can be admitted to the graduate program for a terminal MA/MS degree, in which case the prerequisites are the same as for the doctoral program.
It allows highly motivated and successful students to experience graduate-level course work earlier in their education than would otherwise be possible, and also allows them to obtain a master's degree in a reduced time period. Students are allowed to count six hours of graduate-level Mathematics Department course work towards both their undergraduate and graduate degree requirements.
The earliest admission to the program is after the successful completion of at least total 45 credit hours and a minimum of two upper division courses from the Department of Mathematics. Students must have at least one year of coursework remaining towards the completion of their undergraduate degree in order to be admitted to the program. Students admitted to the program may not pursue a double degree or a double major; however, outside minors are allowed.