Applications to Penn's graduate mathematics program should be submitted electronically*. The application cycle is now closed for all programs.

*Please note that the Graduate Division of the School of Arts and Sciences, Office of Admissions, manages all application fee waivers; individual departments do not have the authority to grant these waivers. A request for a fee waiver should be submitted well in advance of the application deadline for your program and is separate from your application for admission. Your graduate application can be in progress or near completion, but it is crucial that you do not submit the application until you receive a decision on your fee waiver request, as paid application fees are non-refundable. Please follow the instructions below to submit a fee waiver request.

• Start the application process and select a program. After doing so, sign out of the application and access the fee waiver form using your application credentials.
• Once you submit the completed fee waiver form, you will receive a confirmation email.
• Within one week, you will be notified whether your request has been approved or denied.
• If the waiver is not granted, you will need to pay the application fee before submitting your graduate application.

Remember: Do not submit your application until your fee waiver request has been processed and you have received a response.

 

Additional application for admission information:

(1) Applicants should ensure that their applications are complete and accurate before submitting, as the online system does not permit any changes afterward. A complete application includes the following items:

• Application form
• Transcripts (can be unofficial at this stage)
• Personal Statement
• CV/resume
• Letters of recommendation (at least 3, at most 5)

Exemptions from the TOEFL are granted to applicants whose native language is English, those who completed their entire undergraduate studies in the United States, Canada, or another English-speaking country, and those who have adequately demonstrated their spoken English skills to our admissions committee. The GRE is not required at this time, but you are welcome to submit your scores if you have them. Uploaded transcripts may be unofficial. However, admitted applicants will be required to submit an official transcript before matriculating in the Penn Math Graduate Program. If necessary, additional materials can be sent by email to the Mathematics Department's Graduate Administrator, Reshma Tanna.

(2) The deadline for submission of Ph.D. applications is December 15. If some of the material related to the application (letters of recommendation or test scores) is received a few days later, the application can still be considered (but must be submitted by December 15).

If supplementary application materials are submitted after January 1, a follow-up email message should be sent to the Mathematics Department's Graduate Group Chair, indicating what has been submitted. This includes letters of recommendation.

(3) In order to submit an on-line application, it is necessary to list at least three people (generally mathematics professors) as writers of letters of recommendation. Once your application is submitted, you cannot arrange for any additional letter writers (beyond those you listed in your application) to upload letters directly to the online system. Instead, if you wish to get additional letters beyond those you indicated on your application, you can ask the additional letter writers to email their letters to the Mathematics Graduate Administrator, Reshma Tanna. In their message they should state that this letter is for your application to the Mathematics Graduate Program and that the letter should be uploaded to your application.

(4) Admissions decisions are made by the Mathematics Graduate Admissions Committee, and not by individual professors. Therefore, requests for admission should not be sent to individual members of the faculty, and instead should be submitted as indicated above. Nevertheless, applicants could contact one or at most two professors with whom they may have a particular interest in working, in order to discuss their interest in applying and in doing research in their area. (DO NOT send mass emails to professors!)

(5) Applicants cannot be considered for admission, and no admission decisions can be made, until an fully completed official online application form is submitted and received by the Mathematics Graduate Admissions Committee.

(6) Applicants may wish to visit the Penn Math Department in person, and may do so by scheduling an appointment. This can provide valuable insights into the department and the graduate program, helping applicants make informed decisions about where to apply and which offers to accept. Please note that such visits do not influence the Admissions Committee's decision-making process.

(7) Admitted applicants will be notified via email and letter, while those who are not admitted will see their status updated in their application via the online portal. Some decisions will be communicated in February or early March, but others may be delayed until close to the uniform reply date of April 15. This is because our admissions committee must wait for responses from first-round admits before making offers to those on our waitlist.

(8) In the personal statement, all Ph.D. applications within the Graduate Division of Arts & Sciences should address the following: Please describe how your background and academic experiences have influenced your decision to pursue a graduate degree and led you to apply to Penn. Your essay should detail your specific research interests and intellectual goals within your chosen field. Additionally, please provide information about your educational trajectory, intellectual curiosity, and academic ambitions. If you have overcome adversity or faced limited access to resources or opportunities in your field of study, we encourage you to share how these experiences have shaped your educational journey. We are particularly interested in your lived experiences and how your unique perspective can contribute to the inclusive and dynamic learning community that Penn values and strives to cultivate.

(9) In the Math Graduate Group, we also recommend that your statement include examples of specific mathematical problems or theories that you find particularly interesting. Consider detailing how and why you became interested in these topics, any new results you have obtained or are currently working on, and your vision for future work in these areas. Additionally, please mention any Penn faculty with whom you would like to collaborate on these issues.