This page guides you along the journey to graduate school in the mathematical sciences. Asking questions in person would be even better, and so please do attend the graduate school panel discussion and other events during GROW 2019. You can strike up conversations with professors and graduate students anytime during the conference. We are here to help!

Application process

Choosing a graduate program

  • Talk to as many professors as possible, as you create a list of schools to investigate.
  • Search the Find a Graduate Program in the Mathematical Sciences website.
  • Click on links there to find the number of women among the first year graduate class (counting masters students as well as PhD students). Some programs also state their TA stipend levels.
  • Check the US News rankings for Mathematics and Statistics, which provide a rough guide to reputation (and not much more than that). Do not apply based solely on rankings – you want a program that fits well with your preparation, interests and goals.
  • Attend graduate school fairs at national meetings such as the Young Mathematicians Conference, SACNAS, Field of Dreams, and the AMS Joint Meetings.
  • Skim the website for each program that interests you (e.g. University of Illinois prospective student information).
  • Look for program requirements, time-to-degree, completion rates, and funding guarantees (e.g. University of Illinois brochure).
  • Investigate the climate for women (e.g. AWM chapter at Illinois).

Fellowships
(most are restricted to U.S. students)

AAUW Career Development Grant
Ford Foundation Fellowship
National Defense Science & Engineering Graduate Fellowship (NDSEG) 
National Physical Science Consortium (NPSC) Fellowship
National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship (NSF-GRF)
SMART (Department of Defense)