Information for SIUC Math Faculty supervising grad students

So, you have a Master's or doctoral student and want to know what your responsibilities are. You should be generally familiar with the degree requirements. The discipline specific graduate degree requirements for Math are in Chapter 2 of the Graduate Catalog. Also important are the general graduate degree requirements. These are in Chapter 1 of the Graduate Catalog. See especially the sections Degree Requirements and General Regulations and Procedures.

There are various forms and deadlines to be aware of. These can be found on the webpage of the Graduate School and through links on the Math Department website here.

Master's

We have two Master's programs, a Master's of Arts and a Master's of Science. The M.A. requirements are very stringent and no students ever seem to pursue it. The M.S. students must take 30 hours of graduate course work (meaning 400 and 500 level courses) at least 15 hours of which must be the 500 level. Their program must include Math 419 and 452 unless they have equivalent courses elsewhere. There are also distribution requirements and some courses are excluded - see the Graduate Catalog for details.

Your student will need to write a Master's thesis or a research paper under your supervision. To find out what the difference is between a thesis and a research paper see here. If they are doing a thesis they need to take 3 hours of Math 599. If they are doing a research paper they take 3 hours of Math 598. They cannot change their minds at the last minute.

The format requirements for a research paper can be found here. The format requirements for a thesis can be found here. Theses of former Math MS students at SIUC can be found through Morris Library.

Your student will need to use LaTeX. A LaTeX template for the thesis or research paper can be found on the Math Dept webpage here.

The thesis or research paper must be approved by a three member faculty committee. The Graduate School must formally approve the committee. There is a form for this: Graduate Faculty Committee Approval Form. You or the student can fill it out. Then submit it to the Grad Advisor who will check it and send it to the Graduate School for approval. You should get a copy of the approved form back in a few weeks. If not check with the Graduate Advisor. The Graduate School office has a funny habit of losing these and other forms.

After the Committee is satisfied with the student's written work he or she will need to give an oral defense to the committee. You will submit the Oral Defense Form and either the Research Paper Approval Form (Print on 25% Cotton Paper) or the Thesis Approval Form (Print on 25% Cotton Paper) to the Graduate Advisor who will check them and send on to the Graduate School for approval.

Your student should then submit his or her thesis or research paper to the Graduate School by the deadline.

Also make sure your student is looking for a job! Sometimes they forget to do this.

Ph.D.

Taking on a Ph.D. student is a major commitment and an important part of your duties as a member of the graduate faculty. Ph.D. students need to select an advisor after passing their Qualifying Exam. If you agree to work with a student let the Graduate Advisor know. The first step is to set up a Preliminary Exams Committee. There is a form for this. It is internal to the Math Dept. You can find it here. Save copies for you and the student and give the original to the Graduate Advisor for approval.

Once the student has passed their Preliminary Exam have the exam committee members sign the Report on the Preliminary Exam and give it to the Graduate Advisor. This is an internal form.

The next step is admission to candidacy. See the Gradute Catalog, Chapter 2, Mathematics for details. Once the requirements are met you or the student fills out and gives to the Graduate Advisor the Admission to Candidacy Form. The form must be approved by the Graduate School. This should be done as soon as possible because only 6 hours of Math 600 take before admission to candidacy is allowed to count toward to 24 credit hour requirement for Math 600. You should get a copy of the approved form back in a few weeks. If not check with the Graduate Advisor. The Graduate School office has a funny habit of losing these and other forms.

By now your student should be working on his or her dissertation in earnest. He or she will need to form a committee which is usually the same as the prelim committee, but not always. There is a form for this: Graduate Faculty Committee Approval Form. You or the student can fill it out. Ask Nancy Vale for help. Then submit it to the Graduate Advisor who will check it and send it to the Graduate School for approval. You should get a copy of the approved form back in a few weeks. If not check with the Graduate Advisor. The Graduate School office has a funny habit of losing these and other forms.

You will need to meet regularly, I would suggest at least weekly, with your student. Sometimes they get discouraged and need to be prodded a little. Sometimes they disappear and need to be tracked down.

The dissertation is written using LaTeX. There is a template they can use on the Math Dept webpage. They will need to follow formatting requirements of the Graduate which can be found here.

After the Committee is satisfied with the student's written work he or she will need to give an oral defense to the committee. This is a public presentation and should be announced to the continuing faculty a few days ahead of time. If the committee votes to approve the dissertation and its defense you will submit the Oral Defense Form and Dissertation Approval Form (Print on 25% Cotton Paper) to the Graduate Advisor who will check them and send on to the Graduate School for approval.

Your student should then submit his or her dissertation to the Graduate School by the deadline.

You should also help your student look for a job. Well written letters of recommendation carry weight. You should let your student know to keep in touch with you and the Department. They can join our LinkedIn group.