Master of Science in Mathematics

The MSc program is 24 months for full-time students and 48 months for part-time students. The format for the degree consists of at least 3 graduate level courses and a thesis. All students will take Algebra (Math 5405), Analysis (Math 5505), and a third course. In some cases, a student may be required to include undergraduate courses as well, if additional background preparation is required. The thesis is the most significant component of work towards the degree and usually involves original research. The first step for any prospective student is to select a potential supervisor and in consultation with the supervisor, organise a research plan including possible thesis topic, before admission to the program. Faculty research interests are a critical factor in this preliminary decision. The department is attempting to expand and strengthen its research activities and graduate students will play an important role in this endeavor. Almost all faculty members in the department receive external or internal funding to support their research programs. Graduate degrees traditionally have been awarded for the successful completion of a satisfactory thesis. The thesis route expresses the fundamental tradition of academic scholarship. It also relates to the University's undergraduate programs, because the creation of a thesis in any discipline calls for a range of skills which are central to the liberal education tradition, including analysis and synthesis of ideas, empirical investigations, the construction and articulation of arguments, and writing skills. The Department of Mathematics has faculty members who conduct research in the following fields: Algebra Analysis Combinatorics Logic Number Theory, and Statistics The research strengths of the department include Number Theory and Combinatorics. Career Opportunities: Being a mathematician is touted as being the best of all jobs. In 2009, the Wall Street Journal published a study ranking Mathematician, Actuary and Statistician as the top three careers. Other recent surveys grading job satisfaction according to income, job security, stress and work environment all ranked jobs involving mathematical reasoning and knowledge at the very top. Here are just a few of the options open to you once you've earned your degree: Researcher, Cryptologist, Statistician, Actuary, Economist, Investment Banker, Computer Scientist, Systems Analyst, Software Developer, Physicist, Geologist, Meteorologist, Astronomer, Ecologist, Epidemiologist, Bio mathematician, Biostatistician, Operations Research Analyst, Sales Manager. The University of Lethbridge MSc graduates in mathematics have gone through successful careers. Many of them decided to continue in a PhD program and pursue a research career.